CAMP SNOWBALL PHILIPPINES

SYSTEMS THINKING IN L.I.F.E

How well equipped is the Filipino Youth to solve the complex problems of the future?

Beyond local citizenship, how well prepared is the Filipino Youth to participate responsibly in the global
 community?   What is the role of Filipino education in today’s fast-changing world?

Context


One can make a long list of reasons for the deteriorating quality of education in the country but this will simply highlight the complexity of the problem.  The most important question, however, is how can we help prepare the Filipino youth to develop the knowledge and competencies for today’s challenges and tomorrow’s world?

We propose training the Filipino teacher how to apply the pedagogical intervention of Systems Thinking.  Systems Thinking is the capacity to see the interconnectedness of the parts of a whole and to see how our actions create the problems we experience.  For more than 50 years, continuous practice and research on Systems Thinking has developed a whole body of knowledge, tools and language that equips us with a new perspective to help address the ever increasing complexities facing the world today.  The good news is experiments with children show that they learn systems thinking easily!

Dr. Peter Senge, author of Schools that Learn and The Fifth Discipline – The Art of the Learning Organization, refers to Systems Thinking as the fifth discipline for learning organizations.    The title of the first chapter of The Fifth Discipline is a quote from Greek philosopher, Archimedes, “Give me a lever long enough….and single-handed I can move the world.”  For the members of the global Camp Snowball community, that lever is Systems Thinking.

Why Systems Thinking?

For 20 years, pockets of school systems across the U.S. have been gaining traction in preparing students to take on tomorrow’s complex challenges.  Educators in these districts have found that the tools of systems thinking and systems dynamics give them a way to engage reluctant learners, boost academic achievement, and foster a generation of “system citizens.”  The Waters Foundation, a private charitable foundation founded in 1957 by Jim and Faith Waters, has been a moving force behind this effort. Quoting from a document of the foundation, the “Benefits of Systems Thinking in K-12 Education” are as follows:

Benefits to the Students

• Improves the ability to connect learning to real-world situations
• Develops a framework for solving complex problems
• Creates awareness and consideration of short-term, long-term, and unintended consequences
• Enables more thoughtfulness in negotiating life choices
• Increases motivation and enthusiasm for learning
• Facilitates English language learners communication of their thinking and understanding through the visual non-linguistic nature of the tools

Benefits to Teachers

• Increases student engagement
• Fosters a learner-centered environment
• Facilitates the integration of rigorous thinking in instruction which is a key to achieving proficiency
• Enhances an educational environment that is cooperative, interdisciplinary, and relevant
• Correlates to 21st Century Skills, STEM goals, and Common Core Standards
• Provides structure for social and emotional development leading to a decrease in disciplinary problems

Benefits to Community

• Systems Thinking in a school system will develop citizens who approach civic problems from a holistic view, not a reactionary one, and understand they are a part of the community (system) and as such have an effect on the success of the community. These citizens empowering leads to increased personal responsibility.
• Systems Thinking in a school system will develop civic leaders who have the ability to communicate ideas in a framework that the community understands and can contribute to.

What is the Camp Snowball community?

Today, the Waters Foundation Systems Thinking in School project is applying lessons learned to scale up its efforts within U.S. local communities and around the world.  Thus was launched the first Camp Snowball in Tucson, Arizona last July 21-25, 2011.
The five-day learning festival showcased the successful application of the concepts, methods and tools of Systems Thinking in K-12 schools in Arizona, Washington and Oregon, spanning more than 20 years.  It was attended by 230 school heads, parents, teachers and students from the U.S., Canada, Netherlands, Mexico, Singapore and 9 delegates from the Philippines. With the coming together of Systems Thinking for School advocates, the Camp Snowball community was born.  Objectives of the Camp Snowball community are the following:

1.  to develop educators’ capacity for systems thinking and sustainability to their students;
2.  to empower students to become leaders in their schools and communities by exposing them to these powerful ways        of thinking and acting:
3.  to develop local teams that are working to implement these tools and perspectives in their own school systems;
4.  to build local community support for schools by engaging business and government leaders, educators, parents,         students, community members in jointly creating the conditions for ongoing innovation
5.  to foster relationships and create long-term connections regionally, nationally, and internationally; and
6.  to elevate awareness of the positive outcome of systems thinking and sustainability education locally, nationally, and internationally.

