During week four, I've been able to put together some of the rough details for a project-based unit I'm developing for this school year. I feel like I've got pretty good idea of how individuals fill specific roles during a project at The Principal. Now I'm looking forward to using those roles as guides for students. I think one of the hardest things for students to do is to realistically picture themselves in a job or role. By defining and assigning roles in a similar way to how they are divided up in a real-world scenario, I think students can have a better understanding of how responsibilities are divided. If we also start to use the titles that are used in business, they can also try to imagine themselves doing these jobs, giving them a chance to evaluate a career choice in at least a small way.
In one of the meetings this week, I had a chance to bounce my role possibilities off the group I was with. One of the cool ideas that came out of the discussion was a suggestion for having individuals who act in similar roles visit the class. This was interesting because when we have guest speakers in class, they typically are there because of how they can add to the content of unit. A guest speaker to share information about a specific role or answer questions from students about struggles they are having in their roles is a little different approach for me. I imagine these visits would have a greater impact sometime into the project timeline to give the students a chance to identify some difficulties, but early enough so they can use the suggestions. The group also discussed how the work of each individual reflected on the group as a whole. Tasks that are assigned to an individual are signed off on by the group and they collaborate to create the best end result possible. If the end result isn't great, they are all accountable. I'll be sharing this expectation with my students.
Here are a few of the role titles I'm thinking about using and will be working on translating the real-world responsibilities to the responsibilities of my students:
-Team Lead
-Project Manager or Business Analyst
-Data Analyst
-Resource Supplier
-Quality Assurance
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Week Four - Problem Solving and Persistence
In my fourth week at The Principal, I had a chance to work with business analysts who work on technology projects in the specialty benefits division. In many ways, the role of a business analyst is like the role of project manager that I had a chance to observe the previous week. Individuals in this role start a task with the resposibility of receiving a request, sometimes specific and other times not, and forming a plan for the task based on requirements that they are resposible for developing. To see these projects from start to completion, the participants need to be strong critical thinkers to be able to effectively adjust to the changes that may occur during a project's life cycle. This is a continual process that is required for the group that is accountable for delivering a useful product.
In my classroom, projects are scripted and I feel like I need to put my students in situations that are less defined. On several occasions, individuals at The Principal have expressed the effectiveness of individuals who are not frozen by ambiguity and can gather information effectively to determine direction for a project. I feel like I need to provide more opportunities for students to work on these skills, especially in a group setting. Maybe this means I have students be more involved in the requirements of a project and the creating of a project's rubric. It might mean that I have scripted events in the timeline of the project that I don't share with the students and they have to adjust to them. Or probably even better, ask my students to accomplish challenging tasks that have their own inheret difficulties and let them problem solve with little interference from teachers and parents. It's pretty easy for us to "lend a hand", especially when trying to fit projects in with other time demands, but if we do this too often, it's hard for students to develop their own problem solving mechanisms and they will rely on us to solve their problems for them.
In my classroom, projects are scripted and I feel like I need to put my students in situations that are less defined. On several occasions, individuals at The Principal have expressed the effectiveness of individuals who are not frozen by ambiguity and can gather information effectively to determine direction for a project. I feel like I need to provide more opportunities for students to work on these skills, especially in a group setting. Maybe this means I have students be more involved in the requirements of a project and the creating of a project's rubric. It might mean that I have scripted events in the timeline of the project that I don't share with the students and they have to adjust to them. Or probably even better, ask my students to accomplish challenging tasks that have their own inheret difficulties and let them problem solve with little interference from teachers and parents. It's pretty easy for us to "lend a hand", especially when trying to fit projects in with other time demands, but if we do this too often, it's hard for students to develop their own problem solving mechanisms and they will rely on us to solve their problems for them.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Week Three - Technology Debt
Technology debt was a term that I heard during a department meeting this week and it intrigued me. Due to the recent financial difficulties, certain technology upgrades were skipped to help with the budget. Now as things are improving financially, there is a debt owed to technological improvements that needs to be addressed. I've had a chance to see this payback in action in many ways. There seem to be quite a few projects related to software upgrades or purchases and then the needed training for these additions. There are also improvements being made on the hardware side, including laptop upgrades, improvements to audio/visual equipment and probably many others that I wasn't involved in. The presenter at the department meeting talked about how Principal is usually a fast follower in terms of technology adoption, but tried to avoid the risks associated with being on the cutting edge or "bleeding edge" as it was stated. Not only do the improvements aid in efficiency, they also can help a business gain credibility with clients.
