About Us
As college faculty, we have become experts in studying distinctions at the expense of losing sight of connections. We have developed curriculum within the isolation of the academy, around tables where only faculty are present. Our curriculum design process, more often than not, focuses on what new topic should be covered, in which course it should be covered, and which faculty member wants to cover it. It's as if we see ourselves living and working in a laboratory that is separate from the rest of life. It's a process that will no longer survive the scrutiny of the 21st century.
Dr. Ruth Stiehl is best known in college circles as the author of The OUTCOMES Primers, which are used throughout the states and provinces. The OUTCOMES Primer series provide colleges with processes for thinking about learning outcomes and assessment in preparation for meeting accreditation standards. At the present, Ruth works with the White Water Institute for College Instructional Leadership, Astoria, Oregon.
A thought leader in the area of systemic thinking as it applies to learning and learning organizations, Ruth holds the position of Professor Emeritus at Oregon State University where she directed numerous research studies related to instructional systems during her tenure of 30 years. Prior to working with college leadership, Ruth directed the graduate studies program in Training and Development for business and industry at Oregon State. She is author or co-author of seven books on instructional systems and resides in Corvallis, Oregon.
Dr. Les Lewchuk holds the position of Professor Emeritus at Kwantlen University College in British Columbia, where he taught courses in organizational behavior and operations management with emphasis on leadership development. He has done extensive work with documentation design and creating models and frameworks to visually illustrate ideas and enhance electronic, online and written work.
Les continues to search for effective ways to enhance visualization which takes him ever deeper into the digital world. He has adopted a variety of digital media which he combines and integrates to design and develop much of his work. The mapping process is being taken to new levels with the intent of assisting faculty, curriculum and technology developers to address the evolving patterns of learning, and learning about learning. Trends seem to point toward less predictability in how we deal with skill development and making sense of the world. Les is also co-author of The Primer Series.