Viewing Contemporary Educational Transitions through the Lenses of Cognitive and Organizational Science

Cathy Kaufman
(Indiana University of PA, USA)

Abstract: Classroom teachers, building principals and district superintendents are realizing that successful past practices for fostering instructional improvement may be incongruent with the skills and knowledge students need for world class learning and successful futures in a 2.0 world. Research analysis is most informative when it fosters the juxtaposition of social constructs in a manner that brings a more complex and a more complete understanding of research intent and findings. This work shares how three experienced educators approached research challenges related to three contemporary transitions in the business of schooling. Their work serves as a platform for reformers committed to giving attention to the playing field on which both sociological and psychological elements vie for attention, affirmation and appreciation from an audience of often confused and critical spectators. All cases shared in this work reflect a cyclical, reflective, and interactive approach to keeping pace with changing social and educational circumstances. All remind us that understanding the conditions of instructional change becomes a useful window through which to assess the degree of change.

Keywords: systems thinking, distributed leadership, instructional supervision