What is the Camp Snowball Philippine community?
During his visit to the Philippines last April, 2011 on invitation of the Society for Organizational Learning (SoL), Philippines, Dr. Peter Senge gave a talk to a small group of  Philippine educators at the National Book Store Best Sellers outlet at Robinson’s Galleria. Dr. Senge shared how the current educational system was conceptualized to serve the jobs created by the Industrial Revolution, the assembly line.  With technological breakthroughs in the past decades, we now find ourselves in the Information Age, thus, it is crucial for our school system to become learning communities. 
Dr. Senge extended an invitation to the Philippine educators to attend the Camp Snowball conference.  Nine Filipinos accepted the invitation.   Since their return from Tucson in July 2011, the Camp Snowball Philippine trainers have rolled-out 3 public runs and 1 in-house workshop.  Evaluation of the training event has been consistently high with participants hoping that the module could be shared to all teachers. 
Members of the Camp Snowball Philippine community met with the Department of Education on two occasions last year to promote the pedagogical intervention of Systems Thinking for our teachers.  Br Armin A. Luistro, FSC has expressed his enthusiasm for the public-private initiative.   For 2012, Camp Snowball Philippines is organizing twin-events in April in support of DepEd’s educational reforms.  These are:

Participants at the end of the workshop would have –

• developed skills and knowledge in the use of systems thinking concepts and tools;
• experienced, practiced, and discussed interactive, inquiry-based instructional and school improvement strategies;
• used systems thinking tools to analyze complex issues and identify high leverage interventions;
• developed skills in providing systems thinking training to colleagues;
• developed and shared a plan of application relevant to their work; and
• granted a certificate of completion.

SYSTEMS THINKING AND EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABILITY IN PHILIPPINE BASIC EDUCATION By Godofredo C. Eala



How well equipped is the Filipino Youth to solve the complex problems of the future? Beyond local citizenship, how well prepared is the Filipino Youth to participate responsibly in the global community? What is the role of Filipino education in today's fast-changing world?


Compared to our Southeast Asian neighbours, a recent World Economic Forum report ranked the Philippines a poor seventh in the area of Education and innovation, only faring better than Cambodia.In a forum held in June this year on Philippine education, Br. Armin Luisito FSC, DepEd secretary said, "When media asked me what is the one basic problem in education, it's not building classrooms and hiring teachers. The root cause is really the program and the curriculum. "Br Armin stressed that building classrooms and hiring teachers is important but "we cannot continue to have graduates who are less than competent.If it is basic education, we should provide them all the necessary resources and time so they can master standards and competencies."One can make a long list of reasons for the deteriorating quality of education in the country but this will simply highlight the complexity of the problem. The most important question, however, is the how can we help prepare the Filipino youth to develop the knowledge and competencies for today's challenges and tomorrow's world? Dr. Peter Senge, senior lecturer from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Cambridge, founder and current Chair of the Society for Organizational Learning (So), renowned author of The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization, and, Schools that Learn, believes that the cause of quality decline of education, whether it be in the USA or in the Philippines is not the lack of talent, but the lack of efficiency in the system. Systems are not set of things-people, molecules, government agencies, etc.-interconnected in such a way that they produce their own pattern over time. To create healthier systems, one has to be equipped with systems knowledge, critical thinking skills, and most importantly, acquire and practice the habits of a systems thinker.


In a conference held in Tucson, Arizona last July 21-26, 2011 attended  250 educators, students, parents and community leaders from 18 stated and 8 countries including the Philippines. Dr. Senge launched the Camp Snowball initiative together with members organization under the SoL Education and Sustainability Partnership (SolEd). During the 5-day learning event, nine delegates from the Philippines participated in a series of workshops showcasing the remarkable results over the past 20+ years of the Waters Foundation project that initiated systems thinking in Tucson schools. There were four tracks to choose from: Systems Thinking, Systems Modelling, Education to Sustainability and Inter-generational Leadership for Innovation in Education. All the sessions were conducted with adults and youth learning together. There was a field trip to the dessert museum to experience the bio-diversity of the place, and a marketplace of initiatives from progressive schools that were now shifting to a more sustainable educational system."For the past 20 years, schools in Tucson, Arizona and other forward thinking communities in the US, Netherlands, Singapore, and beyond have been teaching their students how to deal with complex, dynamic problems applying the systems thinking approach and success is consistently high. Why is that? Because when students look at the world through a systems lens, they gain insight into the underlying structures that produce certain patterns of behaviour, both in their social work and lives, and learn to test actions for unintended consequence. They also immediately recognize the relevance of their schoolwork, engage with real-world problems, and develop a useful and practical skills set that will serve them throughout their lives." (Camp Snowball/Waters Foundation websites)

