Educating with Questions

I just finished the first five chapters of the book "Leading with Questions", and I love it! The main idea is that asking good questions in a good manner promotes new ideas and learning. It reminds me of something happened when I was very young, and makes me think about the educational culture in my family and, more generally, in traditional Chinese culture.

In the book, Dr. Marquardt discussed how we are discouraged to ask questions by authorities, and I clearly remember that it happened to me once. It was in 90s, and I was in elementary school. I asked my mom a really simply and silly question, and the answer seemed to be obvious to everyone. Therefore, my uncle, who heard my question, said :" Although it is good to ask questions, don't ask those that you can answer by yourself. Think through the answer before you ask others." My uncles comment has resided with me since then. It does help me to think more, but also scares me away from asking questions because I am afraid that others think it is silly one.

In terms of "thinking", there are various ways to understand it. In American culture that I have learned about, people believe that different kinds of thinkers, some of them think through before they talk, while others think by talking. However, in traditional Chinese culture, thinking and reflection should only be silent and private. Wise people are expected to think and make sophisticated conclusions before they talk. Also, to reflect, individual should be separated in a private space to allow ideas flow.

Unfortunately, I am not one of those people. I have problems thinking quietly. I have to say it out to reason for myself. Therefore, when I need to think or reflect, I talk to myself in a mirror and record what I say. Although it is not a real conversation, it feels like one. I can see my body language and hear myself as a audience, which keep me focused and inspired. I though I was a freak, but I know that I am just another kind of learner.

It is a pity that people didn't recognize this when I was younger, but it's a good lesson I have learned about how to interact with others. If I were in my uncle's position, I would have done the following things differently. First, I would recognize the merit of being curious and asking questions. Second, instead of ask the child to think by herself, I would bounce the question back to invite her into a conversation. I believe this is more effective for the several reasons. First, it shows that I care what she has to say, which will build up her self-esteem and confidence; second, it indicate my trust in her capability; third, it changes the power dynamic in a positive way because our relationship is no longer authority and follower, but equal participants who will both contribute to the conversation. In the conversation, I will try to put aside my assumption that I am smarter than a pupil, and get into the learner's mindset and be open to any new ideas. This is such a powerful way to provoke thinking that can be used with not only adults as Marquardt said in the book, but also with young children.

A Little More Understanding of Myself

Last Thursday, I had the first class of capstone, the very last course of the program. It is really hard to believe that it has been two years and I am going to finish up my master degree. In these days, I always know that I have been changed, but cannot pinpoint specific changes. However, there was one moment in the class that reminded me that the changes are primarily in the ways I see, interpret and react to the world.

During the class, we were asked to write down our biggest wish for this class. The one that immediately came to my mind was to overcome any issues emerging in our teamwork and to maintain our friendship. To my surprise, I was the only one who considered this as the biggest wish. Most of the classmates were thinking about how to fulfill the task successfully, to efficiently help our clients and to build up to one's resume. At that moment, I realize that the difference between their wishes and mine roots in our cultural backgrounds. With western culture that values pragmatism, typical Americans prioritize the efficiency in fulfill specific tasks and reach goals. Therefore, my classmates' wishes are more task-orientated. In contrast, my wish is very relationship-oriented, which represent a striking characteristic of eastern culture.

Not only did I saw the cultural differences, I was also able to think deeper about it. I don't think I was this cultural-sensitive two years ago, but I am now. I owe this improvement to the cross-cultural learning experience I have gained in America. In this environment, cultural diversity is recognized and celebrated. Plus, in my classes, cultural differences in a variety of levels, including individual, team, organization and nations, are often discussed. Without such a learning experience, I won't be able to gain the cultural awareness I have now. It may not have a direct impact on my behavior, but it has provided me a new lens to understand the world. It helps pull me out of selfishness, and teach me to welcome differences and always consider for others. Despite how it may contribute to my career, the cultural awareness and the new lens have already made me feel better about myself. This is one of the reasons why I want to pursue further education.

