Kassie Williams, a coordinator for the MNPS Exceptional Education department, is using the collaborative inquiry process to work with coaches this semester.  One session is planned for September, October, and November. 

The first session was held on September 20, 2017.  The purpose of these sessions is to foster a culture of collaboration for supporting student success.  The primary outcome for this meeting was to allow the exceptional education staff to leverage their collective expertise in addressing four focus areas:

• Data- Based Decision Making
• Instructionally Appropriate IEP’s
• Access to High Quality Core Instruction
• Effective Intensive Interventions

To learn about their work and the workshop, please go to www.mnpscollaboration.org/exceptional-education-coaches.html

If you have a collaborative inquiry story or are interested in learning more, please contact Margie Johnson at [email protected].

On February 9, 2017, Two Rivers Middle leadership team began the journey of developing their SIP goals for 2017-2018, which will be used to guide their budgeting.  After that meeting, two more meetings were held.  The next meeting occurred on February 23, 2017 to develop draft SIP goals.  The final meeting was held on March 9, 2017 to solicit feedback and finalize the 2017-2018 SIP goals.  The collaborative inquiry process was used to facilitate each meeting. 

To read more about their work, please check it out HERE.

East Nashville Magnet Middle Prep also used the collaborative inquiry process for developing their SIP goals.  However, they took a different approach by first having common planning time teams make data observations.  The East Nashville Magnet Middle leadership team then used the observations to develop SIP goals for 2017-2018.  Again, the SIP will be informing the budgeting process at East.  Read more about East Nashville Magnet Middle's journey HERE.

One great thing about the collaborative inquiry process is the fact that it can be used in different contexts and different ways to support schools.  If you want to learn more about the collaborative inquiry process or have a great example to share with us, please contact Margie Johnson at [email protected].

With our latest temperatures, one would say that spring is in the air.  It’s also that time of year that School Improvement Planning (SIP) for the 2017-2018 school year takes place.  I was excited and honored to work with Two Rivers Middle Prep leadership team on February 9, 2017 with their SIP development.  Let me share how the collaborative inquiry process was used to facilitate the process.
 
Collaborative inquiry 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) (MNPS Community of Practice, 2016).
 
With this definition in mind, let me take you through the process.

• Activating and Engaging:  The leadership team began the conversation by brainstorming to answer the question, “What is your vision for Two Rivers Middle Prep?”  This brainstorming not only generated many great ideas, but allowed everyone to have a voice at the table and helped develop physiological safety for the remainder of the meeting. 
• Exploring and Discovering: Due to the time constraints for the meeting (1 hour), the bulk of our session was spent in this phase of collaborative inquiry.  During this phase, inferences and explanations are suspended and just observations are made.  Because of the larger number of data sets being used, the leadership team worked in smaller groups to record their observations on chart paper.  To see their work, please go to: http://www.mnpscollaboration.org/two-rivers-sip-process-feb-2017.html.
• Organizing and Integrating:  We didn’t get to this phase today as we plan to develop SMART goals at our next meeting on February 23.  However, we did leave the meeting with next steps and a reflection for this first meeting.
  

 
If you are interested in learning more, please feel free to reach out to Dr. Shelly Dunaway and/or Dr. Margie Johnson for more information.

During the September ELP (Executive Lead Principal) meeting for Dr Michelle Springer's network, they reviewed various sets of data around literacy achievement.  A request made by the principals in the network was to form a community of practice with representation from the schools to take a deep dive into literacy achievement.

With representatives identified, the Literacy Community of Practice (CoP) convened on January 24, 2017 for an all day meeting to discuss literacy not only with school representatives, but central office, high school, and community partner representatives. 

Using the collaborative inquiry process to plan for the day's conversations,  the CoP identified hopes, fears, and successes for their CoP.  Building upon the successes, the Literacy CoP for Dr. Springer's network is working to Shift the Narrative by leveraging the collaborative expertise in the CoP.

To learn more about the day, including top three barriers guiding the work, please go to: http://www.mnpscollaboration.org/dr-springer-literacy-cop.html.

You can also access other collaborative inquiry workshop materials at the Workshop Warehouse located at http://www.mnpscollaboration.org/workshop-warehouse.html

Reference:
Hattie, J. (Fall 2015).  What works in education: The politics of collaborative expertise.  London, UK: Pearson.  Retrieved from https://www.pearson.com/content/dam/corporate/global/pearson-dot-com/files/hattie/150526_ExpertiseWEB_V1.pdf

I had the honor and opportunity to represent MNPS’ Collaborative inquiry work and a Multi-State Data Use Standards working group at the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement conference this past weekend. 
 
