Measuring Learning In The
Context of Knowledge
Management
Jing Luan (convenor)
Andreea Serban
Julie Slark
Linda Umbdenstock
Harriett Robles
May, 2002
In 45 minutes…
Why Knowledge Management (KM)
Knowledge Management Concepts, Processes
and Taxonomy
Examples of KM Applications
The Social Life of Knowledge Management –
Strategies
KM as Organizational Capacity Building
- Skill Sets
Q&A
2
Why Knowledge Management
Information overload
Technology advancement
Increased professional specialization
Competition
Job turnover and need to preserve
employees’ knowledge
Capitalize on organizational knowledge
3
Key KM Concepts
Tacit Knowledge
Explicit Knowledge
Data => Information => Knowledge
4
KM Content and Processes
Knowledge Content
Knowledge Management Processes
Create
Capture
Organize
Access
Use
•Discover
•Digitize
•Structure
•Present
•Make
•Realize
•Document
•Catalog
•Display
•Improve
•Conclude
•Extract
•Abstract
•Notify
•Perform
•Articulate
•Represent
•Analyze
•Profile
•Service
•Discuss
•Store
•Categorize
•Find
•Learn
Collaborate Find Mediate Facilitate Augment Share Align
People Processes
Source: Gartner Research
5
AS
KM Taxonomy of Products
Business Intelligence;
Knowledge Base;
Collaboration;
Content and Document Management;
Portals;
Customer Relationship Management;
Data Mining;
Workflow;
E-Learning;
Search.
6
AS
Illustrated KM Models
Tiered Knowledge Management Model (TKMM)
Tiers:
Tiers:
three
two
one
Data
Mining
Middleware
OLAP
Data Warehouses
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
Explicit Knowledge
Knowledge Base
Knowledge Workers
Portals
CRM
one
Collaborative Working
Environment (CWE)
Knowledge
Mapping
two
three
Tacit Knowledge
7
Illustrated KM Models
TKMM: Explicit Knowledge Management
TIER THREE:
Many information
research projects
fail due to lack of
understanding of
these three tiers,
particularly in
data extraction in
Tier One.
Mining :
Clementine, Enterprise Miner,
Statistica, Mineset, Darwin, SpotFire
Classical statistics
SPSS, SAS, BMDP, SysStat
TIER TWO
Querying:
BrioQuery, Business Objects, PowerPlay
Access, Foxpro
Online Data Processing:
ASP, JSP, iHTML, XML
TIER ONE
Data Engines
SQL Server, Oracle, Informix, Sybase, UniData, DB2
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
PeopleSoft, Datatel, SAP, Oracle, Banner
Topography of Tiered Knowledge Management Model (TKMM) for explicit knowledge
8
From Theoretical Model to
Application Model
Explicit Knowledge
Tier One
Data Holding Medium
Student enrollment data
Learning outcome data
Census data
Tier Two
Information Processing
Enrollment trends analysis
Student GPA report
Socio-economic status
Portals
CRM
Tacit Knowledge
Tier One
Knowledge Base
Personal experiences
Skills
Values
Relationships
Tier Two
Collaborative Working Envt.
Organization structures
Curricula
Mission statements/Policies
Manuals
Tier Three
Data Mining
Which student is likely to persist?
Which clusters of students will have GPA>3.75?
What are associated with any course-taking pattern?
Decisions
Decisions
Insights
Insights
Knowledge
Knowledge
Competencies
Competencies
Accountability
Accountability
Tier Three
Knowledge Mapping
Faculty Experts
Group Leaders
Librarians
Analysts/Institutional Researchers
9
What Others Have Said
Knowledge is information in Action –
O’Dell and Grayson
Sharing knowledge is 90% culture, 5%
technology and the rest is magic - Bob
Buckman of Buckman Laboratories
10
KM Applications - SBCC
Santa Barbara City College KM Purposes