Another thing I have learned from this class activity is that although I have changed in many ways, the most deeply rooted culture and believes in my mind are still very eastern. I have heard many times, especially during my visit back home this winter, that I have been Americanized and become a "banana" (yellow outside, white inside). This was even what I believed. However, the comparison of the wishes we made in class show me that the eastern culture has such a fundamental influence on my thinking habit that it is still the dominant philosophy in my mind. It is just too deep-root for me to detect it easily, so that I have been taken it for granted. But it is traceable if I think through my decisions.

What I have written in this post may make no sense to most people, but it is so important to me, especially when I am in my early twenties, the critical period to understand and construct the "self". From the experience and the reflection on it, I just learned more about who I am and how I really think. Also, being able to reflect on experiences allows me to see the progress I have made in years. It is just so wonderful.

Leadership that Hinders Learning

In our class, especially in our group presentation, we talked a lot about how excellent leaders help foster the learning culture in the organization. Since we pretty much focused solely on good leadership, I began to take it for granted that leadership always impacted the organizational in a positive way. I didn't realized this until the other day when I read an article about a Chinese TV show director's experience of working in several different TV stations. In that article, the director focused on two of them and analyzed why their market performance were polarized, and one of the main reasons lays in the different leading styles.

The first station he worked in was the leading TV station in China. He mentioned that when designing a show, the upper-class leaders did not usually give the creative group too many limitations in terms of the theme and content of the show. Therefore, all the directors were able to bring all kinds of knowledge they possessed individually to the group discussion, which involved a variety of fields, including history, philosophy, art, and social science. For each episode, all the staff members were willing to devote any resources needed to make it spectacular.

For several reason, the director began to work for another TV station, which was struggling in the market. When he arrived the new place, he experienced a significant cultural shock. For example, instead of open and free discussion about the themes of each episode, the upper-class leaders usually assign specific themes to the creative team and require them to finish 20 episodes within a month. The creative team was not allowed enough time and space to create. What the members did was just to meet the requirement of quantity without adequate quality. Also, in this station, hierarchy was a big thing. The creative team were not allowed to use those advanced equipment since they were reserved for the bosses. Consequentially, they had to spend a lot of time on the tedious technological issues, which severely hurt the efficiency and morale of the team.

In the dramatically different working experience, the leaders played the major roles in affecting how employees feel about their job. In the first one, the leaders were open minded and supportive. By allowing the space for employees to share their ideas and act upon them, it actually spoiled the potential of each individual and the group to the largest extent. In this case, the less the leaders required, the more the employees were able to produce. In the second TV station, the specific requirements from leaders limited the creativity and possibility among employees. Individuals were not given room to share their knowledge or construct new ideas with each other, since they were clearly told what to do and what they could do. The micro-management killed personality of the creative team, which led to their mediocre performance in the market.

Also, good leaders give employees motivation, while bad leaders give pressure. When talking about the first working experience, the director was very proud of the show he participated in and admired his colleagues. That's why he always wanted to devote fully to his work and make every show fantastic. However, in the second experience, all the director remembered was the incredible time pressure that prevented him from producing excellent work. The quality of his work was sometime under his own standard, but he wan't giving enough source to improve it. Therefore, he was not internally motivated, but just worked to meet the minimum requirement.

Another issue appears to be how leaders perceive themselves. In the first experience, the director said several good things about the leaders. It seems that the leaders were supportive, but not smothering. However, in the second case, it is clear that the leaders positioned themselves as the priority in the organization in all aspects and occupied the best resources. They were not advocating for their subordinates, but were bossy towards them. That's why that the director was much more satisfied with his job with the first employer. As an employee, he was valued and respected there, which is another major motivation for many people.

Thoughts about Trust in Organizations

Last week, Alison presented a very interesting article about trust in organization and we had a discussion about how trust can promote organizational learning. It was the first time that I actually link the two concepts, trust and learning, together, and it makes perfect sense! Now, when thinking about those who I have learned the most from in the Student Union in my university, I noticed that they are also those who I trust the most.

