{"id":30505,"date":"2018-08-17T09:39:33","date_gmt":"2018-08-17T13:39:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/radicalteacher.com\/playbooks\/?page_id=30505"},"modified":"2021-01-14T13:11:48","modified_gmt":"2021-01-14T18:11:48","slug":"preface","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/radicalteacher.com\/playbooks\/preface\/","title":{"rendered":"Preface"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_4,3_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_post_title meta=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”3.12″ title_font=”|700||on|||||” title_font_size=”20px” title_font_size_last_edited=”off|”][\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”http:\/\/radicalteacher.com\/playbooks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/danielle-macinnes-222441-unsplash.jpg” show_bottom_space=”off” align=”center” align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.23″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_testimonial author=”Jeff Hunter” _builder_version=”3.12″]Think of a playbook like a detailed reference guide stored and accessed in your unconscious brain. When you get new information, become confused, run into trouble, or try to achieve a goal, you turn to your playbook to tell you what to do.<\/em>
\n[\/et_pb_testimonial][et_pb_divider divider_weight=”5″ _builder_version=”3.12″ height=”5px”][\/et_pb_divider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″ custom_padding=”0|0px|42.5833px|0px|false|false”][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_3,1_3″ _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.27.4″]<\/p>\n

The concept of a playbook – whether in team sports (containing diagrams of offensive and defensive plays) or in business and politics (containing strategies and tactics for campaigns) – is critical for the reason Hunter describes in the above quote: one becomes so familiar with it that the plays and strategies become part of muscle memory.\u00a0 They are memorized and practiced to the point where one does not have to think about what to do to succeed, and how to do it.\u00a0 Whether we think about it this way, or not, if we are involved in a comprehensive activity that changes little over time, we all have a playbook.<\/p>\n

You each have a playbook for how to succeed in school.<\/p>\n

You employ pretty much the same strategies year after year, in class after class.\u00a0 The strategies you employ are the ones that work best for you.\u00a0 You enter a class on the first day, you go over the syllabus, and you don\u2019t really think about how you are going to fulfill the assignments.\u00a0 You\u2019ve taken so many exams, written so many reflections and essays, you don\u2019t need to give it much thought.<\/p>\n

Your playbooks are all similar, and yet the strategies and tactics can vary depending on your definition of success.\u00a0\u00a0 A student who is committed to get the most out of class – whether in terms of learning or grades – will likely have somewhat different strategies than the student who wants more of a balance between what he or she takes from class and personal, perhaps work, life.\u00a0 The point here is:\u00a0 you each have one and you follow it without even thinking.<\/p>\n

And that – the lack of thinking about it – is the main problem.\u00a0 For this class, as well as for your lives.<\/p>\n

In our productive endeavors, as long as we face the same conditions, day after day, our playbooks serve us well.\u00a0 Thus, in football for example, in a given season we face the same rules in each game.\u00a0 Variations in the playbook come from a host of factors.\u00a0 For example, the current coaching philosophies, talent at each position, the opponents we\u2019ll encounter, all require adjustments.\u00a0 The same is true in school.\u00a0 For most classes, we face the same policies and practices.\u00a0 There are variations across disciplines and professors but, for the most part, we can easily adapt our strategies to handle the variations we encounter.<\/p>\n

However, the world outside of education does not operate in the same way.\u00a0 Most of you likely have little idea concerning the jobs you will get after graduation.\u00a0 You are smart enough to realize that employing organizations don\u2019t operate anything like institutional education, but developing a playbook for your careers – let alone your lives – is not something you are even considering.\u00a0 How do i know this?\u00a0 Because if students were thinking about it – understanding and practicing the skills and strategies they will need – they would not be using the playbooks they are now.<\/p>\n

And there lies a key to this class:\u00a0 If i take your development, and preparation for life after college seriously, then the playbook for this class has to be dramatically different than the one you are bringing with you on the first day.\u00a0 It is no exaggeration to say that, not only will your existing playbook not work in this class, if you follow it you cannot do well.\u00a0 And giving it up will be one of the greatest challenges you face this semester simply because the one you have about school you have built up over most of your lives thus far, and it resides – as Hunter says – in your \u201cunconscious brain<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

The complete disconnect between college and workplace is a primary reason why this class is so different from most you will take.\u00a0 Another reason is that your education almost always assumes that things now – even in the future – are exactly the same as they have been in the past.\u00a0 College courses are taught the same way, using the same material (with occasional “updates”) that they have been for decades.\u00a0 Part of the jargon in business is the term “VUCA world<\/a>,<\/em>” used to characterize the world we currently face, one characterized by constant change.\u00a0 The disruption caused by VUCA is extraordinarily difficult to deal with unless one has practice in being creative and flexible.\u00a0 It is the world you will enter once you leave the safety and security of PC.<\/p>\n

