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"Collective inquiry is the process in which educators engage as they make significant decisions. Rather than making decisions on the basis of mindless precedent ("This is how we have always done it.") or personal preference ("This is how I like to do it. "), they begin by building shared knowledge or learning together, thus it is a collective endeavor." Richard DuFour, EdD

Loved the part about making decisions just because it's how we've always done it!

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Intentionally collaborating and discussing what works/doesn't work/how we'll get there...will make us a GREAT teaching team!

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Critical Questions for Collective Inquiry

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Critical Questions for Collective Inquiry

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D.Hardin

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Establishing a viable curriculum requires teachers to engage in collective inquiry.

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Establishing a viable curriculum requires teachers to engage in collective inquiry.

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D. Hardin

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Guiding Questions for Collective Inquiry 

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Guiding Questions for Collective Inquiry 

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D. Hardin

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D. Hardin

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Preparing for Collective Inquiry pg 21.pdf: 137 - PLC Facilitators - PDSS

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This short video briefly illustrates how collaborative inquiry might look in practice. Starting with a problem or a learning opportunity, participants explore as much as they can about the issue and where it "lives". They share their assumptions about the issue and make predictions about possible outcomes before examining any related data.

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"Working
with people from individual and local and specialized and organizational and holistic
knowledges brings the full range of understanding to a project and so everyone is able to learn
from each other."
I liked this quote! -M.Vann

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Using Student Work to Promote Collective Inquiry- K. Kothmann

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Using Student Work to Promote Collective Inquiry- K. Kothmann

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Abstract

The study describes teachers' collective work in which they developed deeper understanding of their own students' mathematical thinking. Teachers at one school met in monthly workgroups throughout the year. Prior to each workgroup, they posed a similar mathematical problem to their students. The workgroup discussions centered on the student work those problems generated. This study draws on a transformation of participation perspective to address the questions: What do teachers learn through collective examination of student work? How is teacher learning evident in shifts in participation in discussions centered on student work? The analyses account for the learning of the group by documenting key shifts in teachers' participation across the year. The first shift in participation occurred when teachers as a group learned to attend to the details of children's thinking. A second shift in participation occurred as teachers began to develop possible instructional trajectories in mathematics. We focus our discussion on the significance of the use of student work and a transformation of participation view in analyzing the learning trajectory of teachers as a group.

children's mathematical thinking professional development school-wide inquiry sociocultural theory student work teacher learning

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Teacher Learning in Mathematics: Using Student Work to Promote Collective Inquiry

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The study describes teachers' collective work in which they developed deeper understanding of their own students' mathematical thinking. Teachers at one school met in monthly workgroups throughout the year. Prior to each workgroup, they posed a similar mathematical problem to their students. The workgroup discussions centered on the student work those problems generated.

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what is collective inquiry - Google Search

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Collective Inquiry is Building shared knowledge and professional capacity of teachers (Liz)

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Collective Inquiry is Building shared knowledge and professional capacity of teachers (Liz)

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Anthony Muhammad, PhD, is a much sought-after educational consultant. A practitioner for nearly 20 years, he has served as a middle school teacher, assistant principal, and principal, and as a high school principal.

One of the factors that makes the PLC at Work model unique is the emphasis on building shared knowledge and building the professional capacity of practitioners. The traditional school model featured individual development, and the PLC model supports collective development. In fact, one of the key principles of the model is that learning for educators is the key to improving student learning (DuFour, DuFour et al. 2016). One of the most important responsibilities of a school leader is to invest in the capacity of those who influence student learning. In the PLC process, we call this activity Collective Inquiry.

A central theme in my literature has been that "if people don't know better, they can't do better." In the book, The Will to Lead, The Skill to Teach, I emphasize that the essence of leadership is the ability to use leadership influence to improve professional practice and productivity (Hollie and Muhammad 2011). Leadership is a balance of and accountability. Effective leaders recognize that accountability is only ethical and useful if a leader first provides his/her subordinates with all that they need to have a reasonable chance to be successful. One critical need of a professional is access to powerful and relevant learning opportunities.

In my experience as both a school leader and consultant, I have observed several different effective methods to address this critical need without adding an additional time-consuming obligation for teachers.