Camp Snowball Teachers' Training workshop in the Philippines

As members of SoLEd, trainers and teachers from the OCCI Fullness of Life Foundation, the SAIDI school of OD, Domuschola, Quezon City academy, Lamblight Catholic School (Bacolod), Southpoint School (Davao City), launched Camp Snowball Philippines last September 8-11, 2011 at the OCCi Center for Learning, Ortigas Center Pasig City.

The first run of Camp Snowball Philippines had 65 participants from various public and private schools from Metro Manila, Zamboanga, Iloilo, Nueva Vizcaya, Pangasinan, as well as DepEd's central office. All were unanimous in their feedback about the importance of the programs and promised to cascade it to their respective schools. They excitedly brought it home with them easy-to-run modules and exercises to integrate systems thinking and education for sustainability in their curriculum.

Welcome to Camp Snowball Philippines!

WHAT IS EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABILITY?

Education for sustainability is defined as a transformative learning process that equips students, teachers, and school systems with the new knowledge and ways of thinking we need to achieve economic prosperity and responsible citizenship while restoring the health of the living systems upon which we all depend.

WHAT IS SYSTEMS THINKING?

Systems Thinking offers a powerful new perspective, a specialized language, and a set of tools that can be used to address the most stubborn problems in your everyday life and work. Systems thinking is a way of understanding reality that emphasizes the relationships among a system's parts, rather the parts themselves. It helps us see both the forces that shape change and our role in creating them.

Camp Snowball | Critical skills for 21st Century Basic Education in the Philippine

Website: www.watersfoundation.org

ENHANCE PERSONAL RESULTS

The first step towards creating cultures of excellence in the workplace is the challenge of shifting current mindsets from victim hood and mediocrity to that of personal responsibility and mastery. Specialized modules such as the ACHIEVE Managers Coaching Program and in-house Foundations of Leadership Excellence (FLEX) provide an outstanding platform for bringing out the best in your people. Our satisfied partners in these programs include leading multinationals, regional companies, public service bodies and NGOs.

CUSTOMIZED CORPORATE CONSULTING:

* Paradigm shift Intervention
* Visioning programs
* Strategic Planning
* Team building
* Branded customer service
* Communications training

OCCI seminar for Spiritual and Religious Leaders.

The Fullness of Life Seminar integrates tools for understanding the mind, body and spirit with the fundamental principles of leadership, success and peak performance to reinvigorate the self in the context of the spiritual family and community. Designed for spiritual leaders who are called to live as children of God, this two day experiential program focuses on personal responsibility as the key to servant leadership and a life of purpose.

OCCI seminar for Teachers and Educators

Leadership in Filipino Education (L.I.F.E) is a 2-day experiential workshop that provides both formal and non-formal educators the opportunity to realize their full potential by understanding their personal values, attitudes and behaviors at a deeper level. Teachers and educatos have the ability to transform. The enormous impact they create in the lives of the individuals and society at large emphasizes the importance of awakening the leader in the teacher.

OCCI Through The Years

Organizational Change Consultants International

OCCI (FLEX, ALC & LEAP) PROGRAMS

OCCI Center for Learning

“A world that Works with No One Left Out”


Warm Greetings! Organizational Change Consultants International Inc. (OCCI) is a leading change consultancy specializing in paradigm shift interventions. Part of our mission is to “transform organizations and communities by transforming individuals.”

Committed to the creation of our vision of “a world that works for everyone with no one left out”, OCCI has been assisting thousands of men and women in the exciting process of actualizing their leadership potentials for the last 15 years. We believe that it is thru the living out of the individual’s Highest Truth that the values of Integrity, Excellence, Creativity, Compassion, Commitment, Care, Responsibility, will translate into a Life of Joyful service. Thus, as a result of seminar learning’s on Self-awareness, Ownership and True Choice, OCCI graduates live more effective and meaningful lives, contributing positively at home, in the workplace and in society.

