FALCON: Using Appreciative Inquiry in Tribal Extension, Research, and Teaching Programs
December, 2008
Objectives
· Provide an introduction to Appreciative Inquiry
· Work through the 4 Ds of the AI process
· Identify potential applications of the AI process in Tribal College programs
Agenda
10:15 Introduction to Appreciative Inquiry: An introduction to the 4 D process
10:40 Appreciative Interviews
11:00 Small group activity: Discovering the positive core of what is working well
11:20 Discussion on positive core
11:30 Small groups: Dream how it can work even better and create a poster of what it would like look it if could be even better
11:50 Ideas of how to use this approach
Noon lunch
1:00 Warm- up
1:15 Design the Future:
1:45 Share ideas about what should be in place so FALCON can be even more effective.
2:10 Deliver the Future: What would it take to put these ideas in place?
2:30 Strategies for using AI effectively: triads
2:50 Summary and next steps
7:45 Review of Expectations
8:00 Adjourn
Step 1: Discover What's Working (the Positive Core)
Activity 1: Pair off to interview someone you don't know very well. For this interview, tell a story about how Extension has made a difference at your institution. Be specific and include answers to the who, what, how, and why questions in your story and describe the results? What was it about the situation that made it possible for your extension work to make a difference? What would it look like if your extension work was even more successful in making a positive difference in the community?
Activity 2: Form small groups making sure your interview partner is NOT in the same group with you. In your small group, share the results of your interviews by letting each person first share what s/he learned from his/her partner about how his/her extension work has made a difference in his/her community. As group members share was they learned, listen for common patterns, themes and values as well as insights and write them down below. For this activity we will only talk about what is working now.
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Listen for instructions on how to share your group’s ideas with the whole group.
Step 2: Dream How It Might Work Better--What Could Be
Activity 1: Return to your small group. Give each person a chance to share what s/he learned from his/her partner about what it would like if your extension work was even more successful in making a difference. As you listen to the ideas, search for common themes and insights. Write them down below.
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Activity 2: In your small group develop a picture or poster of what it would look like if tribal college extension programs were even more successful in building local capacity. Be prepared to share your poster with the larger group.
Step 3: Design the Future--What Should Be
Activity 1: Review the positive core you listed in the discovery stories. Which items should we attend to as we consider how extension can be even more successful? Are there other aspects of the work we need to pay attention to as consider making the work more successful?
Activity 2: In small groups, develop provocative propositions to share with each other. Use the ideas generated in your poster, as well as consider what policies, customs, practices, culture, and rules should exist to ensure we successfully work together in the future. A provocative proposition is a statement about how things should be so extension can be even more successful in helping tribal colleges build capacity.
Activity 3: Small groups work together to outline the tasks and timeline for making the provocative propositions a reality.
Step 4: Deliver What Will Be
1. What can we do today to deliver on the future?
2. What can we do tomorrow to deliver on the future?
3. What can we do next week?
4. How can we be the change we want to see?
Wrap-up Discussion of AI
1. What are some the strengths of the AI approach?
2. What ideas come to mind in regard to how you might use AI in your own work? In teaching? In extension and outreach? In evaluating projects and programs? In research?
3. Identify aspects of your work where asking people to reflect on pastachievements can help them picture future successes.
4. How can you use AI to reflect on college strengths, to celebrate successes, and to develop new knowledge and wisdom that can aid tribal extension, FALCON, and the colleges as they seek to better serve tribal communities?
5. How might AI be a tool for building strong relationships, partnerships, and collaborations?
5. Other ideas on using Appreciative Inquiry?