Karen Edge

Rethinking Knowledge Management: Strategies for Enhancing District-Level Teacher and Leader Tacit Knowledge Sharing

Grounded within knowledge management (KM) theory and conceptions of tacit and explicit knowledge, this article draws on historical evidence from the Early Years Literacy Project (EYLP), a four-year instructional renewal strategy implemented across 100 schools in a large Canadian school district. The EYLP management approach included a series of interconnected crosscutting committees supporting powerful knowledge-sharing opportunities. The factors influencing tacit knowledge sharing and the unanticipated consequences for program implementation are explored. Finally, the implications of the findings for research and practice related to tacit and explicit knowledge and KM are discussed, along with recommendations for future research and practice.

Formalizing the Informal: From Informal to Organizational Learning in the Post-Industrial Workplace

In the light of current examples of reengineering, restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, some Canadian organizations in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors provide a environment for individuals and teams to negotiate effectively the kind of organizational change which has become endemic in today’s workplace. A focus on informal learning through basic social processes contributes to employees’ collective ability to move beyond simply coping with stress to engaging in creative action. A three-year research project, conducted between 1998 and 2001, located and studied, indepth, four such organizations which were using organizational learning approaches to embed continuous learning within the actual work processes. While each of the cases presents a unique context, they together provide valuable thematic lessons in how to create working environments which contribute to both individual health and to organizational sustainability. NALL Working Paper # 29 – 2001 – Formalizing the Informal from Formal to Organizational Learning In the Post-Industrial Workplace 4