When the dominant culture is not clearly focussing and not sufficiently geared towards learning, Appreciative Inquiry (Hammond 2013) is an effective approach. Originally an organization development strategy, Appreciative Inquiry utilises a social process of inquiry and joint discovery. Carried out by organizational members themselves, through face-to face interviews, the process legitimized everyone’s curiosity about what works for self and others and allows the unveiling of each other’s peak experiences. It operates on the following four principles:
In every context something works well, so what you want more of already exists (this gives the lie to the views of “hostile witnesses”).
We create our reality locally (especially through language). An inquiry can become a positive intervention. People have more confidence in moving into the unknown when they carry with them parts of the known. Appreciative Inquiry has been adapted to the pedagogy of management education (Yballe and O’Connor 2000), but I first met it in 1998 as an approach to “post-Ofsted syndrome” (Whalley 1998). This clarified the cycle:
- Appreciating and Valuing the best of “what is”
- Envisioning “what might be”
- Dialoguing “what should be”
- Innovating “what will be”
When we apply this to classrooms, we start with “In every classroom something works well”. This helps to remind ourselves of our own achievements. Then we can choose what to focus on and what to inquire about, and how we make that choice makes a big difference. So if we enquire about classroom learning, where will that lead? Try the following exercise with colleagues:
Take a few minutes to think of a classroom you know, in which the sense of learning has been really positive. Maybe there has been engagement, excitement, reflection, whatever.
Choose the best experience you can and reconstruct it in your mind’s eye. Capture in concrete detail the things that made that experience possible.