AAEL – Ambidextrous Agile Educational Leadership.
A framework for the joint design of (higher) education in the post-digital age
The AAEL framework – Ambidextrous Agile Educational Leadership for the collaborative design of (higher) education in the post-digital age (AAEL framework for short) – previously known as the Agile Educational Leadership framework or AEL framework 1.0 – has been developed iteratively and incrementally since 2020 and will be published freely and openly at the previous, well-known URL https://agile-educational-leadership.de until further notice. The transdisciplinary AAEL framework is to be understood as dynamic and, with increasing empirical substantiation, is continuously developing into a next version that is improved with regard to its fit with the application context of (higher) education.
The AAEL framework follows on from previous research work, development projects and transfer activities in the context of media didactic professionalism and the design of environments for participatory and open as well as networked and mobile teaching and learning under the conditions of digitalization by Prof. Dr. Kerstin Mayrberger – and explicitly extends the perspective to the design of (higher) education across all levels with a view to agility and ambidexterity for its structural and cultural change and its future in (post-)digitality.
For better comprehensibility and comprehensibility as a whole, the AAEL framework is described and visualized here in this online chapter in its essential parts as an integrated whole. This chapter is an independently readable short version that describes and explains the key theoretical and action-oriented building blocks and cornerstones of the AAEL framework in a condensed form. In this way, it provides both initial and simplified access to the AAEL framework.
It is therefore not the intention of this chapter to repeat content-related classifications, reasons for selection or sources considered in detail. These can be found in the other chapters of this AAEL online book, to which links are provided – and which will continue to be updated and supplemented. The AAEL framework is the basis for an AAEL practice that is constantly being created, developed and refined by stakeholders. The AAEL Practice Canvas, which concludes this short version, serves as an orientation and entry aid for this process.
AAEL cornerstones
One motivation for the Ambidextrous Agile Educational Leadership framework for the joint design of (higher) education in post-digitality (AAEL) is to offer a possible way for (higher) education to deal confidently and creatively with ongoing social transformation processes and crises as their contextual conditions for development at different levels with a view to the next generations and ongoing dynamics and complexity. At present, the digital transformation and, as a consequence, everyday (post-)digitality are considered to be particularly significant for education, which is why it currently represents the primary contextual reference for the AAEL framework.
AAEL addresses individuals or groups of individuals across micro, meso and macro levels as well as educational organizations and institutions as a whole with their specific structures and cultures – also in interaction with other actors from (educational) policy and society.
The basic starting point of AAEL is deliberately designed as a framework for dealing with change in education, which invites us to start immediately with the first steps and directly tackle the shaping of the idea of education in the future together. Each and every one of us helps to shape this future in our own environment and in different roles – through courageous and confident action or by waiting and seeing.
People who take on Ambidextrous Agile Educational Leadership primarily stand for a role in a particular context of action with a corresponding attitude and shared values. Organizations that structurally enable Ambidextrous Agile Educational Leadership create a shared, value- and practice-based transformative learning and development space. For both, a confident handling of forms of organizational and personal ambidexterity is fundamental in order to be able to act together appropriately and according to the situation in educational contexts between parallel systems such as hierarchies and networks and the characteristic complexity of diverse decision-making and action options. An actual ambidextrous culture in education can develop.
The AAEL framework opens up the space for the respective cultural, structural and personal starting conditions of each educational organization to develop and follow its own path of AAEL practice within the AAEL principles and cornerstones of the AAEL framework – beyond ready-made answers and solutions that fit everyone equally.
This also includes openly and appreciatively problematizing what is optimal about the existing system and its practices, as well as anticipating where the next steps for improvement are necessary or even emerging. To this end, AAEL relies on a fundamental, continuous “two-loop” movement, which basically amounts to a continuous joint learning process. After examination and reflection, new things are naturally discarded or suitably integrated along the way, and the outdated is just as confidently abandoned or the familiar optimized. Such a mode is already internalized as a matter of course in research and learning.
For AAEL practice as a point of reference, both being and doing are emphasized as borrowings from the context of agility. AAEL-Being, which addresses both individuals and organizations in order to highlight the necessary interplay between attitude, mindset and values for reflection and understanding. And AAEL-Doing, which emphasizes principles, methods and practices for implementation. AAEL requires constant interaction so that being and doing develop together.
