Department Member, Faculty of Education
Alumni
Thesis Title: Contributing to Learning to Change
Christine Fox
Rick Mohr
About
I am a recent M.Ed. (Hons) = (research & thesis) graduate (1999-2005) at the University of Wollongong, south of Sydney, Australia. I have been exploring a professional development activity design to help develop a peer support group to be able to engage in collaborative or cooperative action learning about how to improve practice. I have also been engaging in electronic networks, to know what they might do, and how, to support the development of a relatively small, far flung network of practitioners.
My prior experience includes teaching high school science (1966, 1968-1972, 1973), managing a public library service (1976-1992), and policy development for personnel practices in local government, including staff and management training, strategic planning and process review (1985-1992-1999).
I commenced studies with UTS in 1996 for a Master in Dispute Resolution, and became involved in considering a model of professional development involving reflective practice and critical analysis of theory/practice, for practitioners. This has led to further studies to progress the understanding of the practical implications of this model.
In my work with the issue of learning to change, with techniques of improving practice, I have been building a framework relying on the work of Chris Argyris, Gregory Bateson, Edward deBono, John Heron, Kenneth Kressel, Jack Mezirow, Donald Schon, Stephen Toulmin, Whetten and Cameron.
Earlier (1967), I was challenged by Arthur Koestler's Act of Creation, and the difference between 'normal science' and creativity. My current work is tending to return to these roots.
