Create a New Prototype for Ecosystem Governance

Group Jigsaw Activity

In a learner-centered education ecosystem, “governance” is the means through which collective learning and transparent, participatory decision-making occur.

Education Reimagined. (2022). New Frames for Governance, Accountability, and Resource Allocation in a Learner-Centered Ecosystem.

Guiding Principles for Governance Systems in a Learner-Centered Ecosystem:

• Democratic, representative of the diverse voices of all those impacted by the system,
• Learner-centered, maximizing individual freedom and choice,
• Relational, seeking to forge new and deeper relationships among individuals in the ecosystem with different types of expertise and lived experiences in order to broaden collective understanding,
• Dynamic, with component structures assembling and disassembling according to the needs of the decisions at hand,
• Ongoing, such that decisions are not indelible but rather represent the next right step forward and are continually monitored and revised as needed,
• Transparent about who is directly involved in, or indirectly influencing, decision-making processes; what information is guiding decisions; what meaning is drawn from that information; and what actions are suggested as a result,
• Protective, ensuring individuals aren’t harmed by the decisions of others, and
• Enrolling, not just “representative” of individuals but providing opportunity for each individual to engage and helping foster their sense of shared responsibility.

Education Reimagined. (2022). New Frames for Governance, Accountability, and Resource Allocation in a Learner-Centered Ecosystem.

But school boards, the predominant education governance structure in use today, were built for a different purpose.

Excerpts from the National School Board Association’s Key Work of School Boards section on “Public Participation” (emphasis added):

Source: National School Boards Association. (2015). They Key Work of School Boards. https://tsba.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Key-Work-Cover-and-Text-20Jan15.pdf

“While board meetings are public meetings, no individual has a ‘right’ to speak.”

“School board meetings often are a lightning rod for controversy…. The board can’t prevent controversy, but it can, through proper planning and action at the meeting, control the effects.”

“The board’s priority is to conduct an orderly and efficient session.”

“Firm board procedures are essential for board hearings and meetings when angry citizens descend upon the board.”

“Local governing bodies may establish and enforce rules and regulations for individual conduct at public meetings. To require otherwise would be to permit any person to destroy the effectiveness of local government by monopolizing its time at public meetings and disrupt the business that must be conducted.”

What do these excerpts say to you

…about public participation in governance?

…about power and privilege?

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What guiding principles do they reflect?

Robert’s Rules of Order

• Members of a decision-making body present Motions for consideration.
• Motions must be recognized by a Chairperson and seconded by another member.
• Motions are then opened to debate, in which anyone can speak if they desire but all speakers have a time limit, and no rebuttals are allowed.
• Some motions may be sent to committee for further study
• Decisions are made by majority rule. Motions that receives affirmative votes from more than half the quorum will pass.
• Even the decision of whether or not to vote on a motion is voted on.

Principles and Criticisms of Majority Rule

Principles:

• Deliberative - Debate is systematically encouraged
• Neutral - Each side gets equal opportunity to present their case, and each option is held to the same threshold of earning more than half the votes
• Anonymous - Each vote is treated identically no matter who cast it
• Efficient - a single winner is quickly selected
• Decisive - Decisions can be made even when there is widespread disagreement

Criticisms:

• Competitive - Creates clear dichotomy of winners and losers, ignoring alternative outcomes like compromise
• Enables exploitation - winners can exclusively pursue their own interests and ignore or oppress minority opinions (“tyranny of the majority”)
• Lack of ownership - voters may feel less commitment to a decision even if they voted for it. Those who didn’t vote for it may continue to actively work against it
• Inequitable - Some participants may be unequally affected or disadvantaged by the decision, or may be unequally responsible for implementing the decision.

If school board governance as it currently exists is not aligned with the principles of learner-centered ecosystems, what might we build in its place?

Jigsaw Activity: Exploring Three Alternatives

• En’owkin - philosophy and practice of collective decision-making from the Okanagan Nation
• Quaker Group Discernment - practice of consensus-based decision-making used in Quaker communities
• Holacracy - model for “flat” management and governance used in businesses including Zappos

Process

1. In “Home Groups” of 4-6 people:
• Decide who will read which example, ensuring that each of the three examples is read by at least one person in your group.
• Silently read your assigned resource, making note of any ideas that are particularly compelling or seem relevant to how governance might operate in a learner-centered ecosystem.
2. Re-sort people into “Expert Groups” of people who read the same resource, regardless of which Home Group they were in. In Expert Groups:
• Discuss the Expert Group Discussion Prompts (see Slide 12)
• Each person prepare to summarize the Expert Group conversation when they return to Home Groups.
3. Return to original Home Groups to:
• Share a brief overview of the example and any highlights from the expert group conversation (~3 min each)
• Discuss the Home Group Design Prompts (see Slide 13)

Expert Group Discussion Prompts

1. What stuck with you about this example that we might apply toward a governance model for a learner-centered ecosystem?
2. What tensions did you notice that would still need to be resolved?

Home Group Design Prompts

1. Representatives from each Expert Group share a brief overview of the example they studied and highlights from the expert group conversation
2. How might we apply these insights to design a governance structure for a learner-centered ecosystem?
• What components would we keep from each example?
• What would we change or build anew?
3. What might we call this new governance structure? (Give it a name!)