The AAEL framework is thus an offer for education to open up an overarching learning space for participation and self-organization for individuals and organizations alike. It contributes to making education more agile together in order to be able to act responsibly, purposefully and continuously both individually and collectively along a shared vision or a meaningful goal under uncertain contextual conditions in the post-digital era.
The AAEL framework offers stakeholders in the education sector a possible, holistic approach to being able and willing to deal more confidently with the existing uncertainties in this constant social change – and to work together sustainably and remain healthy themselves. Embracing the AAEL framework as a whole together sometimes requires courage. However, shared AAEL practices and an AAEL practice in dealing with constant change could contribute to a shared professional composure and resilience in times of constant change.
The AAEL is about taking joint responsibility for education as the basis and goal of democratic coexistence and participatory coexistence and helping to shape education step by step by assuming leadership in one’s own area of activity in order to enable and strengthen sustainable, resilient and innovative (higher) education for all stakeholders in the long term. And we do this continuously and with staying power, parallel to any technological developments and even disruptions, social crises or thematic trends. Structural and personal aspects are addressed in equal measure and cultural developments and contextual conditions are included.
Both openness to adaptation and a self-determined ability to innovate, and therefore a willingness to help shape change individually and collectively, play a role in AAEL. These are specifically underpinned here by the adaptation and integration of the concepts of ambidexterity and agility for education in order to be able to act and shape together as flexibly, purposefully and proactively as possible under contradictory and sometimes limiting contextual conditions in order to not simply let future education happen, but to take responsibility for it.
The framework takes into account the fact that the conditions for education change constantly over time, that situations are complex and that education happens everywhere at its own pace – and therefore, realistically speaking, each starting point is an individual case with its own particularities and possibilities, which must find its own starting point. For this reason, AAEL does not have a standardized set of rules or list-like instructions that could be applied equally to everyone or an AAEL competency test with levels from the outset. Instead, the framework takes up the idea from the context of agility of translating the conceptual building blocks and cornerstones into values and principles as well as action strategies and practices. These describe boundaries and yet are flexible enough to allow decisions to be made and action to be taken both jointly and individually. From time to time, they will have to be renegotiated as knowledge and experience are gained.
This practice is what is meant when AAEL refers to taking responsibility for the sustainable design and development of education as a whole, both collectively and individually, in the respective areas of action in education in today’s complex environment of constant change and social crises. Such specific ambidextrous agile leadership with a corresponding attitude and mindset for everyday action in the complexity of education encourages us to recognize and accept an everyday space of possibility in the both/and of options for action, and to endure and balance these contradictions in order to be better able to identify connections between previous dualities, make integrations and bridge supposed opposites in order to be able to act confidently in the in-between.
AAEL visualization
The following visualization depicts the key points in the current version AAEL 2.0 and contextualizes their meaning for AAEL in the necessary brevity.
Figure: Visualization of the AAEL – Ambidextrous Agile Educational Leadership framework for the joint design of (higher) education in the post-digital era
The visualization is designed in the style of a construction kit, i.e. a square box containing coloured individual building blocks that together complete the space. Building blocks with corners and edges and in different shapes were chosen, which can be put together to form a whole. The chosen colors and shapes indicate direct connections or a unique position. They are taken up in the AAEL canvas.
In the visualization, the respective building blocks stand for the thematic cornerstones that together model and fill the AAEL framework. Viewed from the outside in, these building blocks can be categorized as follows:
In this visualization, post-digitality is currently the primary challenge and framing reference field for education and is the base of the entire graphic, which lies behind the other building blocks like a foil. Here, post-digitality stands for the digital and the current cultural state of digital change as the much-discussed contextual condition for (higher) education in the digital transformation, which is to be understood more in technological terms. Because post-digitality is currently being repeatedly discussed as a central contextual condition and social challenge for (higher) education and at the same time is profoundly shaping social change, it forms the central contextual condition for the AAEL framework.