All you have to do to experience this disconnect between what you learn in college and what employers want in a prospective hire is do online searches like “what employers look for in new hires<\/em>.”\u00a0 Here is one example<\/a>.\u00a0 And another<\/a>.\u00a0 The gap created by this disconnect has gotten so wide, many colleges are experimenting with new ways of developing the knowledge, skills, and the types of awareness employers seek.\u00a0 One recent experiment has been to give students intensive training in an area and then, when they demonstrate competence, award them with a badge or credential.\u00a0Here is one experiment<\/a>, a program that offers eight skills.<\/p>\n

Given that i originally came from the business world, my challenge has been to create classes geared to preparing students for their careers, but more importantly for their lives after college.<\/p>\n

The good news is that we will spend quite a bit of time challenging your existing playbooks and building a new one.\u00a0 Now, why would i do that to you?\u00a0 Why put you through all of the hard work and trouble just so that you can have a playbook for this class?\u00a0 That would be rather sadistic, don\u2019t you think?\u00a0 Well, the better news is that this playbook will be geared to your work life after graduation as well as your lives now.\u00a0 The primary reason is that – unlike sports and school – this playbook is based on the idea that things change continuously and we all need strategies that will help us make the most out of the chaos change creates in our lives.<\/p>\n

Learning and unlearning<\/strong><\/p>\n

Consider the following:\u00a0 In college you played for a football team (especially a great one, like Nebraska!).\u00a0 You knew the playbook inside and out.\u00a0 It became part of you.<\/p>\n

Now, you have moved on and been asked to join a semi-pro rugby team.\u00a0 Or perhaps a water polo team.\u00a0 You decided to offer your college football playbook to your new team since you know how great it was.\u00a0 How effective do you think that might be?<\/p>\n

Because of the success you have had with a traditional school playbook, this is to some extent what you will be facing, at least at the beginning of the semester in this class.\u00a0 Your traditional playbook can\u2019t work.\u00a0 This is – following the analogy – a very different game, a very different playing field.<\/p>\n

What the quote from Descartes suggests, then, is that this course is less about learning than it is about un<\/strong><\/em>learning.\u00a0 To make the transition between schooling (of which you are coming close to the end) and your career, you will need to unlearn so many things you have taken for granted.\u00a0 That is, as i state above, the hardest thing about this class.\u00a0 But you not only have me to help you, you will have your classmates – all who are going through the same thing – as well as guidance from alums who have been where you are now.<\/p>\n

How to use this playbook (and a quick overview of how this class works)<\/strong><\/p>\n

i refer to this text as a playbook for my classes.\u00a0 It is likely more appropriate to refer to it as a manual for developing a playbook of your own.\u00a0 It begins with the members of this class creating a collective playbook.\u00a0 That is why it exists online in the form of a blog; it requires your collective contributions as well as mine.\u00a0 It also requires contributions from those who have already taken my classes, as you will see.\u00a0 Then, by the end of the semester, you will have a framework for a new playbook, again, one that pertains more to your lives after you graduate.<\/p>\n

This \u201ctext\u201d is required.\u00a0 You will be tested on it, but not the way your current schooling playbook defines “test<\/em>.”\u00a0 You won\u2019t be taking a multiple-choice test or essay exam on it.\u00a0 Rather, the testing will come as you apply it to your work in this course.<\/p>\n

Application of course material is a very important part of this class.\u00a0 Your existing playbook makes this concept difficult to understand in a class, so let\u2019s go over what this means.<\/p>\n

Consider the futbol \/ soccer team playbook (as i write this i am watching Manchester United play Chelsea).\u00a0 Players, when they join the team or start a new season, are given the playbook.\u00a0 The coaching staff may go over some of it, but the players\u2019 first responsibility is to go through it and commit all plays and strategies and tactics to memory.\u00a0\u00a0 At that point, a coach does not say: \u201cOK, take out a pencil and paper.\u00a0 There are 100 true-false questions, do the best you can.<\/em>\u201d\u00a0 Rather, the coach might divide players into practice squads, send 22 of them onto the field, and then walk them all through various offensive and defensive formations, as well as set pieces.<\/p>\n