I think technology debt is something that is often overlooked in many areas in education. From what I've seen in my experience so far, an individual's experience and aptitude in dealing with technology is directly related to their effectiveness as an employee. If we are training our students on technology that is being phased out in business, we are losing at least some of the potential impact of that training. If education is to parallel what I'm seeing this summer, a significant part of each unit should include the collection, manipulation, analysis, graphing and reporting of information using software like Microsoft Excel. It's amazing to see how versatile this program is and the more exposure we give to students on how to use it and how it can be used will help prepare them for a required skill for many businesses. This was an observation I made last summer when working for Kemin Industries and it has been reinforced further. I need to make improvements to the way I teach to get closer to this reality.
I think technology debt is something that is often overlooked in many areas in education. From what I've seen in my experience so far, an individual's experience and aptitude in dealing with technology is directly related to their effectiveness as an employee. If we are training our students on technology that is being phased out in business, we are losing at least some of the potential impact of that training. If education is to parallel what I'm seeing this summer, a significant part of each unit should include the collection, manipulation, analysis, graphing and reporting of information using software like Microsoft Excel. It's amazing to see how versatile this program is and the more exposure we give to students on how to use it and how it can be used will help prepare them for a required skill for many businesses. This was an observation I made last summer when working for Kemin Industries and it has been reinforced further. I need to make improvements to the way I teach to get closer to this reality.
Week Three - Careers
My third week at The Principal was shortened by a couple days because I had a chance to go to Cedar Point, an amusement park in Ohio, with a few friends for some roller coaster fun. As a science guy, I find myself thinking about the physics behind the machines and the biological reactions a body has to those kinds of situations during the rides, but it all really just equates out into fun. When I returned, I had a chance to work with the Enterprise Applications Project Management Team. It was great to get to learn about what a project manager's duties entail and the variety of skills that they must have to be able to be effective in a wide range of projects, each with it's own set of tasks and personalities involved. The motions of the roller coasters could probably be applied to the life cycle of a project with its preparation, initiation, unexpected challenges and roll out, but during this week I was again reminded about how careers are likely to take unexpected routes and that I should share my observations with my students.
As I've been meeting so many great people here at Principal, I've had a chance to discuss some of their backgrounds with them. It's been interesting to learn that many people are working in an area that doesn't seem to have a direct link to their degrees and is not the job that they thought they would be doing when leaving school. The path hasn't necessarily been a clear, straight path connecting education to career. In some cases, it may be more like a curvy roller coaster. I think it's a bit silly to think that I can truly help students realize what this means, but I think it is important to share with them that opportunities that structure your work life may be well beyond your current perspective. It's important to work to become well rounded and have a diverse set of skills so that you are able to take advantages of those opportunities when they present themselves.
In some cases, there may be individuals who don't think that their specialized education background has much impact on the way they work today, but I think for most there are realized connections, whether it be a way of thinking, an aptitude for learning and adapting or knowledge gained. I think that especially in an area like project management, it is an advantage anytime you can start a project and use your background to quickly piece together the system that the project will become and understand the parts. Given that you may not be specialized in the topic of the project, an aptitude to pick up the new concepts or at least have a surface level understanding of the topics is required to be able to help manage.
This translates over into my classroom as a realization that many of the students I teach won't be going into a career related to science, but a strong foundation in science basics could easily impact their capacity to do their job or opportunities available to them someday. I also understand that the students who see themselves as scientist while I know them, may end up doing something entirely different in their career. This works for those students who have no vision of themselves being involved in a science related field. It's important for them to gain a strong background in science from a competent citizen perspective, but also because of the possibilities of uncertain twists, turns and flips that seem to be part of most career paths.
