1. The Why and How of Knowledge Management: Some Applications in Teaching and Learning
Olivier Serrat
2016
The views expressed in this presentation are the views of the author/s and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian Development Bank, or its Board of Governors, or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this presentation and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. The countries listed in this presentation do not imply any view on ADB's part as to sovereignty or independent status or necessarily conform to ADB's terminology.

2. Quid Knowledge Management?
Identify
Create
Store
Share
Use
In context and framed by values, knowledge is in our minds a fluid mix of data, information, and experience, enriched by expert insight.
In organizations, it is embedded not just in documents and repositories but also in norms, practices, processes, and routines.
Hence, in that environment, the immediate purpose of knowledge management is to provide support for improved decision making; similarly, its higher objective is to advance organizational performance.

3. The Why of Knowledge Management
Diverse motives can drive knowledge management initiatives. Most frequently, they are to:
Achieve shorter product (or service) development cycles.
Boost internal and external network connectivity.
Harness intellectual capital.
Increase knowledge content in the development and provision of products and services.
Leverage the expertise of people across the organization.
Manage business environments so staff can access insights that are appropriate to their work.
Promote creativity, innovation, and organizational learning.
Solve intractable problems.

4. The How of Knowledge Management
Business activities—to advance key elements of the business model.
Communities—to empower knowledge-based communities and networks of practice operating within and across organizational units.
Content management—to operate and improve the processes and technologies that support information databases.
Intellectual capital—to manage the human, relational, and structural components of organizations.
Knowledge benchmarking—to gauge knowledge management capabilities and practices against international "good practice" and raise performance.
The motives that drive knowledge management initiatives are reflected in 10 main areas of activity:

5. The How of Knowledge Management
Cont'd
Knowledge capture—to identify and harvest explicit and tacit knowledge.
Knowledge culture—to embed a knowledge management ethos and knowledge behaviors into working practices.
Knowledge partnerships—to contribute knowledge, experience, resources, and connections, and participate in two-way communications with key clients, audiences, and partners.
Knowledge retention—to safeguard knowledge, especially before staff leave and during periods of organizational change.
Knowledge transfer—to convey knowledge, especially "good practice", among and between its various sources and forms.

6. The How of Knowledge Management
To note, knowledge management approaches in the 10 main areas of activity are increasingly modulated by:
Adaptive management, inspired by the ideal of the learning organization
Adoption of a wide variety of modalities that govern rather than manage
Attention to social networks
Convergence
Open content, with possibilities to reuse, revise, remix, and redistribute
Stronger emphasis on influence, not knowledge per se
Transition from storage and retrieval of information to active engagement with knowledge seekers

7. The How of Knowledge Management
In step with the motives that drive knowledge management initiatives, the perspectives that conduce the latter are:
Ecological, focusing on how to foster the dynamic evolution of knowledge interactions between entities.
Organizational, focusing on how an organization can be designed to better facilitate knowledge processes.
Technocentric, focusing on how information and communications technology can enhance core knowledge activities, such as storage and sharing.
Knowledge Management Perspectives
Ecological
Organizational
Technocentric

8. Knowledge Management in Teaching and Learning
Arguably, the purpose of education is to open the minds of students and equip them with the wherewithal—essentially, knowledge—with which to make out and create their preferred future (and not merely respond to circumstances or events). Chance favors the prepared mind.
In the age of globalization, accelerating technological change, and increased competition, knowledge management can help schools, colleges, and universities— be they public, private, or the object of public–private partnerships—improve teaching for better learning outcomes.
In education as elsewhere, knowledge management can bring together people, processes, and technologies to enable schools, colleges, and universities to accomplish their missions.