One of the most influential people in my college life is my best friend, Yi. I know him from the Student Union,  and we became really close after a year. The way I define our friendship is that we will say whatever we think to each other directly, knowing that although it may hurt our feelings, we won't take it personal and will understand and deal with it rationally. Because of the mutual trust, we were able to share a lot about our experience in the organizational and learn from each other.

In the article presented by Alison, sharing vision, mission, and value is a  part of trust. I think that explains one of the reasons why Yi and I become close friends, which is that we shared the goals of the Student Union, which was to host students events successfully and be influential in campus life. Having this shared vision, we were able to carry out conversations about our practice and reflect on it. If we had different organizational goals in mind, I don't think we would have so many meaningful and interesting conversations or exchange inspiring ideas.

Another reason why we were work buddies is that we were always on the same levels in the organization for all three years. It not only gave us the similar levels of concerns and common topics, but also helped avoid the negative impact from hierarchy. Hierarchy is such a big thing in traditional Chinese culture and in the culture of student organization in many Chinese universities that I feel it is almost impossible to be as direct as I wish with those above me. Therefore, it is incredibly helpful to have a peer to give me feedback and share ideas. As teammates, we know that our words will be considered seriously by the other one and we believe that each of us is capable of listening to different voices and reflecting on our behaviors. The equality in our relationship is a reason for, as well as a result of, the mutual trust.

In most organization, there are also hierarchies, which may hinder knowledge transfer if not managed well. One of the solutions could be a relatively flat structure, which we have discussed about in the case of the steel company. It is very impressive the see how that company managed to have only two levels to foster information flow. Although it seems hard for many organizations to simplify the levels, they can start with little things to promote equality and trust. For instance, get rid of reserved parking spot for higher-level staff and create common areas where everyone can go and talk with anybody there.

Thank you, Alison, for inspiring this these thoughts :)

Reflection 1: Learning and Training

In the first class, we talked about what learning is. During our conversation, Carol raised a good question that hit me immediately: what is the differences between learning and training?  I believe that they are not just two different terms, but also two different attitude toward development, which will eventually affect the efficiency of individual and organizational learning.

Linguistically, Learning and training are used with different subjects.  Although they share similar meanings to some degree, the subject of the word “learn” is the learner himself, while that of the work “train” is the trainer or teacher. Therefore, it is obvious that learning concerns the learner get out from the experience, while training emphasis the input of the instructor and what he tried to teach the learners. In other words, they respectively represents learner-centered philosophy and teacher-centered philosophy. After clarifying this point, it begins to make so much more sense to me why our program is call Adult Learning, instead of Adult Training or Career Training. In our andragogy, learners are always the center of the classroom and they are responsible for their learning goals, learning process and learning products.

Unfortunately, although the name of our program indicates our philosophy beautifully, it is confusing to most people at the first glance. I feel a little sad that when introducing my major to others, I always have to add a little more explanations. Although I will say “organizational learning” or “learning in groups and teams”, what makes sense to most people is the word “training”. The word “learning” has become so strange and distant in adults’ world that many people find it so abstract and hard to understand. However, the word “training” gives people a clear picture of an instructor standing in the front of the classroom, telling the quiet and passive students what to write down. This form of training may be useful in some occasions, but is not ideal from collective learning in organizational development.

In the discussion about organizational learning, one vital component is sharing. It emphasis the process where members bring their own perspectives and understandings to the group, exchange ideas with other individuals, and eventually collectively create the shared interpretations and values which will guild their actions. The process is so engaging and interactive that it cannot be accomplished by any passive training programs. Active learning has to be involved throughout the process and eventually become the culture of the organization. I believe that it is our responsibility to promote the concept of learning in adults’ context and remind people how they learn and how they can promote organizational learning in a larger environment.

5th class

In our class today, we talked about the social problems that people with LD may encounter and how others can help them dealing with them. What I learned in the lecture is really, somehow, odd to me in the beginning, because how can someone be unable to distinguish a smiling face and a tearing face. After getting more information, I began to understand that although it sounds so ridiculous to me, it is happening to some others, and I have taken for granted such an important skill that people with LD may need pay tremendous effort to gain.