As I've been meeting so many great people here at Principal, I've had a chance to discuss some of their backgrounds with them. It's been interesting to learn that many people are working in an area that doesn't seem to have a direct link to their degrees and is not the job that they thought they would be doing when leaving school. The path hasn't necessarily been a clear, straight path connecting education to career. In some cases, it may be more like a curvy roller coaster. I think it's a bit silly to think that I can truly help students realize what this means, but I think it is important to share with them that opportunities that structure your work life may be well beyond your current perspective. It's important to work to become well rounded and have a diverse set of skills so that you are able to take advantages of those opportunities when they present themselves.
In some cases, there may be individuals who don't think that their specialized education background has much impact on the way they work today, but I think for most there are realized connections, whether it be a way of thinking, an aptitude for learning and adapting or knowledge gained. I think that especially in an area like project management, it is an advantage anytime you can start a project and use your background to quickly piece together the system that the project will become and understand the parts. Given that you may not be specialized in the topic of the project, an aptitude to pick up the new concepts or at least have a surface level understanding of the topics is required to be able to help manage.
This translates over into my classroom as a realization that many of the students I teach won't be going into a career related to science, but a strong foundation in science basics could easily impact their capacity to do their job or opportunities available to them someday. I also understand that the students who see themselves as scientist while I know them, may end up doing something entirely different in their career. This works for those students who have no vision of themselves being involved in a science related field. It's important for them to gain a strong background in science from a competent citizen perspective, but also because of the possibilities of uncertain twists, turns and flips that seem to be part of most career paths.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Week Two - Sustainability
On Wednesday of this week, I had a chance to talk with several people who are in charge of different aspects of the buildings that The Principal conducts business in. I was able to get a much better idea of the reach of the services provided by The Principal and the different communities that they are able to provide jobs to. I was also very interested in the efforts to move towards sustainability within these buildings. In addition to that, I was able to see environmental factors are playing and increasing role in whether or not an investment is made on a piece of real estate.
It is becoming more and more important for businesses like The Principal to work towards energy certifications like Energy Star and LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). These certifications are a way for Principal to show to clients and the community that they are considering energy and waste conservation when making building decision. Given that I only have a surface level exposure to these processes, I couldn't speak to the overall commitment to sustainability at The Principal, but from what I've seen, I feel reassured that environmental responsibility is a strong consideration and I look forward to sharing these ideas in my science classes.
In a perfect world, decisions about environmental responsibility would be easily agreed upon, but the reality is that a business has to make challenging decisions about the environment that need to be aligned with financial realities, competition and the business' vision for its future. The win/win situations are environmental friendly practices that, when introduced, ease a burden on the company and the environment. It is rare, though, that a solution doesn't create much burden or cost during its planning and execution, so I asked about what the driving forces are that have initiated the practices. In a large way, it seems to be a vision of The Principal to be an active steward in the communities they are involved in. Other driving forces are external. The clients of The Principal are becoming more and more aware of environmental concerns and are asking about the practices used and actions taken by The Principal to help them make business decisions. This bottom-up pressure has also put pressure on the government to establish regulations for businesses. I can see how these regulations could create a business obstacle, but I also think they would have a way of leveling the playing field, requiring the competition to keep up with those companies who have had a proactive environmental plan. It is very interesting to see how influential the decisions consumers make can be on the environmental priorities of a business.
It is becoming more and more important for businesses like The Principal to work towards energy certifications like Energy Star and LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). These certifications are a way for Principal to show to clients and the community that they are considering energy and waste conservation when making building decision. Given that I only have a surface level exposure to these processes, I couldn't speak to the overall commitment to sustainability at The Principal, but from what I've seen, I feel reassured that environmental responsibility is a strong consideration and I look forward to sharing these ideas in my science classes.
In a perfect world, decisions about environmental responsibility would be easily agreed upon, but the reality is that a business has to make challenging decisions about the environment that need to be aligned with financial realities, competition and the business' vision for its future. The win/win situations are environmental friendly practices that, when introduced, ease a burden on the company and the environment. It is rare, though, that a solution doesn't create much burden or cost during its planning and execution, so I asked about what the driving forces are that have initiated the practices. In a large way, it seems to be a vision of The Principal to be an active steward in the communities they are involved in. Other driving forces are external. The clients of The Principal are becoming more and more aware of environmental concerns and are asking about the practices used and actions taken by The Principal to help them make business decisions. This bottom-up pressure has also put pressure on the government to establish regulations for businesses. I can see how these regulations could create a business obstacle, but I also think they would have a way of leveling the playing field, requiring the competition to keep up with those companies who have had a proactive environmental plan. It is very interesting to see how influential the decisions consumers make can be on the environmental priorities of a business.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Week Two - Globalization and Cultural Awareness
One of the main concepts I took away from my second week at The Principal was the importance of being able to interact with individuals from different countries, cultures and backgrounds. As businesses extend their products and services globally, it will continue to make sense for them to draw from talent pools and economical advantages abroad. For my students, this will not only change the competition they will face as they try to find their jobs, it will also change who they work with.
