Future  focused  inquiry  &  Collabora5on  

 

Rebbecca  Sweeney  (M.Ed),  2014  

Future  focused  |  Spirals  of  Inquiry  |  Collaborative  practice  

       

...As  well  as  this  (and  this  is  very  important  for  education),  knowledge’s  meaning  is  changing.  Knowledge  is  no  longer  being  thought  of  as  ‘stuff’  that  is  developed  (and  stored)  in  the  minds  of  experts,  represented  in  books,  and  classiAied  into  disciplines.  Instead,  it  is  now  thought  of  as  being  like  a  form  of  energy,  as  a  system  of  networks  and  Alows  –  

something  that  does  things,  or  makes  things  happen.  Knowledge  Age  knowledge  is  deAined—and  valued—not  for  what  it  is,  but  for  what  it  can  do.  It  is  produced,  not  by  individual  experts,  but  by  ‘collectivising  intelligence’  –  that  is,  groups  of  people  with  complementary  expertise  who  collaborate  for  speciAic  purposes.  These  changes  have  major  

implications  for  our  education  system.    (http://www.shiftingthinking.org/?page_id=58)  

 

Being  future  focused  

In  pairs  or  groups...pick  one  or  two  to  talk  about...  1.  Clarify  your  role  in  your  cluster  with  the  person  next  to  you  if  you  haven’t  already  done  this.    

 2.  Talk  about  how  you  are  future  focused  in  your  practice  and  how  you  encourage  this  focus  in  the  cluster.    

 3.  Talk  about  whether  or  not  you  encourage  collaborative  leadership  or  collectivised  intelligence  and  if  so,  how.    

 4.  Talk  about  whether  you  support  sustainability  of  effective  practices  and  processes  in  the  cluster.    

Future  focused  |  Spirals  of  Inquiry  |  Collaborative  practice  

Macro  Inquiry  We  are  here    

•  pooling  funding    •  sharing  ideas  for  classroom  practice  or  professional  learning  and  development    

•  teachers  visiting  each  others  schools  to  get  ideas  and  to  be  inspired.  

Sharing  is  nice  but  it’s  not  enough  

Alright  stop!  Collaborate  &  listen...  Common  signs  that  a  network  of  schools  is  effectively  collaborating  include:    •  commitment  to  a  common,  needs-­‐based  goal  •  use  of  inquiry  and  knowledge-­‐building  cycles  •  the  presence  of  challenge  and  critique  practices  •  a  focus  on  evidence-­‐based  needs,  and  •  the  presence  of  role  clarity  and  relational  trust  among  network  members.  

 

What  might  we  do  next?  •  consider  the  “do’s”  and  “don’ts”  of  collaboration    •  learn  more  about  collaborative  practice      •  Hind  ways  to  get  the  balance  right  between  reHlecting,  learning  and  taking  action  (coherence)  (espoused  theories  to  theories  in  action)    •  there  is  always  more  expertise  in  the  group  -­‐  we  need  to  Hind  ways  to  uncover  it  and  use  it  -­‐  CONNECT  

Contact:  Name:  Rebbecca  Sweeney    

Job  Title:  Professional  Learning  Facilitator  Tel:  +  64  (027)  487  3009  

Email:  rebbecca.sweeney@core-­‐ed.org