The more carefully the players studied their playbooks the night before, the easier it is for them to get into a rhythm in the walkthroughs.\u00a0 Then comes weeks of practice.\u00a0 Note that it is not about memorizing the playbook through reading; rather it is applying the plays and strategies in simulated game conditions.<\/p>\n

So the players are tested, indeed, but the test is how well they apply the playbook in practice sessions and, ultimately, in matches.\u00a0 Note that in practice, players will get feedback on how they are applying the plays and what they might do to improve.\u00a0 Better players always do that for themselves.\u00a0 In other words, they know how they, and their teammates, are doing and they push themselves to continually improve.<\/p>\n

Now, back to our classroom situation.\u00a0 Our strategies and theories and practices – to a large extent – are in the course textbooks, in articles and videos that you will review each week.\u00a0 You will review that material the same way soccer players study new plays.\u00a0 You do not have to memorize the material.\u00a0 Rather, you should see the class material within the context of the course, a bigger picture of how this material applies to what we do in the class.<\/p>\n

i\u2019ll be more specific.<\/p>\n

Since decision-making is an important aspect of management, suppose i give you material on various models of decision-making in organizations.\u00a0 This material describes four different models of group decision-making.\u00a0 Before you come to class you each review the material to understand how each model works, how they differ, in what circumstances are they best used, etc.\u00a0 You would not need to memorize them (you will have the materials to draw from), rather, get a feel for how they are used by groups to make decisions.<\/p>\n

In class, i divide you into groups of three or four.\u00a0 i give each group a major decision faced by an organization.\u00a0 i ask the groups to discuss which of the four models are most appropriate.\u00a0 i might make this a simulation, a role play where you three or four are making this decision for your organization.\u00a0 Thus, select a model of the four you studied, lay out a brief plan for making the decision, then role play to come up with a specific decision using the model.<\/p>\n

i didn\u2019t lecture on the models, we didn\u2019t even discuss them; i asked you to take the knowledge you had gleaned from the material you studied and apply that knowledge in a simulated situation.\u00a0 In other words, you test the models by using<\/strong><\/em> them to make decisions.\u00a0 First, we\u2019ll use them in hypothetical situations.\u00a0 Based on our testing, we\u2019ll then use the models to make actual decisions about the class, or your projects.<\/p>\n

To be even more specific:\u00a0 Each group would present their process – the model they chose, why they chose it, what their decision was and how the model worked.\u00a0 After all presented briefly, we would discuss the models more generally.\u00a0 Feedback would be self-feedback (each group lets us know how they think they did, how they would improve their process next time), feedback from other groups (suggestions for improvement if the group didn\u2019t mention it in their self-feedback), and from me.\u00a0 But note something:\u00a0 The better the feedback from the group and other groups, the less i even need to participate.\u00a0 I would only build on your feedback or add things that the others didn\u2019t cover.<\/p>\n

So, where do grades come in?\u00a0 Well, since we have been using team sports as an analogy, how is a soccer team graded?\u00a0 In the games.\u00a0 Win, lose, draw.\u00a0 Their overall record for a season is akin to a cumulative GPA.\u00a0 What is important is the practice.\u00a0 The grade – game outcome – is a direct function of how well the team – and individual players – did in practices.\u00a0 Note that the first few times the team ran through a new play, they sucked.\u00a0 But, whereas in a classroom if you fail a couple of quizzes, you are stuck with those failures all semester.\u00a0 In the world outside of schooling, that makes no sense.\u00a0 Indeed, we learn by failing, then improving using what we learned through our doing.<\/p>\n

The same assessment systems have to be woven into this class.\u00a0 We won\u2019t grade your applications until you practice and improve until you are ready to be graded.\u00a0 Feedback, as much as possible, especially feedback on how to improve, is what we will need throughout the semester.\u00a0 Outside of classrooms, all organizations work like this, not just sports teams.\u00a0 When you first develop a product or service you test them, you get feedback, you improve.\u00a0 If it is software, at some point you throw it out to a group of users in a beta test.\u00a0 You desperately want the software to fail; that is how you will improve it to the point it is ready for general release.\u00a0 It is far better to fail in testing than later, when people are relying on your product.<\/p>\n