The reasons why social problems of people with LD are that social interaction is unavoidable in one's life, and social skills cannot be satisfactorily accommodated by technology or other help. When one person cannot pick up social cues, process them correctly and react to it appropriately, they are very likely to offense others and embarrass themselves. It is such a terrible feeling that you don't know the rule or cannot follow the rules. I had a lot of experience when just arriving America. For example, I don't know how to use the driving lane of a bank. I saw people drove through it, finished their business there, and drove away, but I don't know how exactly it works. But I felt embarrassed to ask because it seemed to be a common sense that everybody at my age should know. I don't want to be regarded as the silly one. Therefore, I just decided to try it out by myself. When I stopped in the lane, it took me a while to figure out how to call the bank teller in the window. However, when I tried to tell her that what I wanted to do with my account, she kept saying that she could not hear me. She repeated herself several time, and give me sone kind of instruction. But, affected by the mediocre communication technology and the pressure of being regarded an idiot, I could not understand her words. After a few minute, I just drove away while trying to hide my face from her.

I am not sure how similar it is to the experience of people with LD. They may experience something much worse. They may encounter with these situations hundreds of times everyday. And they may even don't understand why people make fun of them or shy away from them, which could be much more devastating. Again, just as I feel in other class sections, how lucky we are that we can function normally in our life. Compared with people with LD, there is little reason for us to complain about the hardship in life. It is really nice to know that there are programs and teachers (such as Lisa) that provide customized instruction for these individuals and they can be very helpful. When it comes to adulthood, it ties back to our discussion about self-advocacy. Individuals with limited social skills should let people who they trust and spend much time with know about their problems so that they can have the mirro to check and analyze their performance.

4th class

Today we shared our interview about what ordinary people and supervisors in work place know about LD. It is really amazing that people know about LD in various level and they can very different ideas about people with LD. Most of what they know is derived from what they have experienced personally. There are people who had really bad experience interacting with people with LD, therefore have negative impression about LD, such as my first interviewee. However, in Joyce’s presentation, her interviewees knows her son, who has autism, so that they know people with LD do not necessarily have low IQ. There are several supervisors that know about ADHD or ADD because they have employer with one of them. Just as Holly said, people’s perceptions, to some degree, are determined by their personal experience. We learn a lot from what we have been through. However, we cannot expect that everyone have the positive interaction with people with LD and learn the right information. As I said in my paper, “people are not ‘ having no idea about it’. They have some wrong idea about it.” Therefore, it is important to promote understanding through education and training.

This also connects with the “Self Lecture”, especially self-disclosure and self-advocacy. People with LD are usually the best source for others to learning about LD. Therefore, the more knowledgeable and honest they are about their situation, the more understanding and supportive others around them can be. During the lecture, I realized that how important it is to disclose with further explanation about one’s specific issue. Those terms about LD can be confusing, misleading and daunting. And because of the deficit model, people may go extreme and only think about what one cannot do. However, if one can articulate both his strength and weakness, and how he will deal with it, it builds up his credibility and give others reason to trust him. Just as Carol’s example, her colleague asks others to look direct into her eyes when talking with her to help her concentrate. It is always assuring to deal with someone who understand herself and can handle her problems.

As a Chinese and a non-native speaker in America, I understand the importance of self-advocacy. In many cases, I an misunderstood because of stereotypes, just like people with LD. My American friend may ask me questions that I find very naïve or strange. But those moments are opportunities for me to advocate for myself. For example, some people believe that Asians have funny eyes, which I find very superficial. I explained to some of my friends the different looks of people from different areas in Asia, and how their eye shapes vary. Also, as an English learner, I will let other know that although I do not have the intuition of English, I have learned the grammar systematically and can names the rules. Also, I have been trained to translate and interpret. These are my “niche” when compared with native speakers.

I really enjoy the class, and one of the reasons is that I can connect well with the topic we have discussed in several detentions. I think it will help me a lot if I choose to be an ESL teacher.