Day 4 - Collegial, Cooperative or Collaborative?

One of the best things I got introduced to was the Coursera website www.coursera.org

My friend, Chris Pulling, first told me about hundreds of online courses by good universities that were available for free on this site! Going to this site was amazing and to a lifelong learner it is almost akin to being in a candy shop! I have currently enrolled for Assessment of 21st century skills and though I am running three weeks out of schedule, the learning has been phenomenal. After having gone through some video lectures and some readings I have had  chance to reflect on one of the skills - collaboration.

 

One of things that has always bothered me is the free and extensive use of the word collaboration and collaborative. Teachers are asked to be collaborative. But what is effective collaboration? How does it impact learning? What is the best way to work in teams? What is the evidence of effective collaboration? I have done a number of workshops in this regard and each one has added to my growing understanding of what constitutes collaboration. I haven't yet reached a conclusion but today is as good as any other to write out my thoughts and reflections based on  my observations of teams.

 

In my opinion, teams move in a sort of a continuum from collegial to cooperative and finally to collaborative provided they have a sustained, positive environment which fosters learning and problem solving for a common shared vision, along with good leadership.

 

Collegial teams- Most new teams or dysfunctional teams that have been brought back together after some mentoring usually exemplify this stage. Harmony is valued above anything else. Members come in with a positive mind set, try and feel comfortable being together. They may not necessarily have the same teaching philosophies, however they are determined to keep discussions harmonious and pleasant. Basic discussions are done and ideas are presented. Ideas are also debated, however collegiality is valued to the extent that many good ideas may not be shared due to the fear of being discourteous or different from someone else in the team. Decisions or major moves in such a team are often suggested by dominant personalities or senior or experienced colleagues, agreed upon pleasantly by the rest. Minor modifications may be suggested by other members and agreed upon, sometimes rather quickly, by the rest. The dominant team members or the leaders often assign roles and work is quickly distributed in such teams. The submissive members or members who value harmony above all, often take on the grunt work and voluntarily, the senior members often encourage and/or appreciate this. Skills and knowledge are identified and used but not necessarily combined to improve the overall quality to a different level. Meetings may also involve discussions on other lighter topics of mutual interest including the weather, fashion, sharing instagram or whatsapp messages etc. The few questions asked in a collegial meeting are more factual than conceptual or provocative, intended for clarification rather than challenging opinions or paradigms. 

 

Cooperative teams - Team members approach a situation with the purpose of sorting things out and achieving a desired outcome. Discussions maybe intense as members share ideas pro-actively. Questions are asked for clarification as well as to challenge opinions and paradigms, however, the focus of the team is generally problem-solving. Decisions are reached and every member takes on an equal task/role to evenly share the workload. These may be distributed according to the skill or knowledge strengths of the team members. Questions asked in such meetings often range between factual and conceptual and sometimes provocative. Team leaders (formal or informal) have an important role in cooperative teams.

 

Collaborative teams - Team members identify a problem and don't come in with an immediate solution. The shared vision is kept in the forefront, however, the team members come in with a strong sense of self-belief along with a distinct feeling of comfort as well as security that they can ask questions freely, disagree, comment and provide opinions which will be valued. A collaborative problem solving task is not divided into distinct roles (though it may be when and if required). Team members build upon the solution together as each one adds his or her strengths and improves the task further. I have often seen these teams come to a point of stagnant stage (which is not unpleasant) but team members are comfortable in that state and willing to think further. Factual questions are also asked to clarify the task, however, the questions asked in such teams are more conceptual and even provocative. One of the main signs of collaborative teams is that instead of distributing tasks to reduce work, most tasks are worked upon together, synergistically to achieve an outcome. Such teams learn as they work and collaboration invariably affects the metacognition of the tem members. Creativity and innovation are at its highest in these teams as all members impart their best ideas, skills and knowledge. Solutions are often critiqued in a pleasant atmosphere and tried to improve upon. Group members take on different roles and/or add different skill set or knowledge within the same project/problem and move between roles easily. Different members may take leadership at different times, though they may not necessarily be the formally assigned team leader. The final outcome of a collaborative meeting is more than just a solution - and at times - a more complex, higher order problem!

 

The more I write, the more I think and the less I know! The thoughts above are more intuitive than data-analysed and this needs further thinking, developing and researching.... 

 

Day 3- Celebrating death and life- lessons from Bali

Bali has been on my Bucket list since years and finally after years of persuasion, last week Micky decided to take me there so I could tick it off, more so, to stop me from looking at him with begging eyes every time someone mentioned Bali!

It was a dream trip! We decided to stay in Ubud. A beautiful, exotic place full of temples, green paddy fields and forests was just perfect for a holiday. Our driver was a talkative, smart guy who had happily self-appointed himself as our guide for our stay there.

Amongst many other interesting sights in Ubud, we saw beautifully decorated homes and tall animal effigies. Our driver explained it as the "Cremation ceremony". We got some gist of the celebration but lost most of the explanation in translation. So I decided to learn more about this celebration on my 3rd day of the learning project. 


