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Reach for the heart as well as the mind

By Dennis Sparks
January 2009
Individuals and organizations have an amazing capacity to maintain their current beliefs and practices in the face of massive, well-intentioned efforts to change them. Here are two facts that cannot be ignored if teaching and learning are to be improved for the benefit of all students: First, the majority of teachers know more about effective teaching than they regularly practice. Second, exposure to research as provided in traditional inservice programs seldom results in significant and lasting improvements in practice. New habits of mind and practice require robust forms of professional learning. These two facts are at the heart of the knowing-doing gap. The term “knowing-doing gap” was popularized by Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Sutton (2000) in their book, The Knowing-Doing Gap: How Smart Companies Turn

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References

Allen, D. (2001). Getting things done: The art of stress-free productivity. New York: Viking.

Deutschman, A. (2007). Change or die: The three keys to change at work and in life. New York: HarperCollins.

Heath, C. & Heath, D. (2007). Made to stick:Why some ideas survive and others die. New York: Random House.

Kotter, J. & Cohen D. (2002). The heart of change: Real-life stories of how people change their organizations. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

National Staff Development Council. (2001). NSDC’s standards for staff development. Oxford, OH: Author.

Pfeffer, J. & Sutton, R. (2000). The knowing-doing gap: How smart companies turn knowledge into action. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Quinn, R. (2004). Building the bridge as you walk on it: A guide for leading change. San Francisco: Jossey- Bass.

Sparks, D. (2007). Leading for results: Transforming teaching, learning, and relationships in schools (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Dennis Sparks
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