The eponymous cornerstones of the AAEL framework are Ambidextrous, Agile, Educational and Leadership. They are visualized by four differently colored rectangles that form a frame around the inner components. They combine a targeted exploration of the new in the form of optimizing the tried and tested and testing, developing and discovering the new (ambidexterity) in the form of an integrating and balancing perspective on fundamental change within as well as a gradual willingness to adapt to complex, dynamic contexts (agility), as applies to education in the context of digital transformation and post-digitality. The aforementioned perspectives can be applied to a variety of contexts. The focus here is solely on the (higher) education sector (education) with its special features and is broadly described as educational in order to make it clear that, beyond teaching and learning, education must be considered in at least a broader structural, personal, cultural and political context in order to be sustainable and successful. The fourth rectangle, which aims to structurally enable the assumption of (personal) responsibility and leadership, addresses the subject or the persons in their respective areas of activity and roles within organizational structures and institutional conditions of education (leadership) in an understanding of professionalism that spans the structural levels. These four cornerstones are interlinked in a transdisciplinary manner.
The interplay between people and organization on the one hand and AAEL Doing and Being on the other is represented in this building block as four equally valued and equally colored triangles. Together they form a rhombus and form the center of the building set as a square within the corner blocks. Doing and Being in the AAEL ensure the necessary interaction between the person and the organization, as well as against the background of the cornerstones and contextual conditions mentioned, between a reflective, personal attitude and a development- and growth-oriented mindset (Being) and the appropriate organizational framework conditions for the acquisition and application of methodologies and goal-oriented practices (Doing) in order to better achieve a coordinated goal in improvement or something completely new through continuous learning together – and thus make a meaningful contribution to an overarching mission and vision. Because doing and being, as well as addressing them in terms of people and organization (including the development of culture over time), cannot be conceptually differentiated, but develop through action, they are essential anchors for AAEL practice. In this respect, an AAEL-Being and an AAEL-Doing in this framework each stand for specific practice in the doing and being of a person and educational organization with its history and future as a place for education.
In the middle of the visualization are specific AAEL valuesand principles in the form of two triangles of the same color that complement each other to form a diamond, because they both have in common that they must be specifically negotiated in order to be shared. Values and principles both arise from the context and the cornerstones of AAEL. Instead of a fixed set of rules, they are situational and context-dependent guidelines for Being AAEL and for Doing AAEL for all actors. They are therefore placed as the core within the rhombus and in turn form the framework for the final, central building block.
In the visualization, the culture is located in the middle of a square and thus forms the center. Over time, an ambidextrous, agile culture can emergently (further) develop within the previously named building blocks, which is classified here as a jointly negotiable, sustainable and dynamic basis for a long-term cultural change in (higher) education.
AAEL game rules
For the AAEL framework, the image of a construction kit is used and the following explanations can be read accordingly as a kind of rules of the game1 for a potentially successful interaction of and in dealing with the individual building blocks and their relationship to each other.
One of the rules of the game is that, despite flexibility and adaptability, each building block serves a specific purpose and has its value in the structure of the AAEL construct so that AAEL can develop coherently as a whole. The first rule of the game is therefore not to completely ignore any of the building blocks and to consciously engage with all perspectives – each with a different weighting – in a systemic way.
Accepting the AAEL core only partially or omitting building blocks completely (“cherrypicking”) could lead to not addressing and dealing with all the questions and topics addressed in AAEL. In case of doubt, deliberate omission is more likely to contribute to the failure of AAEL. This is because the AAEL framework is not a recipe or a step-by-step guide that is one way or the right solution for everyone and can be worked through according to a plan. Rather, the AAEL framework offers building blocks that, in a joint, dynamic interplay of actors in the respective educational organization with a view to the next, future development steps, result in a suitable, coherent whole. It is important to engage in joint interaction and that everyone has and is given the opportunity to help build all elements.
If a common understanding for AAEL is clearly not possible, it is better to choose and pursue a different starting point for further development. In this respect, a justified or deliberate omission or avoidance of building blocks can already be a first development step for an individual, alternative way of dealing with change and transformation for the respective educational organization.
AAEL values in Being AAEL
AAEL is primarily to be understood as a framework based on values and principles in order to be able to decide and act independently in complex situations, such as those that are commonplace in (higher) education, both individually and collectively, in order to counteract arbitrariness. This basic idea of a framework for action across specific values (as part of AAEL Being) and principles (as part of AAEL Doing) was adapted from the context of agility for the field of (higher) education with the AAEL framework2.
