Leaders from three Collaborative Inquiry Community of Practice (CoP) schools (Haynes, Margaret Allen, and Neely's Bend) met together at Margaret Allen Middle on June 29, 2016.  The purpose of the workshop was to define and model the collaborative inquiry process and plan for implementing it during the 2016-2017 school year.

One of the lessons learned from the spring CoP was the need for a clear definition of collaborative inquiry.  Therefore, during this meeting, the definition created by the CoP was articulated explicitly (see image).  As a result we have the Collaborative Learning Cycle and MNPS IC Map for Collaborative Inquiry providing a clearer picture of the collaborative inquiry process.

The other big lesson learned this spring is the idea of The Learning and Unlearning Journey.  In Day 1 of the Leading Collaborative Teams workshop, Dr. Laura Lipton (2016) discussed that sometimes to learn new practices, we have to unlearn existing habits.  Therefore, to foster a culture of collaboration, we need to work together to unlearn a culture of compliance.  There's no checklist for establishing a collaborative culture.  Just like when I was in the classroom as a teacher, as soon as I thought I had the art of teaching mastered, I would get new students, parents, and team member.  Working together in our CoP, I am confident we will continue to improve.

Speaking of improving, I have had several requests for videos that model the collaborative inquiry process.  I have a video of the central office meeting I facilitated and hope to get assistance in getting the video ready to share.  If anyone in our CoP is a video guru, please contact me at [email protected] as I would appreciate your assistance.

For access to the resources used for the CoP Workshop, please use this LINK.

Finally, our CoP has a Workshop Warehouse that has information about all the workshops provided to build our capacity to foster a culture of collaboration.  There are also several CI workshops scheduled, so if you are interested in attending any of them, please feel free to let me know.  You can get the list of Upcoming Workshops at this LINK.

Hope you are having a great summer!!

Reference:
Lipton, L. & Wellman, B. (2011).  Leading groups: Effective strategies for building professional community.  Sherman, CT: MiraVia, Inc.

On June 16, 2016, MNPS administrators participated in a data exploration where the collaborative inquiry process was modeled.  The purpose of the session was to model collaborative inquiry for facilitating a group data exploration about cultural issues throughout MNPS with the guiding question of "How can we unleash the power of data to foster a positive and purposeful learning culture throughout MNPS?"

Collaborative inquiry as defined by the MNPS Community of Practice is a data-based team process that consciously uses the collaborative learning cycle (activating and engaging, exploring and discovering, and organizing and integrating) and the qualities of effective groups (fostering a culture of trust, maintaining a clear focus, taking collective responsibility and data-informed decision-making).

To access the workshop materials and to see their observations and initial theories, go to http://www.mnpscollaboration.org/group-data-exploration-pli-2016.html.

I cannot wait to see how schools engage in collaborative inquiry during the 2016-2017 school year to support teacher and student success.

If there is anything I can do to assist and support you, please feel free to contact me at [email protected].

Happy Summer!

I am excited to share that 4 more middle schools have joined the Collaborative Inquiry Community of Practice.  Please join me in welcoming Apollo, Croft, Jere Baxter, and Neely's Bend.   There are now a total of 9 schools in our community of practice (Haynes, Margaret Allen, Two Rivers, West End, and Wright).

We are excited to have you join our community!

On June 1st, they were introduced to the MNPS Innovation Configuration Map (IC Map) for Collaborative Inquiry and begin thinking about how they plan to implement collaborative inquiry in their schools this fall.  Resources for their workshop are available at http://www.mnpscollaboration.org/innovation-configurations-materials.html.

If you have any feedback, questions, and/or recommendations for our community of practice, please let me know.  Also, know that I am always here to offer support in implementing collaborative inquiry and look forward to continuing our collaborative learning journey together.

Here's to a wonderful summer!