The Foundations of Leadership Excellence (FLEX) provides the participants the opportunity to achieve a certain level of awareness to enable them to be more responsible in the choices that they make as well as overcome negative beliefs that hinder them from the results they want to achieve. Our goal is to create an empowered individual with an increased commitment to the organization as well as to their own personal growth, personal responsibility and leadership, a clearer understanding of themselves and others, and interpersonal skills to improve communications, relationships and results. When this shift occurs, ordinary people begin producing extraordinary results.

The training methodologies of the workshop is experiential learning, utilizing the inductive process (proven to be most effective for adults in ensuring retention and effectivity) and are designed to make a positive impact on the participant's job performance and their experience of life in general. Our training framework is based on accepted theories of Behavior and Attitudinal Modification, including Awareness and Sensitivity Training for enhancing EQ (emotional quotient). Processing of reactions, attitudes and behavior is done to get a deeper understanding of self and others. It allows participants to expand their levels of awareness and builds trust and openness within the working team. New paradigms of success will be discovered which allows each participant to re-invent oneself to create better relationships & results in Life. Thus, the sessions are lively, highly participative and fun!

Organizational Change Consultants International, Inc.

Office address:    6th Floor, Emerald Bldg., F. Ortigas Jr. Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig City •
Office numbers:   687-0162, 687-1312, 687-0510, 687-1309
Tess Direct line:  861-3505,  Mobile phone 0922-8975327.
Email Address:   ma.tessquiambao@gmail.com Website: www.occiglobal.com



The general areas of concentration are:

Personality & Communication Paradigm Shift
Reintroduction to the Self and Self Image (Self Awareness) Commitment to Excellence
Personal Responsibility vs. Blaming & Helplessness Leadership
Interpersonal-Intrapersonal Communication Skills Problem Solving & Creativity
Managing & Communicating Feelings/Conflict Resolution Confidence & Empowerment
Values Formation/Purpose/Vision/Goals EQ (Emotional Intelligence)


The venue is at OCCI (Emil R. Quinto Hall), 6th Flr. Emerald Bldg., F. Ortigas Jr. Road, Ortigas Center Pasig City. The time is from 9a.m onwards.  Early bird discount of 10% for payment made one week before the scheduled seminar. Accepting BPI Master Card only & Diners Club International. We offer group discount of 5 + 1 free. May deposit payment at any UCPB Bank, SA# 177-108539-6, Ortigas Center Branch. Please make check payable to OCCI, for payment deposited please fax deposit slip at 632-7553. For reservations please contact Tess at DL-8613505, Mobile No. 0922-8975327. Please email me also at ma.tessquiambao@gmail.com, Website: www.occiglobal.com.


We would like to offer you as well the next level to the FLEX:

Advanced Leadership Course (ALC) - 4 DAYS. This is the next step of becoming all of who you can be! The course is about achieving a higher level of Awareness and Responsibility, the two keys to more effective living. It enables an individual to overcome paralyzing fears and negative beliefs that hinder one from creating desired results in life. Participants will be experiencing the power of their Word and the true meaning of Commitment, and become a leader of leaders.

The training objectives of the course are as follows:

1. To experience One's Self as capable and responsible so as to deepen ownership over one's life relating in greater confidence and self-direction.
2. To become more aware of how one affects others resulting in more empathy, improved leadership skills and enhanced interpersonal relationships.
3. To clarify one's personal Vision-Mission that will guide and strengthen day to day commitments.
10% Early bird discount if paid a week before the seminar


Leadership Excellence Achievement Program (LEAP) – 70 DAYS – This is the practice. After FLEX & ALC, you are now ready to apply all you have learned to create the life you have always wanted. A 70-day coaching program guarantees total personal empowerment through the BE-DO-HAVE framework. Leap’s program structure provides daily contact with a personal life coach, weekly meetings with a support group, and monthly workshop sessions that will serve as checkpoints. Focused on results, it is about making life work 100% and in the process, celebrating one’s greatness. Success rating of our graduates is 95% goal achievement during the program, 100% a month after the program.