9. Sample Functional Domains of Education
Administration
Admissions
Alumni Affairs
Curriculum Development
Enrollment Planning
Faculty
Governance
Library and Information Services
Performance Evaluation of Faculty
Placement
Planning and Development
Research and Development
Reporting
Student Affairs
Student Counseling
Student Body
Student Learning
Teaching and Learning Processes
People
Processes
Technology

10. Knowledge Resources in Sample Functional Domains of Education
Curriculum Development
Knowledge maps and knowledge audits of corporate and interdisciplinary relationships and networks bearing on curriculum development
"Hubs" of information in related disciplinary areas (including recent publications, updated materials, and applicable research)
Peer assists by partner institutions
Knowledge banks of curriculum content, arranged to evidence interdisciplinary inputs
Self- and independent evaluations of curriculum revision efforts
Portals of pedagogical techniques (including outcomes tracking, "good practice", learning and development opportunities for faculty members, and areas for further research and development).
Databases of (analyzed) student evaluations, updated each semester for "lessons learned" and "good practice"
Knowledge harvesting and communities of practice in curriculum development
Guidelines for developing curriculum content (including working with faculty members and establishing effective teaching styles)
People
Processes
Technology

11. Knowledge Resources in Sample Functional Domains of Education
Alumni and Student Affairs
Knowledge banks of alumni contributions and activities (flagging updates)
Commencement speeches by eminent alumni
Knowledge banks of policies and procedures for admissions, registration, financial assistance, billing, payments, counseling, degree audits, housing, dining, etc.
Databases on student demographics, work allotments, assessments and evaluations, performance, grades, etc.
Student-led peer-assisted learning, peer-assisted study sessions, and peer mentoring
Knowledge banks of student affairs services to make sure faculty members understand existing services and extend proper advice
Portals for career placement services (including a one-stop service center for students but also for faculty to make sure they are informed)
Knowledge cafés on alumni and student affairs
Retrospects of alumni and student affairs to synergize career, curriculum, and research and development effort
Exit interviews of selected faculty to elicit insights on alumni and student affairs
People
Processes
Technology

12. A Farther Horizon for Knowledge Management in Education
To promote knowledge management initiatives in education, some next steps might be to:
Communicate the value of knowledge management in education.
Connect knowledge management initiatives to teaching and learning outcomes, be this in class or online.
Research and track knowledge management initiatives in schools, colleges, and universities.
Establish national forums and promote communities and networks of practice to engage stakeholders, including students, in knowledge management for teaching and learning in education.
Formulate education policies that prompt schools, colleges, and universities to engage in knowledge management initiatives for teacher and student success.

13. Video #1: Flash Animations for Learning

14. Video #2: Social Media

15. Video #3: The Empowerment of ADB-Hosted CoPs

16. Video #4: The Birth of a Living Archive

17. Asking, Learning, Sharing
Every Single One of Us
As a Community
Working in Teams
Ask
I ask questions. Inquiring minds are welcome here.
We check first to see what already exists.
We question accepted wisdom.
Learn
I contextualize learning to make it real.
We connect and take opportunities to learn.
We review lessons as we go and apply our learning.
Share
I share personal details, roles, and skills.
We share experience, evidence, and feedback.
We share achievements, outcomes, and pride.

18. Pillars of Knowledge Management
Learning
Organization
Technology
Computer Science
Cognitive Psychology
Management Science
Organizational Development
Multiple Disciplines, including
Strategic Framework
Leadership

19. Further Reading
ADB Building Communities of Practice. Manila.
—— Managing Knowledge Workers. Manila.
—— Storytelling. Manila.
—— Notions of Knowledge Management. Manila.
—— Glossary of Knowledge Management. Manila.

20. Further Reading
ADB Building a Learning Organization. Manila.
—— The Roots of an Emerging Discipline. Manila.
—— A Primer on Organizational Learning. Manila.
—— Seeding Knowledge Solutions Before, During, and After. Manila.

21. Videos
ADB The Empowerment of ADB-Hosted Communities of Practice. Manila.
—— Social Media. Manila. vimeo.com/
—— The ADB Sustainable Development Timeline: The Birth of a Living Archive. Manila. vimeo.com/
—— Flash Animations for Learning. Manila. vimeo.com/
—— The ADB Sustainable Development Timeline. Manila. reflections.adb.org/
—— ADB: Reflections and Beyond. Manila. vimeo.com/user

22. Olivier Serrat Principal Knowledge Management Specialist
Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department
Asian Development Bank