While following the conference hashtag, #ICSEI2017, on Twitter, one of my colleagues from Belgium shared the above quote.  Needless to say, I loved it and completely agree with it.
 
I remember June 4, 2014 when a diverse group of 41 educators and community partners across the district came together to begin discussing data use and the barriers to having effective data use practices in MNPS.  Several barriers (at least 33) were identified at this time.  Using a consensus building protocol, we narrowed the focus to the top 3, which were:

• lack of a common language
• lack of trust throughout the organization
• lack of leadership modeling (“walking the walk”)
  

After identifying these barriers, logic models were developed to create road maps for overcoming the barriers.  These roadmaps have served to inform the collaborative inquiry work for the past 3 years.

To address the common language issue, a committee was convened throughout 2015 to develop the MNPS Innovation Configuration (IC) Map for Collaborative Inquiry and was revised after 4 months of implementation where 5 middle schools (Haynes, Margaret Allen, Two Rivers, West End, and Wright Middle Preps) provided feedback to make it better.
 
Another committee was convened during 2015 to develop an evaluation plan for collaborative inquiry.  If we expected schools to use data for making informed decisions, then we needed to “walk the walk.”  A Teacher Data Use Survey, interviews, focus groups, and observations were used to collect data to answer the below questions:

• How and where is collaborative inquiry occurring in MNPS schools and with what fidelity?
• How does the culture of MNPS support collaborative inquiry and promote the integration of collaborative inquiry as essential to the work of the district?
• What preparation and support needed to implement collaborative inquiry are teachers and administrators receiving?
• Is collaborative inquiry making a difference for teaching and learning in MNPS?

Access the MNPS Collaborative Inquiry Evaluation Infographic HERE.  Read more about the complete evaluation plan HERE.
 
The MNPS Collaborative Inquiry has only been able to get as far as it has because we are doing it together.  If you have a collaborative inquiry success story to share OR need any collaborative inquiry support, please feel free to contact Margie Johnson at [email protected].

I came across an article this week in Education Week entitled, Why Collaborative Inquiry? Professional Learning That Makes a Difference (DeWitt & Donohoo, 2016).  While in MNPS we have been using collaborative inquiry as a data use process, after reading this article it is evident that collaborative inquiry is a process that can be used for much more.
 
In the article, they highlight how collaborative inquiry is a great strategy for providing high-quality, job-embedded professional learning (DeWitt & Donohoo, 2016).  By using the collaborative inquiry process, teachers are put in the driver’s seat of their own learning.  They are encouraged to take a deep dive into issues facing their practice and school.  Through their ownership of the learning and collective wisdom, they are able to tackle complex issues, which help support student success.
 
Of course, knowing that collaboration is the key and implementing it is two different things.  Luckily, MNPS, in partnership with REL Appalachia, Dr. Laura Lipton, and Bruce Wellman, has been provided with training about the structures, strategies, and principles for facilitating collaborative teams. 
 
To learn more about this training, you can access it HERE.
 
Also, if you are interested in participating in a collaborative inquiry community of practice to learn more about facilitating collaborative teams, please complete this form. 
 
Here’s to a wonderful December….. 
 
Reference:
DeWitt, P. & Donohoo, J. (2016, November 30).  Why collaborative inquiry? Professional learning that makes a difference.  Education Week.  Retrieved from http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2016/11/why_collaborative_inquiry_professional_learning_that_makes_a_difference.html?r=1680500941

I am excited to share that Apollo Middle used the collaborative inquiry process and strategies learned from the Facilitating Collaborative Inquiry Groups training by Dr. Laura Lipton for the SIP Milestone meeting on October 19th.  Jessica Oliver, the assistant principal at Apollo, facilitated the meeting.  She embedded the collaborative learning cycle (activating/engaging, exploring/discovering, and organizing/integrating) along with group dynamic structures and principles.

One group dynamic principle I want to spotlight relational load.  Relational load is a principle proposed by Robin Dunbar in the 1990's.  He was an anthropologist at the University College of London, who studied social interactions.  His research supports that "there is a cognitive limit to the number of individuals with whom any one person can maintain stable relationships" (Dunbar, 1993, p. 14). 

We also learned about his work during Dr. Laura Lipton's workshop on Facilitating Collaborative Inquiry Groups when she shared with us on Day 2 of the training about relational load (http://www.mnpscollaboration.org/facilitating-collaborative-inquiry-workshop-dr-laura-lipton.html). 

Because of this group dynamics principle, Jessica made sure to divide the group into smaller working groups, which made the work more efficient and productive.

To read more about the collaborative learning cycle stages and their handouts used during the meeting, please go to http://www.mnpscollaboration.org/apollo-middle-milestone-meeting.html.