Naming values within the AAEL framework is double-edged because they only make sense as a basis for the joint process if they are accepted and shared by all stakeholders. At the same time, acceptance of values cannot and should not be imposed, as this creates pseudo-situations and resistance. The task therefore remains to understand values from the outset as the result of understanding and negotiation. With a view to agility, it is assumed here that a consensus on the common value basis can already enable sustainable and meaningful collaboration. A consensus as a democratic form of co-determination works differently to a consensus with joint decisions if there are no justified serious objections in addition to agreement with reservations. AAEL values in their respective form are therefore once again the subject of negotiations in the respective educational sectors in order to create a common basis until they are renegotiated. The AAEL framework thus stands for a basic democratic conviction. It is about mutual facilitation of actual participation, readiness for self-organization and assumption of responsibility in a trusting framework3.
The following AAEL principles are essential, value-based guidelines that structure actions and decisions, promote situational flexibility and adaptability and can be applied across and between disciplines. They are part of a personal and organizational Doing AAEL. In various situations, these principles provide orientation and a basis for coordinated and coherent personal and collective action, in the sense of future-oriented leadership in the education sector within the framework of agility and ambidexterity.
AAEL principles at a glance
In summary, this currently results in the following principles of action along central building blocks for version 2.0 of the AAEL framework:
- Value-based action for sustainable higher education
- Post-digitality as a matter of course
- Bridging the duality of exploration and exploitation and promoting an ambidextrous culture
- Sovereign agility in the education sector
- Social responsibility and educational mission
- Integrated leadership in education
For an AAEL with a view to the specific area of education, these principles summarize both clear and adaptable principles for joint sovereign and goal-oriented action along agile practices and ambidextrous practice.
The AAEL principles are briefly described below along AAEL building blocks. This is followed by a section with suggestions for implementing AAEL in educational practice against the background of the values and subsequent principles.
First principle of action: Value-based action for sustainable higher education.
The first principle of action in the AAEL framework is based on the values described in the previous sections.
Description: The principle of value-based action within AAEL aims to enable a culture in higher education that is supported by shared values and principles. This creates a trusting, respectful and innovative environment that promotes participatory learning and self-organization. By emphasizing responsibility, trust, courage, openness, respect, diversity, feedback, engagement, focus and communication, sustainable and future-proof education is made possible in a collaborative way.
Second principle of action: self-evident post-digitality
AAEL naturally takes place in the digital transformation, which is now considered a significant external driver for the education sector alongside other social developments and crises. The AAEL framework is already oriented towards a post-digital perspective on education that goes beyond this, in which digitality is part of everyday life.
Description: The action principle of self-evident post-digitality aims to shape higher education in such a way that it takes place confidently in both the analog and the digital. The AAEL framework assumes an omnipresent mediality and a profoundly mediatized society in which digitality is integrated as a cultural condition of action for interaction and communication in the digital transformation. The post-digital perspective on education recognizes the everyday pervasiveness of digitality and strives to create a flexible, resilient and sustainable educational landscape that meets the challenges and needs of a democratic society.
Third principle of action: Bridging the duality of exploration and exploitation and promoting an ambidextrous culture
For AAEL in higher education, organizational, contextual ambidexterity and personal, individual ambidexterity are crucial elements, as they are compatible with existing practices and praxis. This means that educational organizations such as universities create an environment as well as co-create with individuals in which risk-taking and creativity (exploration) and efficiency and optimization of existing processes (exploitation) are equally valued and encouraged. Bridging the gap between these dualities in the sense of a “both-and” determines the everyday life of AAEL in order to be able to decide and act with confidence.
The existence and handling of roles and structures are central elements here. In this way, actors can make clear and transparent decisions in the complexity of education in sometimes parallel existing contradictory organizational models and take action and responsibility in the form of leadership for their respective areas of activity. AAEL requires a willingness on the part of both the organization and the individual to cultivate a confident approach to the complex simultaneity and equivalence of the new and the existing and the ability to constantly change and let go.
Enabling and promoting an ambidextrous culture that supports both exploration and exploitation in equal measure and supports the ability to act in the in-between is fundamental to AAEL. Providing the framework conditions to promote the emergence of an ambidextrous culture is challenging and complex. The AAEL assumes that a flexible, agile organizational structure that promotes openness to new ideas and individual initiatives through self-organization as well as systematic efficiency and optimized routines provides fertile ground for this.