The front gate décor for the celebration



Animal Effigy for the celebration




 Ngaben, or the cremation celebration is to celebrate the journey of the deceased souls to the next life (always considered better! No concept of hell- a valuable thread of thought in itself!). In the Balinese tradition, this is done with style and much flair. Like the Hindus in India, the Balinese Hindus believe in burning the deceased to help the soul move on to the next life. However, unlike the Hindus, the Balinese have adopted a much calmer and celebratory view of death. The elite death is celebrated whenever required (within three days usually of the death) as they have the money to do so. However, the rest of the community members bury their dead till they have collected enough money for the celebratory mass funeral, to send their departed off with a community celebration - the Ngaben.

All homes that have a deceased to be celebrated, are decorated. Our Driver's home too was decorated. The community members prepare for the ceremony together, weaving straw mats and preparing other offerings. This takes weeks. We saw one such preparatory evening where many of the members had come out in big numbers to prepare for the celebration. It was amazing and humbling to see the community spirit in these simple and beautiful folks. The ease, comfort and calm way of discussing death was certainly a unique experience.



Community members preparing for the ceremony

 

The preparation for the event takes days. Finally on the designated day, after prayers, the bodies of the deceased placed in coffins are inserted in the sarcophagus of the tall, ornate effigies of the bull or horse etc. and taken to a special place - usually an open field - for the funeral. The entire effigy made of paper mache is lit up and consumed by fire. The relatives of the deceased celebrate the event. There is food, chanting, talking, children running around and an almost festive party-like atmosphere for the farewell of the dead rather than the more familiar sombre ceremony in many other cultures. Later, the bones of the departed are collected and released in water.

 

I can't help draw parallels with the season of the Holy Ghost festival for the Chinese in Singapore, the Shraaddh observed by the Indian Hindus and the Day of the dead celebrated in Mexico. There are different ways different cultures mourn/celebrate after-life. What struck me though in Bali, was the wonderfully comfortable and easy mix of many traditions and religions - the coffin, the effigy, the fire- representing elements of various religions and even animistic traditions. It was an amazing and a new concept when I first heard of it. The more I read about it, the more interesting and thicker the warp and wefts of various cultures become.

 

Lesson 1 from Bali!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Orff I go to learn!

A few years ago, one of my young colleagues - a bright-eyed fresh teacher - left Singapore after his two years stint in our school, looking for new adventures. After another teaching stint he returned back to the university to pursue his Masters. Good opportunities coming his way, open-mindedness and a risk-taking attitude took him to unfamiliar places and every now and then I saw his videos of music experiences in places like Africa and Colombia!

 

Eugene credits me for introducing him to Bollywood dancing and helping him experience the audience adulation for dancers. After two years of Diwali dances, he moved on to Salsa dancing in front of much larger audiences and happily shared his videos with me. I enjoyed watching his repertoire of dance moves and music knowledge grow.

 

Recently Eugene was given a grant to go to Colombia and teach music for social change. He worked in three places - Bogota, Santa Marta, and Manizales - where he conducted a range of workshops for children, parents and teachers on the Orff process. I followed his project on facebook including his videos.

 

Then came the fun! Eugene knows my passion for any teaching that leads to social change and he happily shared his project report with me hoping that I would read it. The only problem - I am not a musician and technical words many times go above my head!  However, I read the report (twice before I could make meaning!) and it reflected the passion as well as the complete surprise that this teacher has experienced with this project. In fact it was so compelling that I dedicated the next half hour to googling Orff and learning about it, so I could understand Eugene's report better.

 

I don't claim to understand Orff - certainly not after half an hour of google search and Wikipedia lessons. However, I am starting to make connections with what my other music teaching colleagues have talked about, what I observe in their lessons and what I have read about Orff.

 

Orff is a methodology whereby learners learn music in the most natural way combining music, movement, drama and speech. Developed in Germany and built upon with other influences I have seen teachers use clapping, tapping, stamping, clicking, moving etc to get a sense of music and rhythm in the learners. It is a very learner-centric approach and allows learners to build on, scaffold music in a very interesting, non-threatening way, and combines personal with group skills. I shall not regurgitate Wikipedia here but I can make connections much better now that I have a slight idea of the Orff process. My aha moment of this learning - that Orff can be especially useful in helping some of the special needs students.

 

As with every learning more questions seep in.  I wonder, how would this relate to Hofstede's dimensions of individualism versus collectivism? How this would fit in a typical Indian Classical Music training. (Why does it need to fit in? .... but that's another question!)  What are the comparisons and contrast to the Indian system of training for Classical music? In fact, when I think deeper, the contrast between the Indian Classical music and the Orff method seems to reflect some interesting ideas related to the societal structures, the values and the overall positioning of music in the  different cultures. I remember having done some classical music training and sitting for long periods at stretch with the Tanpura. My guru used to talk about music as 'sadhna' or meditation, something that required concentration, practice and dedication. It brought about a sense of deep satisfaction and happiness but more often than not classical music was not equated to 'fun'. (In fact the concept of 'Fun' in any stream of education might have even been equated to being frivolous!) Orff, in contrast teaches music in a way most natural to a child's way of learning and therefore easier, particularly in the early phases of music learning, and it is fun.

