PROCEEDINGS OF THE 22ND ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2019
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Understanding and enacting organizational change: An approach in four frames
Page: 10
This paper reports on an instance of change in a university mathematics department which revitalized and improved their precalculus/calculus program by implementing a series of strategies, techniques, and programs which are supported by educational research. Using the Four Frames perspective for organizational culture (Bolman & Deal, 2008; Reinholz & Apkarian, 2018), we explore how the dimensions of structures, symbols, people, and power support a rich understanding of how the department’s culture supported and constrained the change initiative. We do so both generally speaking, for the entire initiative, and more in depth, regarding the development of a course coordination system. Furthermore, this case study suggests the utility of these four frames for change agents elsewhere as a tool to support the design and enactment of successful and sustainable change towards the improvement of, specifically, undergraduate mathematics education.