Appreciative Inquiry is a process by which students
can reflect upon a situtation, their learning, or group dynamics in a way
that takes stock of all of the assets and positives of a situation. In the
sense that students are gathering information, Appreciative Inquiry can
be considered a form of group assessment.
After students have "cast their group net" (through
the Appreciative Inquiry process), together, they look to see what they
have gathered. Then, they take the next step: they
reflect upon what they have gathered and use it to
inform their learning and future actions.
Here's an Example of How it Works:
- Pose a question such as: "What is an example of an effective team
experince you have had either in or outside of school?"
- Students tell their "peak" team experience stories.
- Ask the students what these stories have in common; what qualitites
made each of these teams successful or effective?
- From these qualities and stories a rich metaphorical image might
arise. You might even help students to "see" the metaphorical image
such as, "I think the way we're describing our peak team experiences is
like a grove of aspen trees. The trees look like distinct units, but
really underground their roots are interconnected and the grove is
really one living organism." From there you could talk about the
strengths that each student brings to your learning environment that
effects the whole. Take inventory of these strengths. List them on the
board.
- Whenever students need to work out a challenge or reflect on how they
best learn as a group, they can use the "aspen grove" metaphor (or
whatever metaphor arose) and apply it to the new learning moment at
hand.
A Net Full of Assests
We often begin by asking "What's the probem?" When you
do that, you focus energy on what we want less of and work to "fix" things.
Appreciative Inquiry is about focusing on what you want more of; knowing
that what you want more of already exists; and amplifying what strengths and
assests a group already has.
With Appreciative Inquiry students are heard, seen,
and appreciated. It also enables students to be active participants in the
thinking process and encourages them to amplify what strengths or
qualities they already possess towards their learning or class
environment.
Suggested Readings: (Online Only)
What is Appreciative
Inquiry - A consultant gives a clear introduction to what it
is.
Case Western Reserve University - One school's use of
Appreciative Inquiry.
Appreciative
Inquiry Commons- A place to learn more about Appreciatie
Inquiry and to connect with others who practice it.
TALK AT THE TWB LEARNING CAFE:
How might you apply Appreciative Learning to your
classroom experience? Read what others have said. Add your thoughts. Join
your global colleagues in conversation at the
TWB Learning Cafe.
HOW TO GET TO THE NEXT MODULE:
Usually, you just click "Next" to go to the next page.
When you finish a section, however, (as you're about to do when you finish
reading these two paragraphs), you need to click on the "Outline" button,
which is on the bottom, right-hand side of the page. Look underneath the blue
bar and click on the word "Outline."
When you click on "Outline," a screen will come up that
will show you the outline for Course 3. Look for the next section to read and
click on the first topic in that next section. For example, when you get to the
outline now, look under the next section called "A-REEF: Evaluation" and
look for the first topic in black lettering called "Overview." Click on
"Overview."