References:
Dunbar, R. (1993). Coevolution of neocortical size, group size, and language in humans.  Behavioral and Brain Science, 16(4), 681-735.  Retrieved from http://www.uvm.edu/pdodds/files/papers/others/1993/dunbar1993a.pdf

Thank you for your participation in the Metro Nashville Public Schools Data Use Research Alliance. To ensure that our work remains timely and relevant to your needs we created a brief survey to ask for your feedback on our recent work together. The survey is anonymous and should take no more than 15 minutes to complete.

We would greatly appreciate it if you would provide feedback about the support activities and research studies listed below, as well as the general operation of the alliance in the survey. You can access the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MNPS2016.

The survey will close on October 26th so please complete the survey before then.

Below is a listing of activities and research studies that REL Appalachia has worked on with the Metro Nashville Public Schools Data Use Research Alliance on in 2016.

If you have any questions or comments about the survey, please contact Rikesh Nana by email ([email protected]) or phone (703-824-2886). Thank you for your participation and we look forward to hearing your feedback.

If you and/or your school would like more support with collaborative inquiry, please contact Margie Johnson at [email protected].

Remember the Where's Waldo? series?  You could follow him on his adventures and try to find him in the illustrations.

I am excited to share that over the past 4 weeks collaborative inquiry is being used in several places throughout MNPS.  Below are summaries and links to pages with more information, so we can learn more about how schools are using collaborative inquiry to support student success.

If you need support with collaborative inquiry and/or have a spotlight story to share, please feel free to contact Margie Johnson at [email protected].

Glencliff Elementary--September 15, 2016
Ms. Julie Hopkins, principal at Glencliff Elem, and her leadership team used the collaborative inquiry process to begin discussing and developing a communication plan for 2016-2017 school year.  Learn more about their collaborative work HERE. 

Haynes Middle Health/Medical Science Design Center--September 19, 2016
Haynes Middle Magnet Design Center's leadership team used the collaborative inquiry process to review culture and climate data, identify theories of causation, and chart next steps, which included leadership team members using the collaborative inquiry process to allow staff members to make observations of the data to get their feedback prior to identifying theories of causation.  Learn more about their collaborative work HERE.

Two Rivers Middle--September 20 & 28, 2016
In September 2016, Two Rivers engaged in the collaborative inquiry process to use i-Ready data for establishing SIP goals for literacy and numeracy for the 2016-2017 school year. Learn more about their collaborative work HERE.

Curriculum and Instruction Meeting--September 30, 2016
During September 30th, Curriculum and Instruction meeting the collaborative inquiry process was used to review middle school literacy plans, make recommendations, and see the Tales of Two Feedback Conversations.  It was a model of Dr. Springer's ELP meeting, which was held on September 29th at JFK Middle Prep. Learn more about the collaborative work HERE.

Two Rivers Middle--October 10, 2016
On October 10, 2016, Two Rivers Middle used the collaborative inquiry process to take a data dive into their district benchmark data.  Grade level subject area teams made observations of the data, generated theories of causation, and developed next steps for supporting student success during the next 9 weeks.  Learn more about their collaborative work HERE.

John Early Middle--September 28 & October 10, 2016
John Early Museum Magnet Middle Prep used the collaborative inquiry process to review culture and climate data, generate multiple theories of causation, and chart next steps.  Dr. Margie Johnson facilitated two meetings.  The first one was with the administrative team.  The second meeting was with the entire faculty.  Learn more about their collaborative work HERE.

CTE Cohort--October 11, 2016
A cohort of CTE teachers learned how the MNPS Data Warehouse can help them support student success.   The collaborative inquiry process was modeled while teaching them about the most common data warehouse reports. Learn more about their collaborative work HERE.

This publication was not done alone.  I want to thank the following middle schools for their contribution in getting the survey developed and published: Haynes, JFK, Margaret Allen, Two Rivers, West End, and Wright.  I also want to thank Mary Laurens Seely and the district data coaches who helped.

Along with the survey, REL Appalachia evaluators created us some other tools that have made the data analysis of the survey easier.  They have a page with additional resources, which you can access here: http://relappalachia.org/products/rel-appalachia-reports/teacher-data-use-survey-tools-and-administration-guide/.

The TDUS will be administered in the Community of Practice schools from October 17-31.  Links will be sent to CoP school administrators and site leads to disseminate to appropriate stakeholders.  Please remember that the survey takes approximately 20 minutes or less.  It is voluntary and completely anonymous.  The data will be used to facilitate another collaborative inquiry working group meeting to discuss further support from central office for implementing collaborative inquiry.

If you have any questions or want to learn more, please feel free to reach out to Margie Johnson at [email protected].