Improve Decision Making
Improve Access to Information
Increase Collaboration
Improve Understanding of Information
 In Context
 Timely
 Organized and Structured
11
SBCC Portal Overview
Oracle iPortal
Campus Pipeline Portal
•Decision Support
•Single Sign-on and Authentication
•Document Management
•Course Materials and Information
•Web Content Management
•Web Instructional Delivery
•Database Administration
•Student E-mail
12
SBCC Institutional Research Role within the
KM Framework
ROLE
BENEFITS
Create and maintain a portal for
internal information that organizes the
strategic plans, reports developed for
various audiences, and ensures clear
data definitions
Better information leads to better
decisions!
Create and maintain portal for external
information, including benchmark
studies, environmental scans, links to
relevant research and publications
Improved sharing of internal and
external information to minimize
redundant efforts and lessen the
work involved in external reporting
Market “watch” developed with the
Enrollment Management and
Marketing committees to document
trends and identify potential
implications
Enhanced ability to develop up-todate and market-focused strategic
plans
Repository of data related to
accreditation, accountability, PFE,
outcomes, institutional assessment, etc
Shared knowledge from a variety of
constituents to begin to create a
“learning organization” responsive to
13
change and innovation
The Social Life of… Knowledge Management
...
of Institutional Research
. . . of Learning Outcomes Assessment
Create
Knowledge
Capture
Knowledge
Organize
Knowledge
Access
Knowledge
• How Do
You Know
How to
Create
Knowledge?
Use
Knowledge
• How Do
You
Facilitate
the Utility
of
Knowledge?
KM Strategies
Collaborate Find Mediate Facilitate Augment Share Align
Aggregate Compare Select Combine Understand Participate
People Processes
14
Knowledge Requires Behaviors
It is not inert.
Data = Discrete facts
Information = Combinations of data that result in
meaning
Knowledge = * Combination of information with minds
of knowers
* The unit of reference is one’s mind
* Requires mental connection(s) –
experience, value, context, expertise
Thus, knowledge, and knowledge management, has a
social, experiential, contextual nature.
15
To work with the minds of knowers, be
strategic:
Create
Knowledge
• How Do
You Know
How to
Create
Knowledge?
• Understand frame of reference/
practitioners’ experiences, needs
• Understand situational context(s)
• Develop trust
• Develop channels of interaction and
communication
16
Examples:
• What knowledge would you share with a Board
of Trustees in 15 minutes per year?
• What knowledge does a college need to create a
plan?
• What new knowledge have you acquired at the
end of every work week?
17
•Ask the right questions – collaborate
when creating knowledge
• Communicate well and frequently
• Position oneself strategically in the
organization
Use
Knowledge
• How Do
You
Facilitate
the Utility
of Knowledge?
18
Knowledge Management as
Organizational Capacity-Building
"Knowledge is information that changes something or
somebody -- either by becoming grounds for actions, or by
making an individual (or an institution) capable of different or
more effective action."
-- Peter F. Drucker in The New Realities
From Data & Information Systems to Shared Knowledge:
Using What We Learn to Strengthen College Capacity
Transmission/Dissemination
Discipline framework



Empirical research
Linear
Validity & reliability
Knowledge management


Archiving & accessing
conclusions, how to’s
Relating to existing knowledge
Creation/Ownership/Use
Discipline framework
Action research: theories in action
 Systems mapping
 Multiple perspectives

Knowledge processing
Context: Culture of applicability
 Credibility
 Communities of Practitioners
define “good practice”
 Meaning & Motivation
 Institutional Memory

20
Organizational Strategies for KM
Investing in a diversified portfolio of
intellectual & talent capital
Communicating “cross culturally”
Connecting networks of practitioners
Leveraging what we know into action
Invoking new mental maps for change
21
Skill Sets Needed for RP-ers
Technical Skills
Communication Skills
Multiple media proficiency (written, oral, multi-media)
 Multiple audiences (level/type of knowledge, purposes/uses, styles)
 Complexity to simplicity
 Application to new problems
 Analogies, visuals, virtual, simulations

Collaboration Skills

Knowledge Ecology—useful to various practitioner groups in context
capable of moving to action dynamic, contextual information sharing
 Integrative Planning—action oriented, practical, fruitful, connected
value-based, vision-oriented
Organizational Development Methodologies & Design
 Facilitation and Team-building Skills among multiple types of players
 Naturalistic Inquiry Methodologies, Assessment Processes

22
Leadership Skills for RP-ers
Organizational intelligence
Generative, innovative, knowledge leverage
Initiation of multi-perspective dialogue
Synthesis, holistic perspective
Trusted, yet politically astute
Culture changing, transformative, pervasive,
long perspective
23
Assessment in a KM Perspective
Context: setting up for institutional learning with a
bias toward action (focus on improvement)
Communities of Practitioners working across
disciplines & groups vs. private enterprise instruction
Credibility: creating a means of dialogue vs. tasking
Motivation: creating a positive reinforcing experience
Meaning: internalizing the experience over time
Memory (Institutional): moving forward & reinforcing
what works w/new applications and extensions
24
KM in the Community College
Workplace
Sound familiar?




Why on earth did we ever decide to do it this
way?
In the 2 hours I spent looking for that one
number, I could have done the original research
myself.
When she retires, we are in deep trouble. No one
else can do her job.
Never mind learning outcomes. The biggest
challenge on this campus is finding out how to
replace a projector bulb.
25
KM in the Community College
Workplace
What we need is a repository for our
information and knowledge that is:






Accessible
Current
Searchable
Useful
User friendly
NOT a cure that is worse than the disease.
26
KM in the Community College
Workplace
West Valley College Skunk Works






Research Analyst
Assessment Coordinator
Dean, Information Technology & Services
Staff Development Coordinator
Dean, Instruction & Matriculation
Indispensable Ed.D. student w/KM
experience in industry
27
Contacts
Jing Luan, Ph.D.
Chief Planning and Research Officer, Cabrillo College
jing@cabrillo.cc.ca.us
Harriett Robles, Ed.D.
Dean, Instruction and Matriculation, West Valley College
harriett_robles@wvmccd.cc.ca.us
Andreea Serban, Ph.D.
Director, Institutional Assessment, Research and Planning, Santa Barbara
City College,
Serban@sbcc.net
Julie Slark
Assistant Vice Chancellor, Educational Services, Rancho Santiago CCD
Slark_Julie@rsccd.org
Linda Umbdenstock, Ph.D.
Administrative Dean of Planning, Long Beach City College
lumbdenstock@lbcc.cc.ca.us
28