Definition - according to Wikipedia

In Organizational development (OD), Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a process for engaging people across the system in renewal, change and focused performance. The basic idea is to build organizations around what works, rather than trying to fix what doesn't. A proven benefit of the approach is its reliance on the acknowledgement of contribution at the individual level, which leads to trust and organizational alignment. Since the method creates meaning by drawing from stories of concrete successes and lends itself to cross-industrial social activities, it is enjoyable and natural to many managers, who are thought to be naturally social people focused on the bottom line.
Appreciative Inquiry was developed by David Cooperrider of Case Western Reserve University. It is now a commonly accepted practice in the evaluation of organizational development strategy and implementation of organizational effectiveness tactics.
Appreciative Inquiry utilizes a 4-stage process focusing on:

1. DISCOVER: The identification of organizational processes that work well.
2. DREAM: The envisioning of processes that would work well in the future.
3. DESIGN: Planning and prioritizing processes that would work well.
4. DESTINY (or DELIVER): The implementation (execution) of the proposed design.

Application to LearnScope - according to Coach Carole

The 4D approach as shown above can be implemented as a collaborative sharing experience for team leaders and participants engaged in professional development in e-learning and implementation of e-learning strategies for learners in VET environments. LearnScope project team leaders and members can benefit from the Appreciative Inquiry process to highlight and evaluate their experiences and to enable them to embed their new practices in teaching and learning. LearnScope project implementation and reporting can be enhanced during the AI process, providing opportunities for individuals to contribute their creative ideas and visions in planning for future e-learning strategies.

AI face-to-face workshops will be provided for Victorian LearnScope teams during June, July and August. See the AI Meeting Schedule for details. Online workshops can be booked for September.

At the Online workshops we will use the whiteboard tools in Elluminate Live to record responses to the questions from the participants.

At the face-to-face workshops we plan to use Zing technology with wireless keyboards for each participant, to capture, record, analyse and brainstorm their ideas on the major topic of planning, preparing and evaluating the impact of LearnScope activities on the learners. We will need to gather in a meeting room and be prepared to use the wireless keyboards for simultaneous input to the Zing system - the screen is displayed for all via datashow projection - in response to sets of questions in the 4D process.

In preparation for these workshops you may find it useful to explore this sample set of AI questions which focus on the discovery, dream, design and destiny aspects of e-learning in Victorian TAFE settings. Feel free to answer these questions as a pre-workshop activity. (See sample questions.)