1) Integrate a short article for a team to review and discuss during collaborative time after reviewing data on a learning standard for which all of the team members struggled to generate desirable outcomes.

2) Use aggregate student achievement data to design a professional development plan based upon evidence of student gaps in learning essential standards.

3) Arrange for a group of teachers to observe another teacher who has been highly successful at moving large numbers of students to mastery on a particular standard or topic.

4) Use technology to allow a teacher access to a video or live stream of another teacher teaching an essential standard for which he/she is trying to improve pedagogy and student results.

5) Gather a team and visit a school that has created a system or strategy that your staff has been trying to address, but has been unsuccessful in doing so.

In a world that is growing more interconnected and competitive every day, it is more critical than ever that we ensure that our children have the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to have a fighting chance to thrive in this environment. This reality means that consistent, job-embedded professional development for educators is not a luxury, it is a necessity. School leaders must have the courage to break down the walls of isolation, not just in professional practice, but also in professional learning. If we learn together, we grow together. A school can't be a Professional Learning Community (PLC) without professional learning.

DuFour, R., R. DuFour, et al. (2016). Learning By Doing: A Handbook for Professional Learning Communities at Work 3rd Edition. Bloomington, IN, Solution Tree Press.

Hollie, S. and A. Muhammad (2011). The Will to Lead, The Skill to Teach: Transforming Schools at Every Level. Bloomington, IN, Solution Tree Press.

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Anthony Muhammad, PhD, is a much sought-after educational consultant. A practitioner for nearly 20 years, he has served as a middle school teacher, assistant principal, and principal, and as a high school principal. One of the factors that makes the PLC at Work model unique is the emphasis on building shared knowledge and building the professional capacity of practitioners.

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By Denise Snowden, Ph.D.

As a growing number of school districts across the country focus on developing teacher leadership, it's important to not be bound by traditional approaches to professional learning.

How can learning be a collective process in which administrators and teachers are equal participants?

What learning experiences will empower educators to grow their perspective, form partnerships, and refine their practice?

I recently had the opportunity to work with educators in Fairfax County Public Schools (VA) to grow teacher and instructional leadership through the implementation of BFK*Rounds TM -a unique approach to instructional rounds, developed by Battelle for Kids, which allows teams of educators to study their organization and identify what is working well and what problems of learning and problems of practice need to be addressed. The approach includes a process of collective inquiry, in which teachers, school leaders, and district administrators conclude by reflecting on their role as learners. In Fairfax, educators shared some common reflections, including:

"I like that we were able to identify problems AND solutions in one day."

"All stakeholders in this school had rich dialogue, discussion, and debate."

"Teachers are passionate about improving their practice and their school."

"Going through the data made me reflect on my own practice; what would people see and hear when they came into my classroom?"

Collective inquiry helps teachers build their leadership capacity in three key ways.

1. Perspective
By studying the instructional core (the interaction between teachers and students in the presence of content) and learning how to withhold judgment and regulate bias, teachers quickly gain perspective. They are able to step beyond the boundaries of the classroom and see the learning interactions from the outside, collect objective evidence, and collaboratively identify and articulate assertions supported by the evidence. Becoming researchers of their own school enables teachers to see their role through a new lens and appreciate the power and influence they have on student learning.

2. Partnership
Navigating through the collective inquiry process requires educators at all levels to negotiate meaning and grapple with how to describe what the evidence presents. They determine critical challenges to student learning, share ideas, and work toward a solution. This process forges a value-based partnership between teachers and administrators. Position no longer impacts decision making when meaning is co-constructed and solutions are identified to address an emergent problem of student learning. Ownership for student learning expands when collective inquiry leads to collective 'ah-ha' moments.

3. Practice
Seeing the impact of their work as change agents for student learning, propels teachers and administrators on the instructional rounds team to hone in on a critical aspect of their practice for further development. Educators enter into this practice refinement process collectively and discover the power of collective efficacy as they navigate through instructional experimentation with their colleagues,always keeping student learning as the driving purpose of their work.

When teachers and administrators are empowered to grow their perspective, form partnerships, and refine their practice, leadership is developed collectively-both inside and outside of the classroom.

Denise Snowden, Ph.D., is a Senior Director of Learning & Leading at Battelle for Kids. For more information about BFK*Rounds and how the collective inquiry process can support teacher leadership development, email her at dsnowden@bfk.org or connect with her on Twitter @DeniseSnowden.

