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In this final assessment, reflect on the Thinking Habits self-assessment you completed in Assessment 1 and the plan you developed to improve your skills. Evaluate how the skills and knowledge you have acquired in this course will enable you to successfully reach our future goals.

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Introduction

When we no longer know what to do, we have come to our real work, and when we no longer know which way to go, we have begun our real journey. The mind that is not baffled is not employed. The impeded stream is the one that sings.

Wendell Berry, Our Real Work

In this course you were introduced to the thinking habits of the mind, heart, and imagination in your first assessment and were engaged in their application. These thinking habits will be key to your success as a doctoral candidate but even more so as the leader you envision yourself to be. The thinking habits can be practiced as part of your ongoing effort to build awareness of your assumptions and mental models; practicing the thinking habits will strengthen your systems and critical thinking skills and support the growth of your communication and team building skills. You will become a leader by design, not by accident.

In the final assessment, reflect upon the skills and knowledge you have acquired and how you will use and develop them as you move forward

Reference

Berry, W. (1983). Our real work.

Reflection on Thinking Habits and Planning Forward

The thinking habits of mind, heart, and imagination provide excellent cues for practicing and acquiring the mental models that will enable you to grow personally and professionally over a lifetime. The thinking habits begin with complementary thinking, defined as the habit of thinking that weaves multiple perspectives into an integrated fabric of understanding (Jaisle, 2000). Each thinking habit is multi-dimensional. F. Scott Fitzgerald has been attributed with claiming that the test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function. Mastery of the thinking habits will take you beyond first-rate. Continue to embrace and practice the thinking habits to bring yourself to the point where they are truly habits that you demonstrate almost always. They will be a key to your success as a doctoral learner and a leader.

For this assessment, reflect on the criteria and indicators in the thinking habits of mind, heart, and imagination and the self-assessment you completed in Assessment 1. Write a brief paper that consolidates your reflections on how you have worked through the various assessments in this course and how you have used them to facilitate opportunities to improve. List those specific habits that you have worked on in this course and provide examples.

Ask yourself what will be the biggest challenges in achieving mastery of the thinking habits.

• Look ahead to the course titles and descriptions for the Educational Leadership specialization, and create a plan that indicates what you will do to continue developing your thinking habits as you continue your studies.
• As an outgrowth of all you have learned in this course:
  • What will you do more of?
  • What will you do less of?
  • What will you do differently?
  • How will you think differently?

Refer to the thinking habits of mind, heart, and imagination and any other course readings that particularly impacted you, using APA format and style. Create a reference list of the resources you have cited.

Reference

Jaisle, A. (2000, May 27). Thinking habits of mind, heart, and imagination for the 21st century. Paper presented to the Minnesota Futurists.

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies.

• Competency 2: Apply continuous improvement models and methods to uncover the multi-dimensional nature of problems of practice.
  • Provide a plan to improve and consolidate your thinking habits as you complete the course work for your program specialization.
• Competency 3: Analyze the implications of leadership behaviors for organizational learning.
  • Complete a consolidation of your reflections on how you have worked through the various assessments in this course and how you have used them to facilitate opportunities to improve.
• Competency 4: Apply critical thinking skills and habits of mind to analyze problems of practice.
  • Submit a reflective piece that highlights strengths and areas that are in need of improvement going forward.
• Competency 5: Communicate effectively for a given purpose and audience.
  • Communicate clearly, supporting a central idea with appropriately formatted citations and correct grammar, usage, and mechanics.

Hey read this act and write me 10 bullet points about this act and the stuff about it. write as much as you can

Develop a plan for inquiry addressing an issue or problem of practice at your organization.

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Introduction

Logic Models

The logic model is a multipurpose tool that can be used for planning and designing a program, creating an implementation plan, evaluating a program, and/or communicating with stakeholders. Like many effective and versatile tools, it is simple without being simplistic. Like a blueprint, which can be a simple floor plan or a complete set of specifications for the building, a logic models level of complexity depends on the program or project at hand and the needs of the user.;

When you have defined inputs; activities; outputs; short-, medium-, and long-term outcomes; and longer-term impacts, you will have a relatively complete overviewor modelof your program or project. When you include assumptions you and other stakeholders bring to the project, your model will be even more nuanced and informative.

A simple logic model has a lot in common with a basic systems feedback loop: Inputs or resources lead to activities or processes and then to outputs of the activities. A feedback loop from the output provides information that leads to modification of inputs and resourceseven assumptions.

A logic model provides an effective visual representation for communicating a project or program to others. It is also a valuable tool for program planners in that it requires specific identification of model elements and exposes gaps in alignment or reasoning that may then be addressed.

Cycles of Inquiry

Inquiry cycles can be any investigative process that involves a creative questioning and testing process. The purpose of the inquiry cycle in any organization is continuous improvement of practice and better outcomes or results. Because improvement is always possible, one cycle of inquiry tends to lead to anotherand another. An inquiry cycle can be an action research cycle; a plan, do, study, act cycle; or a design thinking cycle. While there are differences, the inquiry and thinking process for each type of improvement cycle is very similar for all.

As noted by Childress and Marietta, “The first and most critical step of solving a performance problem is to accurately identify it” (2017, p. 2). Only after the problem is defined can an appropriate way to improve the situation be planned, implemented, and evaluated. We’re ready now to expand our focus and consider the inquiry cycle as a whole.

