Appreciative Inquiry

LearnScope teams in Victoria

Strategic questions

Appreciative Inquiry

Appreciate “What is” (What gives life?)

Imagine “What Might Be”

Determine “What Should Be”

Create “What Will Be”

Ap-pre’ci-ate, v.,

1. valuing; the act of recognizing the best in people or the world around us; affirming past and present strengths, successes, and potentials; to perceive those things that give life (health, vitality, excellence) to living systems

2. to increase in value, e.g. the economy has appreciated in value. • Synonyms: VALUING, PRIZING,

ESTEEMING, and HONORING.

In-quire’ (kwir), v.,

1. the act of exploration and discovery

2. to ask questions; to be open to seeing new potentials and possibilities

• Synonyms: DISCOVERY, SEARCH, and SYSTEMATIC EXPLORATION, STUDY

Discovery“What gives life?”(The best of what is)

Appreciating

Discovery“What gives life?”(The best of what is)

Appreciating

Dream“What might be?”

(What is needed)

Envisioning

Dream“What might be?”

(What is needed)

Envisioning

Design“What should be--the ideal?”

(What needs to change)Co-constructing

Design“What should be--the ideal?”

(What needs to change)Co-constructing

Destiny“What will enable change?”

(what needs to happen)

Sustaining

Destiny“What will enable change?”

(what needs to happen)

Sustaining

Appreciative Inquiry 4-D Cycle

LearnScopeProject

Outcomes

Stage one: focus on the teacherand appreciate the strengths

Opening Interview

• High point moment: discovery– What has worked well in LearnScope projects at your

place? (manager)– What is the best thing about being in a LearnScope

team? (team leader or participant)• Valuing: dream

– What has LearnScope achieved for your teachers?– What could be improved in LearnScope at your place?

• Continuity: design– What do you need to keep? – What needs to change?

• Positive images of the future: destiny – What needs to happen for change to take place?– What will you do to manage the change?

Strategies:

TEN minute paired interviews.

Finding common themes

Group discussion• Introduce highlights from interview

with your partner• What are common themes in your:

– High points

– Evaluation– Continuity (things we want to keep)

– Images of the future we share

Twenty minute group interviews (3 x 2 pairs).

Summary – continuous improvement

• Publishing in the VELS wiki

– Stories – high points

– Strategies – continuity

• Take forward to stage 2:

– Evaluation– Vision

Appreciative Inquiry: stage two

Dream:Build new capacity for learning

• Build on earlier themes: • high point • continuity• vision

• Create 3-5 great topics• Be Bold• Something Desired• Want to learn• Strategic/high leverage• Energizing (sometimes opposites together)

• Ask empowering questions

Creating the powerful questions:

• Choose one of your topics

• Create an AI set of questions for that one topic

• E.g. Topic – Ready for change!– A. Question that elicits a powerful story– B. Question that helps envision future

What makes AI questions powerful?

• Language: questions & statements…• Focus attention• Heighten energy…drive to complete, to

answer• Every creative act• Rapport and relationship (people are

honored)• Fulcrum change: connect to strength,

imagination• Break automatic thinking, essence of

learning• Alter internal dialogue & storytelling• Specific positive future (the fairway)

Appreciative Inquiry: stage three

Design:collaboratively create what could be

• Consider the effectiveness of the four common approaches to change:

• Top Down Strategies• Bottom Up Strategies• Representative Cross-Section Strategies• Pilot Strategies

• Consider how to use your empowering questions for the:

• Whole team• Whole department• Whole organisation

• Collate and analyse the results

Finding the most empowering questions:

Examples:

• What possibilities exist that we have not thought about yet?

• What’s the smallest change that could make the biggest impact?

• What solutions would have benefits for all stakeholders?

• What makes my questions inspiring, energizing, and mobilizing?

Appreciative Inquiry: stage four

Destiny: Creating a Positive Change Network

• As you imagine and think about “high leverage” ways that appreciative inquiry can add value and strength to you….what are the high potential things you could do?

• What are the actions you could take at the:

– whole system level: (important topics/issues/opportunities)?

– smaller unit level…things I/we could do?

Actions

• The AI approach will assist in discovery, dream, design and destiny

• The actions will ensure that you manage the change and achieve the vision you have for your organisation

• Embed the AI approach by encouraging its use each year