Description: The principle of bridging duality aims to create a culture in educational organizations and in education in general, including higher education, that values and promotes risk-taking and creativity as well as efficiency and optimized routines. An ambidextrous culture makes it possible to navigate flexibly and confidently between new approaches and existing processes and to adapt to changing conditions. This culture supports individual initiatives and self-organization as well as systematic efficiency and optimized routines in order to sustainably promote both personal and institutional development. The integration of contextual and individual ambidexterity enables both the proactive design of (higher) education and strengthens the situational adaptability, developmental capacity and innovative capacity of educational institutions and education more broadly in a fast-moving, complex and uncertain world.
Fourth principle of action: Sovereign agility in the education sector
Agility plays a central role in modern higher education, as it enables us to respond quickly and effectively to the dynamic and complex challenges of today’s educational landscape and, above all, to take proactive, step-by-step action.
By implementing agile principles and practices, higher education institutions can increase their flexibility and adaptability to meet both short-term demands and long-term strategic goals. Agility fosters a culture of continuous learning and improvement, which is crucial to meet the ever-changing needs of students, teachers and society.
For AAEL in higher education, both “Doing Agile” and “Being Agile” are crucial elements, as they enable the holistic integration of agile principles and values into everyday education. “Doing Agile” refers to the application of agile methods and practices aimed at optimizing processes and responding flexibly to change. “Being Agile”, on the other hand, emphasizes the inner attitude and cultural values that promote an agile mindset and adaptability.
The interplay between “Doing Agile” and “Being Agile” requires a flexible, agile organizational structure as well as a culture of continuous learning and adaptability. By cultivating agile collaboration, universities can master the complexity and dynamics of the education sector with confidence and create sustainable, future-proof education.
Description: The principle of sovereign agility aims to shape (higher) education in such a way that (higher) education can confidently meet external and internal development requirements and change and thus manage complexity in an agile manner with appropriate quality. This applies both in the mode of exploitation (optimization and efficiency of existing processes) and in the mode of exploration (new things and innovations). An agile educational organization is characterized by flexibility, adaptability and a continuous willingness to learn and improve. Agility makes it possible to react quickly and effectively to new challenges while maintaining stable and efficient processes. Agile collaboration builds on the values of courage, openness, respect, communication and continuous feedback, which are incorporated into an individually adopted AAEL.
Fifth principle of action: Social responsibility and educational mission
The AAEL framework addresses education in a comprehensive manner and higher education in particular. AAEL primarily refers to the design and facilitation of learning, skills acquisition and education in a professional and personal sense. In most cases, formal learning (with formal qualifications) is addressed with a view to higher education, but education beyond school with a view to lifelong learning of (young) adults is difficult to separate from self-organized, informal or incidental learning. In this respect, the aim is to enable diverse forms of learning, skills acquisition and opportunities for education by designing framing structural, spatial, legal, social or communicative environments. Therefore, education here addresses both the obvious micro level of teaching design and development as well as the design of institutional and organizational framework conditions for various forms of education in the form of courses, programmes or degree programmes as well as experimental spaces at the meso level of the organization. These are linked to formal, structural and own organizational changes at the level of the educational organization or institution itself in its social context. Particularly with regard to social challenges and modern developments, political design options at the macro level and the global supra level are also relevant for AAEL with regard to openness, technological development and sustainability. This means that (higher) education at AAEL is not limited to the design and facilitation of learning and educational opportunities, but is seen as the overarching design of education in the broader context of at least development, research and sustainability as well as politics and business.
Description: The principle of social responsibility and the educational mission aims to shape higher education in such a way that it promotes personal development and the assumption of social responsibility as well as enabling basic educational tasks such as literacy, qualification, knowledge acquisition and creation. Education is socially relevant and contributes to the development of a critical, value-based and democratic society. A strategic orientation and the creation of meaning through a common vision for higher education strengthens the understanding of the educational mission and serves as a guide for joint action.
Sixth principle of action: Integrated leadership in education
In the context of AAEL, leadership combines the principles of agility and ambidexterity in order to meet the challenges of a constantly changing educational landscape. This particular perspective on leadership emphasizes the need to be both flexible and adaptable (agile leadership) and to be able to take an overarching perspective and have developed the ability to simultaneously optimize existing processes as well as proactively and creatively explore new paths (ambidextrous leadership).
