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An Appreciative Inquiry approach to developing students’ employability: Introducing AI. Dr John Peters, NTF, FHEA Academic Development and Practice, UW June 2013. Plan. Overview of our ‘Realising potential and presenting achievement conference’, January 2013
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An Appreciative Inquiry approach to developing students’ employability: Introducing AI Dr John Peters, NTF, FHEA Academic Development and Practice, UW June 2013
Plan • Overview of our ‘Realising potential and presenting achievement conference’, January 2013 • http://www.worc.ac.uk/adpu/1214.htm • Brief overview of the four stage process of Appreciative Inquiry • Discovery, Dream, Design & Destiny • Student presentation of their research findings • Learning from the experience
What is AI? • A reaction against problem-focused action research • Shifts focus to strengths and positives, to the ‘positive core’ of a situation or organisation • Focus on social construction & collective strengths • ‘A cooperative, coevolutionary search for the best in people, their organizations, and the world around them.’ • [Cooperrider & Whitney 2005]
The Key Question in AI • The ‘unconditional positive question’ • The systematic discovery of what gives “life” to a living system when it is most alive, most effective, and most constructively capable in economic, ecological, and human terms. • What gives life here? • What is it about our University that helps students realise their potential and present their achievement?
Discovery Phase: students research what gives life to student achievement at Worcester
Dream Phase • Do you recognise your University? • Do you have similar stories? • What’s your response? • What are your aspirations? • What should be the ideal for helping students realise potential and present their achievement? • Picturing a future: drawing a vision
Dream phase activity • In groups produce a poster of your vision of the perfect, life- giving University for helping students realise their potential
Design Phase • Co-constructing • What might we be? • Possibility propositions and new organising principles • What would this organisation be like if it were designed to maximise the positive core and accelerate the achievement of our dream?
Design Phase activity • In groups consider: • What would the driving ethos be of our envisioned University if it was constantly focused on helping students realise their potential and present their achievements? • What would the values and organising principles of this imagined University be?
Destiny Phase • Not the action plan! • ‘Positive protest’ • Realising the dream • An appreciative organisation • ‘An inspired movement not a packaged product’
Destiny phase activity • So what can we do? • What is your first next step to help make this happen? • A note to yourself…..
Conference outcomes • http://www.worc.ac.uk/adpu/1214.htm • ‘Incredibly elucidating and engaging speakers and content • Excellent student engagement – input – vital (brilliant lunch!). Very uplifting – • Great input from students!’ • ‘Inspirational’
References • Chapman, V. (2010) ‘Appreciative Inquiry as evaluation: enhancing and developing academic practice’ in Sunders, M. Trowler, P. & Bamber, V. Reconceptualising Evaluative Practices in Higher Education, Open University Press • Cooperrider, D. & Whitney, D. (2005) Appreciative Inquiry: a positive revolution in change, San Francisco. • Cousin, G. (2009) ‘Appreciative Inquiry’ in Researching learning in HE, Routledge. • Kadi-Hanifi, K., Dagman, O., Peters, J., Snell, E., Tutton, C. and Wilson, T., ‘Engaging students and staff with educational development through Appreciative Inquiry’ Innovations in Education and Teaching International, Forthcoming. • Ludema, J. Cooperrider, D & Barrett, F. (2001) ‘Appreciative Inquiry: the power of the unconditional positive’ in Reason, P. & Bradbury, H. Handbook of Action Research • Seale, J. (2010) ‘Doing student voice work in higher education: an exploration of the value of participatory methods’, British Educational Research Journal, 36:6, 995-1015 • Symonds, E. (2010) ‘Evaluating an e-Portfolio implementation with early adopters using Appreciative Inquiry’ Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, Special Edition: Researching and Evaluating PDPand e-Portfolio Practice • The AI commonshttp://ai.cwru.edu