 

I left music and ventured off to classical dance early on. However, I do wish there was more of the Orff approach when I was in primary school. Perhaps it would've spurred on my musical talents a bit more!

 

So this is my learning for the day. Thank you Eugene for the lessons on Orff - directly and through inspiration!

 

Orff I go... day two over!

Organisational Behaviour and gardening

So after having done the 100 days of happiness I was pondering on my next project. Suggestions included 100 days of creativity, 100 days of healthy living, 100 days of realism, the next 100 days of happiness... but it either lacked the excitement of something new or it wasn’t something that I would grow with. So after having tossed ideas around I decided to do 100 days of learning.

I keep trying to encourage students (of all ages) around me to become lifelong learners so walking the talk myself makes sense. I read every day, try and learn something new, but I don’t usually record it externally and probably don’t internalise it as much. This is an attempt to do so.

As with other things, tomorrow never comes and I was planning to do this ‘after’ my holidays, (sounded like a chore to myself!) But something happened and I realised today is as good as it can get.

As I was sipping my morning cuppa, I looked out at my balcony. The big Bougainvillea plant always flowers and delights me. However, the rest of the Balcony garden looked sad and worn out. An instant call to my helper rose in my vocal chords... I have told her a million times to dig up the soil, and replant some of the plants. I didn’t call her though; simply mentally harrumphed, and determinedly took my cup out to start the task, all the while mentally shaking my head condescendingly on my helper’s lack of motivation.

I looked at the flower bed properly for the first time. It was dry, uninviting and had old roots sticking out. The task of cleaning it looked daunting and the prospect of putting my feet up, sipping my chai and let status quo, seemed tempting. But I decided to take action and start. It did look big, so I called out to my helper, Develyn, who came out with a knife and a dilapidated old mini hoe to dig up the plant bed. Not the best tools but I was determined to start.

As Develyn and I started digging, we found strong, old roots of the fern plant that Develyn had uprooted and thrown six months ago. The thick roots were still strong and growing without the stems deep in the soil. As we dug deeper we realised that the entire soil was nothing but roots of ferns. No wonder the other plants weren’t growing!

Digging is a reflective process. It takes time, is repetitive, and gives the mind time to think. As I delved further, I realised how well this whole thing related to Organisational Behaviour and Change. I probably knew these before but the gardening showed this with such clarity. I revised some of my leadership lessons as I did the gardening today.

·         Look at the flower bed to understand the tired look of the garden. If the organisation looks tired, employees appear grumpy, tired and complaining, the ‘bed’ needs a change.

·         You need proper tools if change is to be a quick, efficient, process. If not, you need energetic people to continue digging! Proper tools would be my preference!

·         Old roots go very deep even if the apparent plant is gone. New practices may come in but old philosophies root in the organisational system and do not let change happen. Given a chance they will come up again. If change is to be brought, roots have to be dug out; obsolete, wooden or rotten ones discarded without sympathy.

·         Change cannot be delegated. Leaders have to have their hands dirty. I kept delegating the task to Develyn and she kept planting new plants on top of the old roots. She didn’t know better, or wasn’t seeing my vision. Either ways, it did not happen. This morning when she saw me digging the dirt, she joined in with enthusiasm, followed and then went a step further and taught me how to remove thicker roots.

·         Enthusiasm is a must. I kept talking and digging. With every big root we uprooted, my wow’s kept getting a pitch higher- kept Develyn amused and motivated to look for even bigger ones.

·         We collected the roots and finally saw how much space they occupied! Two pots full of soil need to be added to replace the roots. Data collection is important. Helps you see the junk you have occupied and the replacement you need.

·         Shared vision is vital. The digging gave me time to share my vision of the garden with Develyn. She gave her ideas and our vision kept growing and getting modified. We now have a plan... and an enthusiastic Develyn!

·         As I took a break, Micky walked in with his cup. He looked at me amused and said “How curious are you? Your face is full of curiosity at each new root!” Right. That is me. Ms Curiosity. What is this root, is it that of the old fern, or is it some other plant, or is it a gypsy root of the Bougainville plant? I was asking the questions to myself but didn’t realise that my face said it all. I believe curiosity is important. The more you learn about what you come across, the better it helps you in planning the change. There might after all be roots you want to transplant. (I did find a beautiful, green, fresh root of another plant!)

·         We have decided to go to the Nursery to pick up new plants and also ask their gardener for advice. Expert advice is important for any kind of organisational change. If experts are – in house, great! Else bring them in.

·         The soil has to be overhauled. Fresh soil, fresh environment is essential for new growth to take place.

I thought of myself in my organisation. I am an old root. So what would be a lesson for an old root like me?

·         Go deep for nutrition but keep sprouting new and fresh stems. Remain rooted and healthy. Remember - your role is not to twist yourself around old roots but to nurture the plant above. Your role will be visible to the gardener.

·         Do not fear transplant. If you have a choice, choose your gardener/mentor.

And that is my learning for the day. J

Let’s go forth and sprout!