A central feature of leadership in the AAEL is the bridging of the gap between traditional hierarchy and distributed leadership. This means that leadership does not only happen at the top of the organization, but that this role can be practiced at all levels and in all areas of the university in a specific way and is made possible by conducive professional, structural and cultural framework conditions.
Leadership as it is understood in the AAEL framework supports and promotes the personal responsibility and self-organization of all actors in (higher) education for their area of action, for which they take a lead. Over time, this enables a culture of continuous development and joint commitment to a shared idea and vision of future education, for the next generations – and a shared, sustainable and good life.
Description: The principle of integrated leadership aims to shape leadership in higher education in such a way that it integrates both the flexibility and adaptability of agile leadership and the simultaneous optimization and innovation of ambidextrous leadership. This requires an overarching leadership culture that equally promotes the personal responsibility and self-organization of all stakeholders and enables a bridge to be built between leadership in traditional and modern organizational structures. People who assume leadership in the sense of the AAEL framework act with a coaching attitude, among other things, in order to support and inspire individuals, groups or teams and encourage them to take responsibility. Such a leadership culture contributes to continuous development and community engagement and strengthens the ability of higher education to meet the complex and dynamic demands of modern society.
The AAEL principles listed here now represent a central area for the implementation of AAEL in the form of AAEL practice, which follows on from and builds on the AAEL framework.
AAEL practice
AAEL is a specific understanding and practice of leadership in the education sector in the context of agility and ambidexterity in order to remain agile and capable of acting confidently under dynamic and sometimes crisis-ridden conditions.
Accordingly, an AAEL serves to identify specific challenges and problems for education or one’s own educational organization and to tackle them together in an agile manner in order to develop a kind of change routine that is jointly supported and becomes part of everyday life – and thus contributes to satisfactory and healthy cooperation for everyone involved. And this applies to everyday challenges such as demographic changes or system-changing technologies as well as to crises such as the outbreak of a pandemic or the onset of war.
AAEL practice as an accompaniment to constant change
In the spirit of ambidexterity and both/and, the implementation of AAEL in education also consists of a combination of plannable steps and the willingness to react to emergent changes. The practice of AAEL is therefore an ongoing process of adaptation and innovation in ultimately all areas and thus a constant wave movement. And in view of the complexity of education and social transformation processes such as digitalization, it is also realistically a never-ending process in which it is important to keep moving forward together.
In order to capture and structure this movement or parallel movements across all areas, the basic logic of the two-loop model of change is followed here. In this approach, change cannot be planned throughout and thrives on emergence and interim revolutionary decisions as well as innovations. What makes this approach suitable for AAEL is that it takes a constructive and appreciative view of the qualities of both the existing system and the emerging system in the sense of a both/and approach. The established structures and processes operate in the existing system. It comprises the traditional methods and approaches that currently prevail. The emerging system stands for new, innovative approaches and practices.
Accordingly, the Two-Loop Model of Change describes a process of change or transformation as a dynamic interaction between these two systems as two continuous curved movements which, strictly speaking, do not close in on themselves but are continuously forming. In short, the phases in such a process involve recognizing the limits of the existing system and analyzing and identifying areasin which the current system is no longer effective, outdated or inappropriate. This is followed by the learning exploration of new possibilities through experimentation, testing and review. This can result in optimizations, breakthroughs and revolutionary changes that take the system into a new phase. At the end of a process loop, successful new approaches are integrated into the existing system and scaled up.
This makes it clear that everything that was once new and could be integrated as suitable can at some point become part of the current system and thus also become the previous system when something new emerges, which is examined and (partially) integrated or discarded with a view to improving the previous system. It is also clear that this model entails a certain dynamic which, in combination with agility and ambidexterity, requires and supports a specific leadership practice for what makes education special.
The implementation of AAEL for the design of (higher) education as a complex system in the post-digital era must be flexible and adaptive. While some changes can be planned and structured, others can occur unexpectedly and require spontaneous, innovative solutions. By applying the two-loop model, it becomes clear that change is not a small-scale, plannable individual project with an end point, but an ongoing process and that an educational organization is constantly learning, adapting and allowing for both evolutionary and revolutionary changes.
AAEL actors
With AAEL, the question is not so much who can be responsible for change or transformation in the areas of the organization. The short answer is: everyone participates. And they do so with a realistic view of their roles, which can be formed and reassigned again and again in line with projected change projects. The classic functions and attributions as students, presidents, deans, professors, teachers, administrators, managers, supporters, etc. are not of central importance here.
