Appreciative Inquiry Student Work Protocol

Overview and Purpose

Overview:

This mini course is set up to help introduce teacher to the concept of Appreciative inquiry and then give them a framework used by Hudson Valley Writing Project that incorporates Appreciative Inquiry into a protocol that teachers can use when looking at student work. Teachers will then be asked to try out having students use a protocol I have created based on the HVWP student work inquiry protocol to help students begin to give feedback to each other, thus lightening the load for teachers who may feel pressure to offer timely and specific feedback to students. Teachers will be learn about the fundamentals of Appreciative Inquiry, engage in rounds of inquiry using model student work, and then use the student work protocol on their own student work, finally they will look at examples of how students use it and plan to use the student version in their own classroom.

Purpose:

It is often hard when looking at student work to find the positives of what a student has accomplished instead of focusing on what the student is still failing to understand or grasp. This mindset becomes a problem when planning instruction and having conversations with students because focusing on the deficits in their learning then colors the conversations that are had with students and can cause them to feel disenfranchised with learning the skills or content. Appreciative inquiry is a way to combat this unintentional focus on the deficits and instead reframe thinking that focuses on the positives and next steps instead of getting stuck in the negative. By practicing Appreciative inquiry when looking at student work, teachers can reframe their thinking and begin to look for the things their students are understanding and use that as a basis for how to approach the next steps of areas they are still struggling with.

Needs Assessment

Education is currently suffering from a loss of veteran teachers and complications from the Covid-19 pandemic that stunted student learning. When faced with these challenges, it can be hard to focus on the strengths of the students and easy to fall into focusing just on the areas students are still struggling. Appreciative Inquiry can help teachers to reframe their thinking and search for the strengths instead of getting lost in the struggles. It can also be used by students to help them become more metacognitive about their own learning and help to offer feedback to peers about what they notice. Appreciative Inquiry protocols are tools that teacher and students can use to reframe their thinking of looking for faults into looking for strengths and offering next steps.

Educators who are taking this mini-course will learn how to:

use and conduct a student work inquiry protocol developed by HVWP on model student work and their own student work
analyze student work that showcases student version of the Appreciative Inquiry
plan instruction for their own students to use the protocol

Educators of any subject area can find uses for the teacher based and student based inquiry protocols to help further their and their students thinking about what it means to understand a topic or skill. At the end of this course, learners will have examined and practiced both the teachers and student versions of a protocol that can be used among their colleagues or students.

Performance Objectives

After completing this mini-course, learners will be able to:

Clearly articulate what Appreciative Inquiry is
Apply their understanding of Appreciative Inquiry to utilize a student work protocol on provided student work samples
Utilize the protocol to look at their own student work samples and reflect on the process
Identify ways they can utilize this proctol in their own professional learning communities
Design a lesson where students utilize the protocol to offer feedback to each other

Course Units

This mini-course includes the following units. Click the title of a unit to go to its page.

Unit 1: Introduction to Appreciative Inquiry

In this unit, learners will learn the definition of Appreciative Inquiry, be able to explain the steps of it and look at a model scenario that used Appreciative Inquiry to approach the solution and then practice on an example situation. Lastly, learners will be asked to articulate the benefits of it when looking at student work.

Unit 2: Practice with Appreciative Inquiry with Sample Student Work

In this unit, learners will be able to explain the steps in the Student Work Protocol developed by HVWP, utilize the protocol to look at a model of student work and then reflect on the experience in writing.

Unit 3: Implementing Appreciative Inquiry

In this unit, learners will use the Student Work Protocol to examine a piece of their own student work, compare the steps of the student work protocol to what they have done in the past when looking at student work, and reflect upon the experience.

Unit 4: Examine Examples of Students Using an AI Protocol

In this unit, learners will explain the student version the student work protocol and how it works, examine models of students using the protocol, make a plan for adapting it into their own classroom, and then reflect on their experiences of learning in the unit.