Learner Focused Solutions
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That which hinders your task... is your task.
“It is by logic that we prove, but by intuition that we discover.” ― Henri Poincaré, French mathematician, theoretical physicist, and engineer Shelley Wright - TED-X - The Power of Student Driven Learning: “ We are not the future we are right now." How deeply did she need to change her pedagogy? Fundamentally - the shift was from teacher developed, directed and engineered, to learner developed, led and engineered. How did she change as an educator in this process? Initially she was doubtful and trepidatious. She quelled her natural responses and instead projected outward confidence. What aspects of her role as teacher changed? Which of these might you find the hardest? Most of them. She became a facilitator, encourager, guide, motivator, question-poser, resource person. What were the learners allowed to do in this new approach? Set their own goals, determine the locus and focus of their learning, track their progress and self-assess, share their learning, reflect and reframe. Where did the power come from for these changes to happen? Shelley gave up her role as the sage on the stage delivering her pearls of wisdom. She was no longer the one who decided what her learners needed to learn, and how best they might learn it. Shelley willingly shared the power, and her students willingly took up the mantel. 
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Applying the 7 Principles and the 7 Questions - My Approach to Learner Focused Teaching:
“What people think of as the moment of discovery is really the discovery of the question.” - Jonas Salk The Appreciative Inquiry Model The theory’s central management insight is that teams, organisations and society evolve in whatever direction we collectively, passionately and persistently ask questions about. Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a method for studying and changing social systems (groups, organisations, communities) that advocates collective inquiry into the best of what is in order to imagine what could be, followed by collective design of a desired future state that is compelling and thus, does not require the use of incentives, coercion or persuasion for planned change to occur. The originator of AI, David Cooperrider, argues the most powerful force for change is a new idea, therefore we need forms of inquiry and change that are generative: that help us discover what could be, rather than try to fix what is. What we choose to study and how we study it creates, as much as it discovers, the world. Therefore a wide field of creative, positive, possibility beckons to us. The Five Appreciative Inquiry Principles: The constructionist principle proposes that what we believe to be true determines what we do, and thought and action emerge out of relationships. The purpose of inquiry is to stimulate new ideas, stories and images that generate new possibilities for action. The principle of simultaneity proposes that as we inquire into human systems we change them and the seeds of change, are implicit in the very first questions asked. Questions are never neutral, they are fateful, and social systems move in the direction of the questions they most persistently and passionately discuss. The poetic principle proposes that organisational life is expressed in the stories people tell each other every day, and the story of the organisation is constantly being co‐authored. In all phases of the inquiry effort is put into using words that point to, enliven and inspire the best in people. The anticipatory principle posits that what we do today is guided by our image of the future. Appreciative Inquiry uses artful creation of positive imagery on a collective basis to refashion anticipatory reality. The positive principle proposes that momentum and sustainable change requires positive affect and social bonding. Sentiments like hope, excitement, inspiration, camaraderie and joy increase creativity, openness to new ideas and people, and cognitive flexibility. They also promote the strong connections and relationships between people, particularly between groups in conflict, required for collective inquiry and change. |
Principles Into Practice:
Discovery.
During this stage participants reflect on and discuss the best of what is concerning the object of inquiry. Telling and listening to meaningful, personal stories is considered central to creating widespread engagement and building relationships in the early stage of the change process. The affirmative topic is turned into a question.
Dream.
During this stage participants are asked to imagine their group, situation or community at its best in relation to the affirmative topic. An attempt is made to identify the common aspirations of system members and to symbolise this in some way. The dream phase often results in something more symbolic, like a graphical representation.
Design.
With a common dream in place, participants are asked to develop concrete proposals for the new organisational state.
Delivery.
One approach to Delivery can be using the outcomes of Design to create new targets, gaps to fill, and objectives to achieve.
Another approach is an improvisational, as opposed to implementational, approach. Learners in their teams make self‐ chosen commitments to take action. Everyone is authorised to take those actions they believe will help bring the design to fruition. The teacher’s role is to monitor and support those innovations and help their learners to create events and processes to energise emergent and self‐organising change.
The traditional problem-solving approach is finding what is wrong and developing solutions to fix the problems. This seeds a negative mindset. It makes us focus on what’s broken.
A deficit-based view sucks everyone’s energy - it’s depressing.
We need a new paradigm. Appreciative Inquiry is a Paradigm Shift.
“What would it happen to our challenges if we began all our work with the positive presumption that we are alive with infinite constructive capacity?” — David Cooperrider.
Appreciative Inquiry is an affirming way to create change — it starts with the positives in the situation. AI offers a life-centric approach to energising learners and change-agents to move them in the direction of what they most desire.
We can’t ignore problems—we just need to approach them from the other side.
Learner-Change-Agent Questions:
Decide on a topic that is important to you
• What led me here?
• What are the positives?
• What do I value?
• What is changing?
• What’s the best future I can imagine?
• What will it take to get us there?
Appreciative Inquiry is a narrative-based process of positive change.
We become a community of story-tellers - sharing good news at every opportunity.
Discovery.
During this stage participants reflect on and discuss the best of what is concerning the object of inquiry. Telling and listening to meaningful, personal stories is considered central to creating widespread engagement and building relationships in the early stage of the change process. The affirmative topic is turned into a question.
Dream.
During this stage participants are asked to imagine their group, situation or community at its best in relation to the affirmative topic. An attempt is made to identify the common aspirations of system members and to symbolise this in some way. The dream phase often results in something more symbolic, like a graphical representation.
Design.
With a common dream in place, participants are asked to develop concrete proposals for the new organisational state.
Delivery.
One approach to Delivery can be using the outcomes of Design to create new targets, gaps to fill, and objectives to achieve.
Another approach is an improvisational, as opposed to implementational, approach. Learners in their teams make self‐ chosen commitments to take action. Everyone is authorised to take those actions they believe will help bring the design to fruition. The teacher’s role is to monitor and support those innovations and help their learners to create events and processes to energise emergent and self‐organising change.
The traditional problem-solving approach is finding what is wrong and developing solutions to fix the problems. This seeds a negative mindset. It makes us focus on what’s broken.
A deficit-based view sucks everyone’s energy - it’s depressing.
We need a new paradigm. Appreciative Inquiry is a Paradigm Shift.
“What would it happen to our challenges if we began all our work with the positive presumption that we are alive with infinite constructive capacity?” — David Cooperrider.
Appreciative Inquiry is an affirming way to create change — it starts with the positives in the situation. AI offers a life-centric approach to energising learners and change-agents to move them in the direction of what they most desire.
We can’t ignore problems—we just need to approach them from the other side.
Learner-Change-Agent Questions:
Decide on a topic that is important to you
• What led me here?
• What are the positives?
• What do I value?
• What is changing?
• What’s the best future I can imagine?
• What will it take to get us there?
Appreciative Inquiry is a narrative-based process of positive change.
We become a community of story-tellers - sharing good news at every opportunity.