Practice vs, game<\/strong><\/p>\n

Below is a table illustrating how a traditional class works, compared to this class, and compared to our real-world example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/td>\nTraditional class<\/b><\/td>\nSoccer Team \/ Organization<\/b><\/td>\nThis class<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Purpose of Material<\/b><\/td>\nTo commit to memory as preparation for graded assignments.<\/td>\nApplication in game conditions<\/td>\nApplication to building knowledge & skills for game conditions (life post-grad)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Responsibilities of the person(s) in charge<\/b><\/td>\nProfessor determines everything in the class, codified in the syllabus and course outline<\/td>\nCoaching staff responsible for team success through individual and team development<\/td>\nFacilitator \/ mentor responsible for creating opportunities for individual and team development in building knowledge and skills in managing, organizing, and leading.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Responsibilities of students \/ players<\/b><\/td>\nFollow course syllabus, how well you do in the class is almost completely a function of your own effort.<\/td>\nCommit to individual and team development; how well you do on the team, in large part, is dependent on how your teammates and coaches do.<\/td>\nBuild \u201creal-world\u201d knowledge and skills by committing to individual and team development; how well you do in the class, in large part, is dependent on how your classmates and facilitators do.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Testing<\/b><\/td>\nVarious methods traditionally used in schooling; emphasis on short-term memorization<\/td>\nHow well does each individual \/ team apply<\/i><\/b> the playbook in practice and games<\/td>\nHow well does each individual \/ team apply<\/i><\/b> the course material in classes, in projects outside of class time, and at the end of the semester<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Grading<\/b><\/td>\nVarious traditional methods used solely by the Professor to judge how well students knows the material. \u00a0Emphasis is on short-term fixing in the mind.<\/td>\nAssessment<\/b> – constant in and between practices, and post-game. \u00a0Emphasis is on continuous improvement. Grading<\/b> is the outcome of each game and the overall record throughout a season.<\/td>\nAssessment<\/b> – constant in and between class sessions. \u00a0Emphasis is on learning from failure for constant improvement. \u00a0Grading<\/b> (when, how it is done, and by whom) will be determined by everyone in the class and will be completed before semester\u2019s end.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

This playbook \/ manual, then, consists of the following components:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Overall course philosophy \/ orientation with particular emphasis on how – and why – it must be different from other classes you have taken.<\/li>\n
  • Various strategies and exercises geared to getting the most out of this class.<\/li>\n
  • Guidance through the stories of alums who have taken my classes.<\/li>\n
  • Ongoing comments, postings, reflections, ideas from all of you.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Overall, two things are critical:\u00a0 1) That you study (read, pose questions, re-read) this playbook so that you can get the most out of this class (i recommend that you also read\/view the material that is hyperlinked in the chapters), and 2) contribute to its development through your contributions.\u00a0 Since this is the first draft of this playbook, and is the first semester i will use it in classes, i ask for your feedback on what needs to be clarified and \/ or what might be added to aid in understanding.\u00a0 You can use the comment section below each chapter for submitting those suggestions.<\/p>\n

    [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_testimonial author=”Leah Glass” _builder_version=”3.12.2″]. . . education\/learning is very different from schooling.\u00a0 You go to school to be socialized and learn how to give the answers that teachers want.\u00a0 Often, it feels more like you learn how to be, rather than how to learn.\u00a0 Learning and education are a deeper, multidirectional pursuit where you both absorb new information, but also co-create new knowledge.\u00a0 You are driven by interest, and often passion.\u00a0 There are no real experts.\u00a0 Just a roomful (but actually, why bound learning by walls and borders?) or cluster rather, of individuals who want to know more, together.\u00a0 Understanding that is the first step on your potentially paradigm shifting journey.<\/em>
    \n[\/et_pb_testimonial][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_divider divider_weight=”5″ _builder_version=”3.12″ height=”5px”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_comments _builder_version=”3.16″ border_width_all=”2px” button_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off”][\/et_pb_comments][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    [et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_4,3_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_post_title meta=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”3.12″ title_font=”|700||on|||||” title_font_size=”20px” title_font_size_last_edited=”off|”][\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”http:\/\/radicalteacher.com\/playbooks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/danielle-macinnes-222441-unsplash.jpg” show_bottom_space=”off” align=”center” align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.23″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_testimonial author=”Jeff Hunter” _builder_version=”3.12″]Think of a playbook like a detailed reference guide stored and accessed in your […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-30505","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/radicalteacher.com\/playbooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/30505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/radicalteacher.com\/playbooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/radicalteacher.com\/playbooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/radicalteacher.com\/playbooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/radicalteacher.com\/playbooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30505"}],"version-history":[{"count":29,"href":"http:\/\/radicalteacher.com\/playbooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/30505\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31180,"href":"http:\/\/radicalteacher.com\/playbooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/30505\/revisions\/31180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/radicalteacher.com\/playbooks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}