Getting Better at Getting Better: Developing Improvement Habits and Identities

• In Event: 51.045 - Social Organization of Networked Improvement Communities: A Conceptual Framework and Empirical Studies of Its Dimensions

Abstract

Objectives & Theoretical Framework
Despite the growing number of research-practice partnerships (RPPs), there remains notable gaps in the existing knowledge base. Chief among them is the dearth of studies that investigate shifts that happen among individuals engaged in RPPs, including how working in these collaborative structures influence how they engage in their work and see themselves in their profession (Coburn & Penuel, 2016). Through in-depth interviews and analysis of key documents, we examine the extent to which participants in Networked Improvement Communities (NICs)—an RPP model that joins the discipline of improvement science with the capabilities of networks (Authors, 2015)—acquire the habits and identities that promote and sustain a continuous improvement practice. We pursue two research questions:
How does participation in a networked improvement community shift how individuals see themselves in relation to their work and the problems they are trying to solve?
What types of opportunities and experiences foster improvement habits and identities?

We build on the NIC development conceptual framework (Authors, 2017) by exploring the practices, habits, and orientations that network members may come to adopt by nature of their participation in a NIC. We also build on the NIC framework by incorporating research from the healthcare field on improvement habits of mind and thinking dispositions (Lucas & Nacer, 2015; Perkins, Jay, & Tishman, 1993).

Methods
In this study, we use semi-structured, critical incident interview techniques (Flanagan, 1954; Kain, 2004) to elicit participants’ perceptions of important learning events in their early attempts to apply improvement science methods. We also analyze how use of different improvement tools (e.g., fishbone diagrams, run charts) and engagement in related systematic processes (e.g., data collection, learning consolidation) cultivate shifts in individuals’ professional identities and practices.

Data Sources
We analyze interview data from 20 educators including teachers, administrators, and instructional coaches, among others currently engaged with the Tennessee Early Literacy Network (TELN) or the Central Valley Networked Improvement Community (CVNIC). In addition, we examine evidence and artifacts of their improvement work (e.g., documentation of Plan-Do-Study-Act inquiry cycles).

Preliminary Results
Early findings suggest that engagement in a NIC help participants (1) feel supported by a community of like-minded colleagues working with similar methods; and (2) develop an inquiry-based and evidence-focused orientation towards their work. As one improvement facilitator states, “You look at things differently…Can you support that claim? The gut feeling doesn’t fly with me anymore…I like the idea that there is evidence backing up what I’m doing and seeing.”

Scholarly Significance
As the number of NICs continue to grow, research that investigates how participation in these partnerships shifts individuals’ habits and identities becomes critically important. This study addresses gaps in extant knowledge by investigating how engaging in NICs may help educators (1) feel more supported by a network of like-minded peers, and (2) become more inquiry-oriented and empirically focused. Findings also have implications for how leaders structure network activities and offer the types of professional development opportunities that build a continuous improvement practice and orientation.

Authors

• Manuelito Biag, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching

• David Gilbert Sherer, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching