Adaptive Organizations 4-day Foundation Seminar

Audience: We encourage those of you that work in the early childcare and early learning space to join us as we grow our capacity to collaborate to best meet the needs of our youngest learners. Participants will include state agencies staff and partners as well as school district and community provider staff. Teams encouraged.

                                                                                                                  
The Adaptive Organizations 4-day Foundation Seminar presents a productive, practical set of ideas and tools for developing collaborative groups in becoming better equipped to resolve complex issues around student learning.

In order to effectively respond to changing contexts and needs, the press of accountability, and the aim of quality learning for all students, groups must simultaneously address two key goals:

1. Development of groups’ capacities to learn and be adaptive
2. Building a collaborative culture of individual and group practices

Goal: To develop our collective identities and capacities as collaborators, inquirers, and leaders.

Purpose: To support the development and facilitation of efficacious and thoughtful groups, and to support collaboration across systems.  
 

Time: 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM each day; lunch will be included each day

Location: CESA #1, N25 W23131 Paul Rd, STE 100 Pewaukee, WI 53072

Facilitator: Carolyn McKanders, M.A., M.S.W.

Meet Carolyn McKanders, M.A., M.S.W.:

Carolyn McKanders, M.A., M.S.W., is Director Emeritus for Thinking Collaborative, the home of the Adaptive Schools Seminars® and Cognitive Coaching Seminars®. She is the former Co- Director of The Center for Adaptive Schools. As an educational consultant, Carolyn specializes in individual, group, and organization development. Her passion is supporting quality human relationships through promoting self-love, communication, collaboration, and leadership skills development.

Carolyn’s background includes 28 years in the Detroit Public Schools as a teacher, counselor, program administrator, and staff-development specialist. Presently, she presents seminars internationally on developing Adaptive Schools and Organizations, Cognitive Coaching, enhancing presentation effectiveness, meeting facilitation skills, and honoring equity, inclusion, and diverse voices.

She also provides polarity management training, which supports individuals and organizations in identifying and managing competing tensions inherent in social systems. Carolyn and Bob Garmston are excited to announce the publication of their new book It’s Your Turn: Teachers As Facilitators. This work provides teacher leaders and others with robust mental models and practical tools for conducting productive collaborative meetings.

In addition to her work in educational settings, she is a family and women’s counselor. From her counseling experience she brings to her work a deep belief in the unlimited capacity and resilience of the human spirit.