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Title: Facilitating A Large-scale Community of Practice for Collective Impact in Mathematics (Poster 7)

Thu, April 24, 1:45 to 3:15pm MDT (1:45 to 3:15pm MDT), The Colorado Convention Center, Floor: Terrace Level, Bluebird Ballroom Room 2A

Abstract

Objectives
This paper shares lessons from three years of facilitating a large-scale Community of Practice (“the Collaboratory'') designed to increase mathematics motivation, engagement, and persistence (MEP) among priority students (i.e., Black and Latine students, and students affected by poverty) to ultimately improve student experiences and outcomes in mathematics.

Theoretical framework
We draw from three theoretical perspectives: communities of practice (Wenger, 1998); collective impact (Kania & Kramer, 2011); and inclusive partnership (Farrell et al., 2022). The Collaboratory is a Community of Practice in that it brings together people and teams working on common challenges toward shared goals (Wenger, 1998). Drawing from collective impact, we have adopted shared measures and data collection tools to understand impact across the collective (Weaver, 2014). From educational research-practice partnerships, we have adopted an approach that prioritizes district needs and centers teacher voice throughout the R&D process (Zavala & Aguirre, 2023) with the goal of dismantling systemic inequities to create more equitable educational opportunities for youth.

Methods and Data
As part of a Facilitation Team, we have conducted “internal research” on the Collaboratory since its inception three years ago. We have administered eight community-wide surveys including: (1) five surveys of members’ experiences of the Collaboratory, including the culture, norms, communication, engagement structures, and biannual convenings; (2) two surveys about members’ interests in cross-team collaborative opportunities; and (3) one survey about how teams are addressing equity. All surveys included open-response items, giving members the opportunity to describe their experiences and perspectives. We have also analyzed Collaboratory artifacts, providing insight into what teams are working on and how members are talking about key topics.

Results
Our analysis points to three key take-aways for building collaborative endeavors to address complex social challenges. First, is the foundational importance of community building. A strong sense of community, inclusivity, belonging, and shared purpose has been essential for building the foundations that drive members to want to participate in Collaboratory activities and to feel comfortable engaging openly in challenging work. We learned that explicitly setting community norms, highlighting local context (e.g., hosting events at practitioner partner locations), and minimizing generic expert-led sessions supported community building. Second, is the need to create mechanisms that enable collaborative work. To support collaboration, we established “Cross-Team Projects” and funded them with “mini-grants” that enabled teams to pursue joint, mutually valuable work. And third is the necessity of centering equity as a guiding principle throughout the Collaboratory. Within Collaboratory spaces, we have prioritized marginalized voices, including those of practitioners and youth. We continue to explore how best to navigate the multiple, sometimes conflicting, conceptions of equity that exist within the Collaboratory.

Significance
This study contributes to our understanding of how to support and sustain large-scale collaborations for educational improvement. Based on three years of systemic inquiry into effective facilitation strategies, we build on existing theories of collective endeavors for social change and offer insights into key contextual factors, community-building strategies, and collaboration mechanisms that support effective collaboration to improve mathematics education for priority students.

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