PREPARING EDUCATIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES FOR CHANGE BY DESIGN

Educational systems exist in rapidly changing, turbulent environments. To remain viable, these systems must learn how to continuously learn, interact, adapt, and change with their environments. Educational syst ems can use systems design as a methodology for guiding and informing this kind of ongoing transformational learning and change process. Sys tems design, however, requires considerable preparation on the part of educational learning communities. This paper suggests that developing readiness for design is an integral aspect of the systems design meth odology and proposes a set of strategies for developing readiness. The information can be used by learning communities made up of diverse st akeholder groups whose intent is to engage in systemic change by desig n.