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Developing Teacher Leaders through Collective Inquiry

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By Denise Snowden, Ph.D. As a growing number of school districts across the country focus on developing teacher leadership, it's important to not be bound by traditional approaches to professional learning. How can learning be a collective process in which administrators and teachers are equal participants?

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http://www.battelleforkids.org/learning-hub/learning-hub-item/developing-teacher-leaders-through-collective-inquiry

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-Kaitlyn Fisk

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In this column, we often report on qualities and practices of high-performing school systems. Today, my colleague Aparna Patankar writes about collective inquiry, and how it helped build some of the enviable teaching forces in the world.

By Aparna Patankar

Collective inquiry is the process by which educators build shared knowledge and learn together.

It's also a common practice that high-performing school systems around the world use to create and sustain a strong teaching profession. Collective inquiry helps build a shared vision for students' futures, and offers a constructive way for teachers to improve their craft together.

In Singapore, each school has a professional learning community. Collective inquiry is embedded and supported throughout the system. Within professional learning communities, teachers are divided into learning teams of four to eight members who work together to improve student learning. Learning teams collaborate to refine lesson plans and materials, teaching strategies, and assessment practices. The aim is to use collective inquiry to engage educators in an ongoing cycle of reflection that promotes collective learning and continuous improvement.

Teachers in China also utilize collective inquiry to improve their practice. Shanghai teachers, for example, teach relatively few classes, so that they have plenty of time for preparation. Senior and junior teachers practice and refine lessons together to video. Teachers observe one another teaching in an effort to learn from one another. Further, Chinese systems require teachers to have several open classes each year, so that other teachers and even trainees can learn from and guide them. Such collective inquiry enables Chinese teachers to collectively refine instructional strategies to ensure better implementation and results.

In Japan, teachers participate in regular lesson study, during which teachers, along with their peers, review lessons and consider how to improve them. This process allows teachers to better understand student errors, provides a mechanism for self-reflection, and generates consistency in teaching. This process often takes years and begins with a group of four to six educators, at the same level, coming together and setting a goal or research theme for themselves. These educators then collectively create a curriculum that strives to achieve this goal, collaboratively making decisions on content and integrating new teaching techniques. After practicing teaching the lesson and receiving feedback, the group then refines the lesson to improve its content and implementation. Such groups exist at both the school and the district level.

Some U.S. schools and districts are working to change their teaching culture to support engagement in collective inquiry. Evolving from a culture of closed classroom doors and isolated teaching to one that encourages professional collaboration and sharing is one of the biggest challenges facing our system.

Next week, I will share practical advice on utilizing collective inquiry in your school.

Follow Aparna Patankar and Asia Society on Twitter.

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collective inquiry helps build a shared vision for students' futures

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and offers a constructive way for teachers to improve their craft together.

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In this column, we often report on qualities and practices of high-performing school systems. Today, my colleague Aparna Patankar writes about collective inquiry, and how it helped build some of the enviable teaching forces in the world. By Aparna Patankar Collective inquiry is the process by which educators build shared knowledge and learn together.

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Leslie Talamantes

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December 2008/January 2009 | Volume 66 | Number 4
Data: Now What? Pages 87-88

Jane L. David

Teachers can make better use of data when they work together than when they go it alone. But creating the conditions for such collaboration is a tall order.

What's the Idea?

In collaborative inquiry, teachers work together to identify common challenges, analyze relevant data, and test out instructional approaches. The idea behind this approach is that such systematic, collaborative work will increase student learning.

What's the Reality?

Teacher collaboration does not occur naturally; it runs against prevailing norms of teacher isolation and individualistic approaches to teaching. Without specific training, teachers often lack the necessary collaboration skills as well as skills in collecting data, making sense of the information, and figuring out its implications for action. With little time and competing agendas, schools often hold unreasonable expectations for what teachers can accomplish.

Another common mistake is to make raising test scores the primary goal, displacing the more important goal of gathering rich data that suggest what adjustments are likely to increase student understanding.

What's the Research?