Design Thinking

Design thinking represents a way to create and innovate in virtually any environment, in a series of cyclical, iterative steps. It is, in fact, another form of an inquiry cycle. A series of quick-and-dirty design cycles enhance creative capacity to try out a variety of ideas. Designers create prototypes and ask end users, “Is this what you need (or want)? Does this solve the problem?” The expectation is that it will not solve the problem, at least not at first. Quick iterative cycles of prototyping enhances learning from failures and keeps failure fast and inexpensive. Can you think of any projects that might have benefitted from a little more trial and error (and feedback from users) before implementation?

Design thinkinglike most thinkingis full of stops and starts. In the words of David Kelley (IDEO U, n.d.), “Design thinking is not a linear path. It’s a big mass of looping back to different places in the process.” This is just one-way design thinking is akin to action research, with its multiple cycles of improvement. In addition, both involve participants in the design of the intervention (or new solution/product) and the research study (design process) itself in the quest to improve, innovate, and close the gap between current reality and the desired future.

Note: David Kelley founded IDEO, a design company, and the Stanford d. school (also known as the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design).

References

Childress, S., & Marietta, G. (2017). A problem-solving approach to designing and implementing a strategy to improve performance. Harvard Business Publishing.

IDEO U. (n.d.). Why design thinking is relevant [Video].

Instructions

For this assessment, use the to develop a plan for an inquiry into an issue or problem of practice at your organization. The template includes details about the expected components of your analysis.

How would you gather the people and information and learn what you need to know to understand as much as possible about the problem or issue and move to action planning? How might design thinking cycles and action research cycles provide frameworks to guide your inquiry?

The plan will include what you will need to accomplish in order to complete your deep dive. Remember, this is a plan. You don’t need to be concerned about implementation. Think big. Be imaginative. But make it feasible.

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies:

• Competency 2: Apply continuous improvement models and methods to uncover the multi-dimensional nature of problems of practice.
  • Create a plan for an in-depth collaborative inquiry process to understand a problem of practice.
• Competency 4: Apply critical thinking skills and habits of mind to analyze problems of practice.
  • Align components of the plan, including problem, questions, data, and literature topics.
  • Compare and contrast design thinking and action research inquiry cycles.

Analyze the case, Constituent Building to Form a New University and Promote Regional Economic Development, using the provided project template.

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Introduction

The Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) (n.d.) has defined a problem of practice as “a persistent, contextualized, and specific issue embedded in the work of a professional practitioner, the addressing of which has the potential to result in improved understanding, experience, and outcomes.”

One theme that abounds in current leadership literature is the redefining of leadership and the skills required to navigate and lead in disruptive environments rife with problems of practice and often directly connected to the relentless cadences of data and information. Effective leaders are increasingly expected to be consumers of large volumes of data, often being released at unprecedented velocity, in a variety of different forms, with tremendous variability and complexity (SAS, n.d.).

References

Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate. (n.d.). The framework.

SAS. (n.d.). Big data: What it is and why it matters. SAS Insights.

Preparation

Read the following case study:

• .

As you read the case study, watch for habits of mind that you see at work for the Central Texas University task force. Think about whether existing habits should be reinforced and if there any absent that you judge would be beneficial for the LTG and stakeholders to embrace. The other element of the case study you will want to pay special attention to is how data can be used to define and address the problem of practice.

Instructions

For your assessment this week, complete the following sections of the :

• Introduction: Summarize the Problem.
• Part 1: Foundation Description and Problem Identification.
• Part 2: Diagramming and Application of Systems Thinking Concepts.
• Part 3: Diagramming and Communication of Existing Data.
  • What is the evidence?
• Part 4: Data Collection Plan.
• Part 5: Designing a Way Forward.

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies:

• Competency 1: Use systems thinking to evaluate problems of practice and opportunities for improvement.
  • Provide a background narrative of relevant information for Part 1 including, site information, the purpose of the foundation, the stakeholders and participants, existing data, missing data, Foundation goals/objectives, mission, and vision are clearly identified and stated.
  • Provide an initial clear single problem statement that is void of causes and/or solutions that have not yet been implemented.
• Competency 2: Apply continuous improvement models and methods to uncover the multi-dimensional nature of problems of practice.
  • Propose a plan for a chosen option that is consistent with an organization’s mission, vision, and values.
• Competency 3: Analyze the implications of leadership behaviors for organizational learning.
  • Critique three options for resolving creative tension experienced by subjects in a case study.
• Competency 4: Apply critical thinking skills and habits of mind to analyze problems of practice.
  • Provide an alignment of Foundation information with systems thinking concepts. Diagrams/maps of the dynamics and tensions related to the problem illustrate an understanding of system concepts at work in the Foundation.
  • Design questions that will be used to complete missing data.
  • Provide methods for collecting missing data that align with questions that have a high probability of successfully answering questions with the specific data needed.
  • Identify probable sources of data.
• Competency 5: Communicate effectively for a given purpose and audience.
  • Provide 3 or 4 descriptive figures and charts to display existing data, and include an explanation of trends and projections resulting from the analysis.
  • Create a narrative that includes an explanation of how data collected will be expected to provide answers to questions.
  • Communicate clearly, supporting a central idea with appropriately formatted citations and correct grammar, usage, and mechanics.

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