Objective:

If you have not defined what you want, then you will get clear about it.
*Experience your essence allows you to get clear with what you want and to
Express yourself as the greatest version of the grandest vision of who you are!

If you have goals but are faced by seemingly immovable obstacles, then you will overcome these obstacles.
*Living a Life of excellence stops you from blaming others and circumstances. This makes you take full responsibility for every area of your life.

If you are stuck, you will get unstuck!
*Go through life having no fear of taking the next step and taking the next step, and taking responsibility for the results you choose to make.

If you have so-so and mediocre results, then you will get spectacular results!
*You will commit yourself to quality. You will commit to constant improvement and living your life in excellence.

"The purpose of Life is to have a Life with purpose."

The LEAP program is guaranteed to let you Experience total personal Empowerment. Invest in yourself and live a life that works 100%

Please feel free to call for any clarifications or questions that you might have. Thank you and we look forward to see you in our seminars and be of service to you.


All the best,


TESS QUIAMBAO




NOTE: The FLEX Seminar is highly experiential. Course content may change depending upon the expectations, needs and responses of the participants.

Topics - 1st Day

OPENING & EXPECTATIONS Introductions and course overview. What you can expect to create for yourself during the 2-day seminar. Facilitators clarifies actual course content and which expectations can or cannot be met.
EQ as framework of workshop:
Awareness – of self, others & environment & how
one affects others
Empathy – better understanding of other people
Emotions – taking responsibility of one’s feelings
Motivation – of self & others to get out of the “box”

PARADIGMS Our reactions to different situations are controlled by our paradigms. Paradigms are beliefs, habits, thought patterns, that we acquired through our experiences. An understanding of our paradigms will lead us to personal growth. It provides the opportunity to transform disempowering ones that reflect the true value of the individual, the team & the organization.

CHANGE THEORY Change as either an OPPORTUNITY or a THREAT. Using change to create positive results.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS & INTRAPERSONAL AND INTERPERSONAL
MOTIVATION COMMUNICATIONS. Communications for motivation and improved performance through the POWER OF SELF IMAGE & AFFIRMATION. The relationship between affirmation and paradigms.
- 3 Ways of Listening
- Elements of Communication – Words are only
7%, attention to details
- Positive & True Communication – intrapersonal &
Interpersonal communications for motivation &
improved performance

PERSONAL GROWTH The Johari Window and the Growth Process. Growth occurs as we discover our potential through our relationships with others. This leads to greater confidence and self-direction.

PERSONALITY The effect of personality on communications and relationships. The role of each personality quadrant in the organization and in society. The role of the leader to balance the needs and contributions of the four quadrants. The information will be used to enhance relationships within and across teams by giving participants a better understanding of themselves & each other & how personality aids or hinders cooperation & teamwork


SENSORY PREFERENCES Understanding communication styles as
identified by Neuro Linguistic Programming
- Communicating from the Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic modalities
Awareness of participant's own style & how they can shift their style to better understand, motivate & be understood to improve relationships.


CONFLICT & CONFLICT RESOLUTION Responsible Communication- Taking full responsibility of situations & communication vs being helpless & feeling "victim".Negative belief systems on relationships & communication. A major cause of stress is conflict. Why conflict occurs and how it can be resolved productively is the topic of this module. The relationship between Personal Responsibility, problem-solving and positive results.


Topics - 2nd Day

Self-Image Psychology Understanding our paradigms. Creating the person
We want to be.


WIN-WIN The new paradigm of business and relationships. How paradigms control behavior. Making win-win work.

THE POWER OF THE MIND Harnessing the power of the mind. Mental Focus.

Brain exercises.

Thought Processes How our results are affected by our thinking.


SETTING &
ACHIEVING GOALS Why only 5% of the population achieve success. How to set goals. The mindset necessary to achieve goals.


MOVING BEYOND OUR
PRESENT BOUNDARIES Examining our performance limitations. Moving beyond our self-imposed limitations.


CREATING URGENCY Creating urgency and eliminating procrastination. The secret of getting the job done NOW.


FINAL EXERCISE: PEACE CIRCLE Allows participants to integrate and practice
all the discoveries and learnings they
experienced during the program. This powerful
activity provides opportunities to contribute
and see how each individual’s effort and
action are connected, and how each can
contribute to a world that works for everyone.

CLOSING/GRADUATION