A growing body of evidence suggests that when teachers collaborate to pose and answer questions informed by data from their own students, their knowledge grows and their practice changes. Borko (2004) describes teachers who met regularly to review student work in response to a common assignment. From their joint study of students' strategies, the teachers gained greater understanding of their students' reasoning and adapted their classroom practices to this new knowledge. Gearheart and Osmundson (2008) report similar findings. They studied grade-level teams of teachers who created student assessment portfolios. As a consequence of sharing and discussing their students' portfolios, teachers not only deepened their knowledge about how to assess student understanding but also used the assessment results to guide their instruction.

Teachers could conduct cycles of inquiry individually in their classrooms, but they rarely do so on their own. Collaboration seems to add both motivation and value. In their study of nine high schools, Ingram, Louis, and Schroeder (2004) report that teachers are more likely to collect and use data systematically when working as a group. When working by themselves, teachers tend to rely on anecdotes and intuition.

The kinds of data available to inquiry teams matter. If teachers do not view assessment data as timely, or if they feel that it does not accurately measure student learning, efforts to get them to use the data fall flat (Marsh, Pane, & Hamilton, 2006). In addition, data sources must be rich enough to provide a basis for considering alternative instructional approaches (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999). Student work products or individual teachers' formative assessments are more relevant to instructional practices than standardized test scores are. Yet, district and even school initiatives to conduct inquiry often prescribe use of local or state standardized test data (Marsh, Pane, & Hamilton, 2006; Young, 2006). These data can point to problem areas, but they provide little guidance for improvement.

Several studies identify factors associated with effective inquiry teams. Two such factors are leadership and norms that support collaboration and data use (Marsh, Pane, & Hamilton, 2006; Young, 2006). Other factors that keep inquiry teams on track are sufficient chunks of time to meet, training in inquiry skills, protocols to guide data collection and discussion, and a skilled facilitator to keep the agenda focused on implications for instruction instead of "war stories" (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999; Gearheart & Osmundson, 2008; Ingram, Louis, & Schroeder, 2004; Nelson, Slavit, Perkins, & Hathorn, 2008).

What's One to Do?

Collaborative inquiry is among the most promising strategies for strengthening teaching and learning. At the same time, it may be one of the most difficult to implement.

The biggest risk in moving to establish collaborative inquiry is to do so without providing the necessary leadership and support. To start, schools and districts need to create a shared understanding of the purpose and value of collaborative inquiry among teachers and administrators. Other essential conditions include time for teachers to meet regularly and adequate investment in training and facilitation. Common lessons and student tasks that are meaty enough to merit collective investigation can serve as a structure for discussion.

Becoming an effective inquiry team takes patience and persistence. Collaborative inquiry is not for the faint of heart, but it can be well worth the effort.

References

Borko, H. (2004). Professional development and teacher learning: Mapping the terrain. Educational Researcher, 33(8), 3-15.

Cochran-Smith, M., & Lytle, S. S. (1999). Relationship of knowledge and practice: Teacher learning in communities. Review of Research in Education, 24(1), 249-301.

Gearhart, M., & Osmundson, E. (2008). Assessment portfolios as opportunities for teacher learning (CRESST Report 736). Los Angeles: University of California, Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing.

Ingram, D., Louis, K. S., & Schroeder, R. G. (2004). Accountability policies and teacher decision making: Barriers to the use of data to improve practice. Teachers College Record, 106(6), 1258-1287.

Marsh, J. A., Pane, J. F., & Hamilton, S. (2006). Making sense of data-driven decision making in education: Evidence from Recent RAND Research. Santa Monica, CA: RAND.

Nelson, T. H., Slavit, D., Perkins, M., & Hathorn, T. (2008). A culture of collaborative inquiry: Learning to develop and support professional learning communities. Teachers College Record, 110(6), 1269-1303.

Young, V. M. (2006). Teachers' use of data: Loose coupling, agenda setting, and team norms. American Journal of Education, 112(4), 521-548.

Jane L. David is Director of the Bay Area Research Group, Palo Alto, California; jld@bayarearesearch.org. She is the author, with Larry Cuban, of Cutting Through the Hype: A Taxpayer's Guide to School Reform (Education Week Press, 2006).

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December 2008/January 2009 | Volume 66 | Number 4 Data: Now What? Pages 87-88 Jane L. David Teachers can make better use of data when they work together than when they go it alone. But creating the conditions for such collaboration is a tall order.