With the decision to implement AAEL in the educational organization, each person is jointly responsible and thus also responsible for a successful AAEL. The values and principles on which AAEL is based should be emphasized once again.
Realistically, content and function-oriented combinations of roles in an ambidextrous logic will also come into play here in an agile way.
The implementation of AAEL in a university requires an approach in which different people can and should participate more actively in different phases.
Areas of an AAEL practice
For a possible start with AAEL in education or in your own educational organization, it is first relevant to look at why a start makes sense, where and on the basis of which challenges and problems – and what the next stages of the joint journey could be. At a minimum, the following relevant areas should be addressed in AAEL practice:
Communication and transparency, because AAEL is a joint task that, in accordance with the values and principles set out, is essentially based on trust and responsibility, which can be developed and strengthened in conjunction with communication and transparency – or can be squandered if communication and transparency are lacking.
Meaning and vision, because adopting the AAEL framework for your own organization is a long-term, shared process. In addition to jointly negotiated values and principles, this also requires an overarching, personal AAEL vision as a meaningful north star that motivates people to get involved and embark on a shared personal and organizational learning process – with all its ups and downs.
Problem analysis and goal, because an agile approach and an equally aligned perspective in the as-well-as do not entail arbitrariness and aimless flexibility. Rather, it requires a clear examination and analysis of upcoming problems and challenges or foreseeable requirements of the existing system with its practices, which can be worked towards in small steps, agilely and more or less openly depending on the clarity of the goal and its nature. Agility serves – within the next steps into uncertainty – to provide security in the structure of cooperation in order to learn quickly. And to quickly adapt objectives and processes when a need is identified, thus minimizing the waste of resources.
Introduction and development of the AAEL principles, because the AAEL principles, which are aligned with the essential building blocks of AAEL, enable joint cooperation in line with the idea of AAEL. For identified problem areas and fields of action that are to be changed, it is necessary to look at the extent to which the AAEL principles can be appropriately implemented here. Through the central alignment of goal-oriented change processes with these principles, all building blocks of AAEL are addressed equally (see rules of the game).
Change and continuous improvement, because the implementation of an AAEL always involves supporting a long-term, ongoing change process. This takes place in the sense of continuous improvement, sometimes as a disruptive transformation, sometimes as an evolutionary, gradual transition, depending on external or internal requirements. And to recognize to what extent which exploitation and exploration needs to be balanced. Such an overarching, iterative process of change can also be seen as a personal, organizational and strategic learning process. Regardless of the mode, the aim is to continuously improve education with a view to jointly developed (milestone) goals, target areas or overarching objectives such as a shared North Star that creates meaning.
Process reflection and perspectives, because the AAEL is also about taking a retrospective look at each stage of the process and jointly deciding on the next changes in cooperation for greater satisfaction and health for everyone. So that all stakeholders in the AAEL can continue to develop and want to take responsibility. This also includes taking a critical and reflective approach to the shared target perspective based on the experience gained and knowledge acquired about themselves, the organization and the shared culture, as well as (re-)adjusting target perspectives.
AAEL practice canvas for the joint design of (higher) education in the post-digital age
The following draft of a model canvas visualizes at a glance the areas to be considered along the building blocks and principles for a joint implementation of AAEL in one’s own (higher) education practice.
AAEL methods and practices: Much is already there!
The areas listed in the canvas are further provided with specific guiding questions that encourage reflection on needs and approaches in the respective areas. Exemplary AAEL activities and methods for promoting AAEL should also be added to the areas and their possible interplay for joint empowerment should be described in more detail. In the spirit of a dwarf on the shoulders of giants, it is also possible here to look at and draw on many methods and practices from the contexts of consulting, (peer) coaching, (agile) organizational development and strategy development that are already available for inclusion, to re-evaluate and contextualize it or to (further) develop it for AAEL so that the AAEL framework is coherent4.
The AAEL practice canvas is also to be seen in the context of the rules of the game, within which AAEL can be jointly implemented in its own sense and in accordance with the respective (higher) education organization.
