This raises a dilemma: On one hand, few would disagree that the vast majority of teachers are responsible, that they take charge and that they are self-regulated. Most possess those traits inherent to all independent learners. However, perhaps some rethinking of these traditional traits is required, in light of a trend toward expanded communities of learning in which teachers find themselves members. What does it mean to be responsible, to take charge, and to be self-regulated in today's learning environment?
The New Learning Organization
Independent or self-directed learning can be defined as "a process in which individuals take the initiative, with or without the help of others" (Knowles, 1975, p. 11), to diagnose their learning needs, formulate learning goals, identify resources for learning, select and implement learning strategies, and evaluate learning outcomes. Ideally, citizens of a learning community are such individuals.
Before we can fully examine this element of teachers as independent learners, some groundwork must be established about learning. In a 1995 interview, Peter Senge, director of the Center for Organization Learning at MIT's Sloan School of Management, was asked the following question: "Schools are considered to be institutions of learning, but are most of them learning organizations?" He answered, "Definitely not." He also expressed his concern that "there's very little sense of collective learning going on in most schools" (O'Neil, 1995, p. 20). (See "On Schools as Learning Organizations: A Conversation with Peter Senge".)
If the ideal is a school in which collective learning takes place, how do schools move toward this goal, and how does the individual teacher add to this community?
The classroom setting offers context. Teachers know that the classroom learning environment changes for better or worse depending on the group of students in any given year. Years when there are more challenging students and less motivated learners in a classroom make for greater frustration for the teacher. Years when a majority of the students are enthusiastic and responsible are remembered as good years. Teachers report getting more done in the curriculum, more hands-on activities occur, and more learning takes place during years with self-directed learners in a classroom. During these school years, a classroom learning community is created. Extend that dynamic to the outer walls of the building and beyond, into the community. Imagine teachers as enthusiastic, responsible, take-charge, and self-regulated members.
Creating a learning organization mirrors creating one in a classroom and it requires teachers reading professional material, attending classes, enrolling in online courses, reflecting on what they need to understand to become better teachers. Money for professional development is not always available, and mandates for professional development are not always sufficient motivators. Each teacher must become an independent learner and thinker. This is the vital first step toward growing a learning organization in every school.
Marsick and Watkins' (1999) Model of the Learning Organization outlines three levels of interrelated learning: individual learning, team learning, and organization learning. This Critical Issue supports the idea of individual learning as the first step toward building well-rounded learning organizations.
The authors constructed their model around the following seven action imperatives that are needed to implement learning organizations: