13 Cheung poster

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How can we identify single-loop learners and help them change their governing values so that they can become double-loop learners?  Introduction If you are ever confronted with a problem or discover an error, what do you do? Do you reflect on your actions, and change them accordingly to adjust for a desired outcome? Or do you examine you values, standards, and/or morals that frame your point of view and change those? Do you ever question why your results never come out the way you imagined they would? For example, if you declare yourself an advocate of equal rights for women, then here’s a riddle for you: A father and his son are in a car, driving down a deserted highway. It had rained a couple of hours ago. Suddenly, the father hits a puddle and loses control of the car! It swerves left! And right! And finally crashes into the highway shoulder, instantly killing the father. The son is rushed to the hospital emergency room. A team of surgeons is called to the room, for the boy needs surgery immediately. However, when the team arrives, the head surgeon takes one look at the boy and declares: “I cannot operate on this child. He is my son.” HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE? Literature According to Chris Argyris and Donald Schon, people have a map in their heads of how to plan, execute, and review their actions. Doing it, however, is another story. That is, many of us are not doing what we think we are doing; instead, we may be doing the exact opposite of what we think we wanted to do! This takes us into the world of Argyris and Schon’s Espoused Theory versus Theory-in-Use. Espoused Theory - the mental “map” people have of what they will do or how they will react to certain situations/events; their mental reactions Theory-in-Use - people’s actual behavior/action when they are exposed to the situation Single-Loop Learning - a change in one’s actions but not of the governing value(s) Double-Loop Learning – an examination and change in one’s governing value(s) Governing Values – Values that a person is trying to keep within an “acceptable” range Action Strategies- Person’s plan of action to keep their values within range Consequences- End results that occur, which include both intended and unintended consequences Single-loop Learning .Double-loop Learning Experimental Procedures In my workshop, as an experiment, last week (April 7, 2005) I handed out assorted quizzes from previous weeks for the students to take again. Before taking the quizzes, I asked all the students to answer two questions: (1) What is my role as a workshop leader, and (2) Do they think I should help them on their quizzes or not. In addition, I asked them to write down their strategies and the steps they took to answer the question on the quiz they received. The goal of the first question is to note whether the students feel a workshop leader is necessary for a workshop. The objective of the second question is to identify who will be the double-loop learners and who will be the single-loop learners. If they submit a negative response, and do ask for help during the quiz, that will indicate they are a double-loop learner; they have examined their governing variables and taken new actions that will allow them to score higher on the quizzes. *If their answer is negative, and they do not ask for help, that will show they are single-loop learners, for they have not answered the question correctly (note we have already assumed the students will not remember how to do the problem). If their answer is a “yes,” and they do ask for help, that will prove the students are already double-loop learners; they are implementing their espoused theory. Another possibility is they answer “yes,” do not ask for help but obtain the correct answer (for they have implemented their theories-in-use). If their answer is a “yes,” but they do not ask for help, this proves the students are single-loop learners because they are carrying out their theories-in-use. We also assume that the students will not remember how to do the problem. Roxanne Cheung Peer Leader Spring 2005 EDUC 31507 Assumptions After a short period of time, students will not remember how to correctly answer an old quiz. Students who do not remember the material but are willing to ask for help will tend to use double-loop learning. Hypothesis Students who ask for help from the workshop leader are double-loop learners and students who do not ask for help are single-loop learners*. Results Ten out of eleven of my workshop students believe a workshop leader should help them when they are taking quizzes. (Their justification is that the object of workshop is to help students so they will do well on exams. The only student who believed no help should be allowed on quizzes believes quizzes are to test the students’ knowledge of chemistry.) Five students out of eleven asked me for help on their quizzes. I reminded them of important formulas and asked them how they think they should move on, since they have encountered all the important formulas. Out of those five, four students believed one of the roles of a workshop leader is to help students on quizzes. This indicates these four students are executing their espoused theories; this shows they are double-loop learners. The one student who does not think receiving help from a workshop leader is ethical, actually asked me for help, also proving to be a double-loop learner. As for the remaining six students, they assumed a workshop leader’s role was to help students on their quizzes. They did not request help; however, these six students answered the old quizzes correctly, displaying their knowledge of chemistry and proving they can carry their espoused theories. Discussion This experiment might seem to indicate that most people are double-loop learners. One may argue that these eleven students are double-loop learners because they either executed their espoused theories or they asked for help, which brought a re-examination of their governing values. This is correct because the students did prove to be double-loop learners within the parameters of this experiment. However, the questions only targeted their thinking in chemistry. These students may not be double-loop learners in other environments, e.g. dealing with clients, other people, avoiding conflicts, etc. References Anderson, L. (1994). Argyris and Schon’s theories on congruence and learning. URL: http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/gcm/ar/ascii/argyris.txt. Downloaded on April 7, 2005. Crichtos, S. (1997). Learning Environments Online:  A Case Study of Actual Practice. URL: http://www.ucalgary.ca/~crichtos/doctorial_research.html. Downloaded on April 7, 2005. Dick,B. and Dalmau,T. (2000). Argyris and Schon: some elements of their models. URL: http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/gcm/ar/arp/argyris2.html. Downloaded on April 7, 2005. B\Coach Systems. (1996). An Expose on Single and Double Loop Learning. URL: http://www.theexecutiveprogram.com/papers/ISIS/loops.htm. Downloaded on April 7, 2005 Conclusion Each student learns differently; everybody has their own unique style. Being a single-loop learner does not mean a student is dumb or does not have the potential to do better; they have yet to develop their thinking and communication skills. The behavior for double-loop learning is not the opposite of single-loop learning; in fact, they are quite similar. To help a student become a double-loop learner, one must help them find their goals, stand up for their own points of view, yet be open to criticism and new perspectives. This will produce an effective and healthy learning environment, encouraging students to communicate and use double-loop learning.