The majority of the meetings I was able to attend included individuals who connected over the phone and often they were located in another country, whether it was a business partner or a Principal employee. During the week, I had a chance to visit with a representative of the Principal operations in Pune, India who was making a visit. It was very interesting to listen to his ideas about how having a presence halfway around the world potentially helps to keep productivity moving around a 24 hr clock. Here are just a couple of the interesting points I picked up: In India, post-secondary education is much less expensive and even free for females, there is a large talent pool in India that is highly skilled in medical and technology areas of expertise, and at least in some circumstances, the workforce in India is willing to adjust the workday schedule to be able to play a larger role in business operations here in the U.S. Each of these have a level of impact on the type of competition my students will face.
I also had a chance to have a conversation with an employee who was going to be giving a talk to Principal employees to help increase cultural awareness and sensitivity. She had grown up in China and I was able to to talk to her about her education and the differences between kids here and those in China. In China, there had been much stiffer competition for the type of jobs available here at The Principal. As a result, she grew up with a strong focus on education and her parents had very high academic expectations for her. She feels that, in general, expectations for students here in the U.S. are very low. In addition, extracurricular activities were never a focus, because the impression was that they weren't as likely to lead to employment as her academic pursuits would. Unless I misunderstood her, her high school day started around 7-8am and went until 4:30-5pm and then 7-10 or 11pm for homework or help. Most of time this last homework/help stretch was spent at school. It was an interesting conversation and perspective.
The majority of the meetings I was able to attend included individuals who connected over the phone and often they were located in another country, whether it was a business partner or a Principal employee. During the week, I had a chance to visit with a representative of the Principal operations in Pune, India who was making a visit. It was very interesting to listen to his ideas about how having a presence halfway around the world potentially helps to keep productivity moving around a 24 hr clock. Here are just a couple of the interesting points I picked up: In India, post-secondary education is much less expensive and even free for females, there is a large talent pool in India that is highly skilled in medical and technology areas of expertise, and at least in some circumstances, the workforce in India is willing to adjust the workday schedule to be able to play a larger role in business operations here in the U.S. Each of these have a level of impact on the type of competition my students will face.
I also had a chance to have a conversation with an employee who was going to be giving a talk to Principal employees to help increase cultural awareness and sensitivity. She had grown up in China and I was able to to talk to her about her education and the differences between kids here and those in China. In China, there had been much stiffer competition for the type of jobs available here at The Principal. As a result, she grew up with a strong focus on education and her parents had very high academic expectations for her. She feels that, in general, expectations for students here in the U.S. are very low. In addition, extracurricular activities were never a focus, because the impression was that they weren't as likely to lead to employment as her academic pursuits would. Unless I misunderstood her, her high school day started around 7-8am and went until 4:30-5pm and then 7-10 or 11pm for homework or help. Most of time this last homework/help stretch was spent at school. It was an interesting conversation and perspective.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Week One - Communication and Technology
An interesting type of communication occurred on Tuesday of my first week. This was the day of the Town Hall Meeting where employees had a chance to listen to summaries from the leaders of the company describing recent success and current situations. It was also an opportunity for questions and concerns of the employees to be addressed. It was really impressive seeing the large number of Principal employees gathered in the plaza. On the surface, this appeared to be a fairly low-tech event, but as I reflect on it and try to image the differences in this meeting today compared to ten years ago, I think a lot has changed. One of the parts that may not have been present ten years ago was that there were cameras filming the event and the feed was being streamed over the Internet to locations in Des Moines and around the world to Principal locations abroad. I had a chance to take a look at the technology in an auditorium where the meeting was being displayed and I can see quite a few opportunities for students of mine who have interests in audio/visual technology. Even smart phones showed up in the meeting as the host of the meeting used her phone to collect emailed questions on the go that could have been from any of the locations watching.
