[Ailist] Using AI to begin university course, "Principles of Management"

[Nancy Stetson]

>Don,

Are you familiar with the work of O'Connor and Yballe?  They've written several articles that answer your question.  Google "Toward a Pedagogy of Appreciation."  It's on O'Connor's website; it also is a chapter in Constructive Discourse and Human Organization by Cooperrider and Avital published by Elsevier. They also wrote (Yballe and O'Connor) an earlier article, "Appreciative Pedagogy: Constructing Positive Models for Learning" that appeared in the Journal of Management Education in August 2000.

I think you will find both of these pieces right on target.

Nancy





>I have just begun teaching at a university again.  One of the courses is
>"Principles of Management," for mostly sophomores.  I believe in
>experiential learning whenever possible and practical, especially for a
>subject related to dealing with people.  The text was selected before I got
>here, and it is pretty good in some ways, but very dry and devoid of
>anything experiential or process oriented.  Thinking about how I could
>create an experiential thread for throughout the semester, it occurred to me
>that making the students partially responsible for "managing" their own
>learning of management could be good, especially if I behave more as a
>manager of their learning, than as a "teacher," and collaborate with them.
>What better way to get started than by using an AI approach to begin to move
>them out of a more traditional "student mentality" and into thinking about
>what they would really value for their learning (about management), I
>thought.  So, this is the framework for their second session together,
>below. 
>
> 
>
>I would very much like to hear of any similar teaching experiments you have
>done, or any thoughts on this framework for beginning (I never actually
>referred to "appreciative inquiry."
>
> 
>
>I plan to MANAGE this classroom, to support & enable your LEARNING the
>content and processes of managing.
>
> 
>
>The common student "mentality" of figuring out what will please the
>instructor as a means of learning and getting a good grade is NOT a good
>management mentality, and will let you down here.
>
> 
>
>What do you value, to make learning easier and better for you?  Some
>possible questions to ask- think about specific times or events when.
>
> 
>
>1)   You felt very satisfied from learning (anywhere, but especially, in the
>classroom).
>
> 
>
>2)   You learned something very important.
>
> 
>
>3)   You had a lot of fun learning.
>
> 
>
>4)   You were successful, learned a lot, and had fun (anywhere).
>
> 
>
>I am NOT asking you to remember outcomes (the outcomes in these example are
>that you felt satisfied, or learned something important, or had a lot of fun
>learning!
>
> 
>
> First, think of one event that met one of these criteria (because it was
>important to you, somehow), and take a couple of minutes to write down for
>yourself what someone could have recorded with a camcorder, if he/she was
>there with you at the time.                 
>
> 
>
>Do this for each of the four questions above.  If you finish before we go on
>to the next step, take a short break.
>
> 
>
>Second, get together in groups of three.  One at a time, pick the story you
>are MOST excited about and tell the story to the other two people.  Right
>after you tell the story, the other two should repeat back to you what they
>heard as most compelling.  Do this for all three people.  So, now, you have
>each told one
>
>story and gotten an "echo" from the others.
>
>
> 
>
>Then, join two groups and tell each other what you found out, or learned, or
>heard . from this last experience.  Share what seemed important to you.
>
>
>HOMEWORK:  Take 20 to 30 minutes and write me an email tonight or tomorrow,
>telling me:
>
> 
>
>a.    What was this experience like for you?  What was new?  What did you
>find out? Etc.
>
> 
>
>b.   What is at least one thing (hopefully more than one) that you realize
>from this exercise we just did, that you would really like to be a part of
>your learning experience in this course.  Please tell me, even if you are
>afraid that it makes no sense.
>
> 
>
>c.    Anything else that seems relevant.
>
> 
>
>Don Austin
>
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-- 
"The real act of discovery consists not in finding new lands but seeing with new eyes." Proust
"We do not see the world as it is. We see the world as we are." The Talmud

Nancy E. Stetson, Ed.D.
Specializing in Appreciative Coaching, Consulting, Facilitating,
Keynoting, Teaching, Training, Writing and Appreciative Inquiry
Rohnert Park, CA and Kirkland, WA
707.878.9340 (cell)
Fax numbers in both locations available upon request

Nancy is co-author of "Appreciative Inquiry in the Community College: Early Stories of Success" ($19)
http://www.league.org/store/catalog.htm?VCS=01db3f4bd85824ca839b2951118953d1&Iit=13&Ict=2