Last update on 01.07.2024(changelog)
- Based on the creation form of the Scrum Guide(https://scrumguides.org/index.html), the concept of a kind of ‘rules of the game’ is used for the AAEL framework in addition to its version-based further development in order to set limits to any adaptation [↩]
- Based on the Agile Manifesto(https://agilemanifesto.org), the idea of a fundamental orientation towards values and principles for cooperation in education and AAEL is adapted here [↩]
- see previous work on the differentiation of participatory design of learning environments at: https://partizipative-mediendidaktik.de.)) – and taking into account power-political constellations.
For this reason, trust and responsibility are regarded and emphasized as central values in the AAEL framework.
Trust, because this is the basis for successful cooperation and mutual support and strengthens relationships and (psychological) security. Trust in each other and in the formal, structural, legal and social framework is a prerequisite and consequence of all other values. Because trust cannot be imposed, it is acquired through responsible cooperation with one another, it is strengthened and can be lost again just as easily.
Responsibility, because the ability and willingness to take on and hand over responsibility is fundamental for participatory (learning) processes at all levels, collaborative working contexts and for functioning self-organization in groups, teams and organizations. Responsibility also means a long-term commitment to sustainable educational processes and the willingness to critically reflect on the effects of one’s own actions in education in the post-digital age.
The following are equally relevant values as the basis for an AAEL and its principles as future-oriented leadership in the education sector within the reference framework of agility and ambidexterity:
Courage, because AAEL invites people to take risks in their actions with a view to an uncertain future and to proactively tackle change despite uncertainties. Courage also includes the willingness to see rapid testing and mistakes as learning opportunities and to create an environment in which innovative ideas can be tested and risks taken. AAEL supports the willingness to innovate and overcome uncertainty in complex situations.
Openness, because AAEL thrives on the willingness to be transparent and the free exchange of materials, information and ideas in the broader sense of Open Educational Practice (OEP). Openness also means continuously integrating new findings and technological developments and constantly developing both personally and in (higher) education and thus reacting flexibly to new challenges and opportunities.
Respect, because AAEL is about recognizing and valuing the contributions and perspectives of everyone involved in the collaboration – and giving feedback with respect for the individual. In this respect, respect means promoting the diversity and inclusion of all those involved and ensuring that all voices are heard and valued.
Diversity, because AAEL consciously seeks opportunities in the in-between and the framework, with a view to diversity in education in the post-digital era, allows for the integration of diclusive and inclusive perspectives and backgrounds in order to create a suitable, sustainable education for all. Diversity is therefore a continuous process that must be actively cultivated and promoted in order to create an inclusive environment.
Feedback, because constructive feedback motivates rapid learning with a view to achieving the goal and promotes personal growth within the organization. Feedback is important in both a formative and summative sense in order to promote continuous learning and the achievement of goals.
Engagement (also in the sense of commitment) because the AAEL framework relies primarily on AAEL doing from the (self-)commitment to achieve common goals in order to continuously improve education through rapid feedback. Commitment also requires a balance between individual responsibility and collective obligation to achieve common goals.
Focus, because concentration on the next task is important in the complexity of education. In this respect, focus means setting clear goals and interim goals and pursuing them consistently, as well as remaining motivated, efficient and effective when taking the next steps.
Communication, because it is essential, especially in the post-digital age in all its forms of verbal, non-verbal and digital communication, for the coordination and constant exchange between people, within teams and organizations in order to continuously improve education together.
This value basis for the joint shaping of (higher) education can differentiate or develop further over time. They contribute significantly to a personal and organizational ‘Being AAEL’. For the present version of the AAEL framework, these values now also represent a point of reference for subsequent principles in the individual and collective shaping of future (higher) education as Doing AAEL.
AAEL principles in Doing AAEL
The AAEL framework is neither a detailed set of rules nor a step-by-step guide, but rather sets out central principles along the conceptual cornerstones. Together, the shared values and principles of the AAEL framework are intended to create a basis for the cooperative, innovative and sustainable design of (higher) education. They are aimed at the implementation of an AAEL in practice and are to be understood as guiding and guiding common behavior ((Based on the creation form of the Agile Manifesto(https://agilemanifesto.org/iso/de/principles.html), central principles are described for the AAEL framework [↩]
- The corresponding in-depth chapter on AAEL practice, including recommendations for dealing with the AAEL practice canvas, will be included in a future version of this (A)AEL online book. [↩]