In addition to the Town Hall Meeting, I've had a chance to observe the use of digital technology in almost every operation at The Principal. Some of the examples I've seen have been for delivering training in an interesting, accessible and immediate format, communicating between global partners in the form of teleconferencing, and interacting between local colleagues in the form of email, instant messaging, and calenders. In addition to these, I've seen many examples of information sharing through different software that aids in collaboration or helps to gather data. There is also software that is used to analyze the information and send it to the people who need it. This reinforces what I was able to observe in my extern experience last year, in that I need to find more ways to make communication through technology a part of what we do in the classroom.
In addition to the Town Hall Meeting, I've had a chance to observe the use of digital technology in almost every operation at The Principal. Some of the examples I've seen have been for delivering training in an interesting, accessible and immediate format, communicating between global partners in the form of teleconferencing, and interacting between local colleagues in the form of email, instant messaging, and calenders. In addition to these, I've seen many examples of information sharing through different software that aids in collaboration or helps to gather data. There is also software that is used to analyze the information and send it to the people who need it. This reinforces what I was able to observe in my extern experience last year, in that I need to find more ways to make communication through technology a part of what we do in the classroom.
Week One - Education
This week I was able to start at The Principal for my summer externship. My externship includes having an opportunity to experience several different areas of the business, each in a different week of the six week experience. My first week was spent with the Information Services unit, and mostly with the technical learning group. The members of this department kindly gave me a chance to pick their brains and show me the tools and the pro/cons of those tools that are at their disposal. This was a great chance to see how training is created and shared on a business level.
It wasn't surprising to see that they deal with many of the same challenges that I deal with in my classroom, whether it's finding ways to reach a reluctant student or trying to find an efficient tool to measure the effectiveness of the training. I was able discuss the philosophies they used to try to make sure the end result of training is an employee who has a new or improved skill set and can then effectively use these skills to improve productivity. This is a significant objective, if not the objective, in my area of education as well and I'm surprised how easy it is to get distracted from this goal. It is a struggle for me to implement methods of instruction that not only provide knowledge to my students, but also helps them build a general mechanism to make it more likely to apply that knowledge. I know from past experience and the trends in education that this is most likely to happen when the knowledge is learned in the context of problem solving and critical thinking. I don't have much experience with project based learning units, but this does seem like a great way to give students these opportunities and I look forward to developing a strong start to a new project based unit that I can use this year. I can already see that much of what I'm picking up on here at The Principal will help me build a business relevant structure to a project. This might include a leadership hierarchy and specific roles, cost/benefit analysis, globalized perspective, collaborative technologies, legal considerations, etc. I probably need to temper myself a bit when developing the unit so it doesn't get bigger than I can handle, but the value of this experience, even to this point, shouldn't be understated.
It wasn't surprising to see that they deal with many of the same challenges that I deal with in my classroom, whether it's finding ways to reach a reluctant student or trying to find an efficient tool to measure the effectiveness of the training. I was able discuss the philosophies they used to try to make sure the end result of training is an employee who has a new or improved skill set and can then effectively use these skills to improve productivity. This is a significant objective, if not the objective, in my area of education as well and I'm surprised how easy it is to get distracted from this goal. It is a struggle for me to implement methods of instruction that not only provide knowledge to my students, but also helps them build a general mechanism to make it more likely to apply that knowledge. I know from past experience and the trends in education that this is most likely to happen when the knowledge is learned in the context of problem solving and critical thinking. I don't have much experience with project based learning units, but this does seem like a great way to give students these opportunities and I look forward to developing a strong start to a new project based unit that I can use this year. I can already see that much of what I'm picking up on here at The Principal will help me build a business relevant structure to a project. This might include a leadership hierarchy and specific roles, cost/benefit analysis, globalized perspective, collaborative technologies, legal considerations, etc. I probably need to temper myself a bit when developing the unit so it doesn't get bigger than I can handle, but the value of this experience, even to this point, shouldn't be understated.
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