Weird
Weirdness is part of being human. When we write or create, we channel our ideas, thoughts, feelings and intentions through our bodies onto the page. When this gets automated, we lose the thinking benefits that once came with writing.
learning
Design for Classroom Complexity
In an earlier post, we looked at what classroom complexity might look like if we peeked in to a typical school. I introduced some of the many scenarios that play out in schools and how some might be connected through the myriad intersections that comprise the current classroom context. In this post, I’m providing a
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Classroom Complexity
Classroom complexity is a term creeping into the educational policy landscape. With it, we’re seeing many ideas about solutions when what we might need are different ways of thinking. If you have been to school as a teacher, parent, or student recently, you’ll know that the classroom isn’t the same place it once was. As
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To Live and Learn With Complexity
The myriad layers of social, political, economic, and climate change are thrusting upon us new ways to learn, to live and to do both with complexity. These are days where even the most unique phrases developed for them seem insufficient. Entanglements, confusion, and uncertainty are all words that are being used describe what the world
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Strategic Design and Consultants
Separating out strategy, evaluation and service design in human services comes from old thinking that produces few benefits for the organization and make-work for consultants. There is a better way. We do a lot of silly things out of habit. Somewhere along the route toward the establishment of a professional management culture, we started separating
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Caring By Design
Caring is essential for effective leadership, enabling connection and engagement within organizations. It involves attentive listening and intentional actions that foster psychological safety and trust. By prioritizing relational leadership and supportive organizational systems, leaders can motivate teams, manage complexity, and drive innovation, making care integral to their strategic vision and organizational success.
Setting the Table: The Making of Strategy
This final post on Strategic Design in the series outlines the integration of theory and practice, emphasizing its adaptability to complex environments. It describes critical steps including context setting, engagement, and envisioning futures. Strategic design fosters effective decision-making and learning, positioning organizations to thrive amid uncertainty through collaborative and informed approaches.
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Design-Driven Evaluation and Strategic Design
As human systems grow increasingly complex, the need for learning and adaptation intensifies. Design-driven evaluation (DDE) merges design thinking with evaluation to enhance accountability and impact. By embedding evaluation within programs and prioritizing user feedback, DDE fosters continuous learning, enabling organizations to effectively navigate change and drive sustainable innovation.
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Systems Thinking, Strategic Design and Transformation
In the previous posts in this summer series, we looked at what it means to understand complexity and how it affects our world. In this post we connect systems thinking, strategic design and transformation together to show how they fit and why its useful to think of them together. Much of our professional world is
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Strategic Design: Bridging Complexity, Planning, & Evaluation for Impact
In this latest in our series on strategic design in complex times, we look at the ways in which design methods, tools, and thinking can shape systems and channel our intentions. This is strategic design. For more information, check out the earlier posts on complexity, strategy and introductions to strategic design. The aim is to
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