The Transformative Power of Collaborative Inquiry

Realizing Change in Schools and Classrooms
Jenni Anne Marie Donohoo - Education Consultant
The Transformative Power of Collaborative Inquiry
May 2016 | 136 pages | Corwin
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eBook
ISBN: 9781506302225
Available from January 0001
Paperback
ISBN: 9781483383897
Available from January 0001

Description

Foster reflective teacher leadership and make real change happen!

Teachers are powerful change agents in the on-going process of school improvement. This insightful, must-read guide helps school leaders shape the development of a sustainable professional learning culture. Practical suggestions and in-depth research shed light on your path as you explore the benefits and challenges of adopting authentic teacher collaboration across schools and districts. A follow-up to Jenni Donohoo’s best-selling Collaborative Inquiry for Educators: A Facilitator's Guide to School Improvement, this book will quickly move you from theory to practice. Learn valuable lessons from leaders’ experiences in the field and discover:

  • A rationale and framework for engaging in inquiry 
  • The vital conditions needed to ensure systemwide collaboration 
  • Common pitfalls and the four stages of school improvement

Included are Cardwork Strategies with explicit actions and phrases to improve professional practice. Use this insightful guide to develop teacher leaders who lead and learn productively! 

"The concept of collaborative inquiry is increasingly bandied about these days with little precision. In one fell swoop, Donohoo and Velasco change all that with this succinct, hard hitting, complete, powerful, and, above all, accessible book on collaborative inquiry.”
—Michael Fullan, Professor Emeritus
OISE/University of Toronto


"Donohoo and Velasco guide readers through an inquiry process that can strengthen every professional learning community. They provide the ‘how’ to teacher collaboration and shine light on the path that will get us all there.”
—Douglas Fisher, Professor
San Diego State University

Contents

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

About the Authors

List of Figures, Tables, and Resources

List of Figures, Tables, and Resources

Preface

Preface

Part One: Collaborative Inquiry: A Transformative Professional Learning Design

Part One: Collaborative Inquiry: A Transformative Professional Learning Design

Chapter 1. Teacher Driven Improvement

  • Addressing Adaptive Challenges
  • A Collaborative Inquiry Framework
  • What it is and What it is Not
  • What do the Experts Say?
  • Moving Collaborative Inquiry from Theory to Practice

Chapter 2. Bringing Collaborative Inquiry to Scale

  • Coburn’s (2003) Redefinition of Scale
  • Conditions Necessary to Bring Collaborative Inquiry to Scale

Part Two: Strengthening the Power: Realizing Change in Schools and Classrooms

Part Two: Strengthening the Power: Realizing Change in Schools and Classrooms

Chapter 3. Determining and Maintaining Focus

  • Establishing a Needs Based Focus
  • Formulating an Inquiry Question
  • Developing a Robust Theory of Action

Chapter 4. Provoking Thinking to Assess Impact

  • Building Appreciation for and Capacity to Use a Variety of Assessment Data
  • Teacher Learning Through the Collaborative Analysis of Student Work
  • Determining Next Best Move
  • Reconciling Discrepancies: Theories of Action

Chapter 5. Shaping the Development of a Professional Learning Culture

  • Shifting from Professional Development to Professional Learning
  • Building Quality Professional Relationships
  • Improving Collaboration
  • Expanding the Reach of Learning

Resources

Resources

References

References

Resources

Companion Website

Description

Foster reflective teacher leadership and make real change happen!

Teachers are powerful change agents in the on-going process of school improvement. This insightful, must-read guide helps school leaders shape the development of a sustainable professional learning culture. Practical suggestions and in-depth research shed light on your path as you explore the benefits and challenges of adopting authentic teacher collaboration across schools and districts. A follow-up to Jenni Donohoo’s best-selling Collaborative Inquiry for Educators: A Facilitator's Guide to School Improvement, this book will quickly move you from theory to practice. Learn valuable lessons from leaders’ experiences in the field and discover:

  • A rationale and framework for engaging in inquiry 
  • The vital conditions needed to ensure systemwide collaboration 
  • Common pitfalls and the four stages of school improvement

Included are Cardwork Strategies with explicit actions and phrases to improve professional practice. Use this insightful guide to develop teacher leaders who lead and learn productively! 

"The concept of collaborative inquiry is increasingly bandied about these days with little precision. In one fell swoop, Donohoo and Velasco change all that with this succinct, hard hitting, complete, powerful, and, above all, accessible book on collaborative inquiry.”
—Michael Fullan, Professor Emeritus
OISE/University of Toronto


"Donohoo and Velasco guide readers through an inquiry process that can strengthen every professional learning community. They provide the ‘how’ to teacher collaboration and shine light on the path that will get us all there.”
—Douglas Fisher, Professor
San Diego State University

Contents

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

About the Authors

List of Figures, Tables, and Resources

List of Figures, Tables, and Resources

Preface

Preface

Part One: Collaborative Inquiry: A Transformative Professional Learning Design

Part One: Collaborative Inquiry: A Transformative Professional Learning Design

Chapter 1. Teacher Driven Improvement

  • Addressing Adaptive Challenges
  • A Collaborative Inquiry Framework
  • What it is and What it is Not
  • What do the Experts Say?
  • Moving Collaborative Inquiry from Theory to Practice

Chapter 2. Bringing Collaborative Inquiry to Scale

  • Coburn’s (2003) Redefinition of Scale
  • Conditions Necessary to Bring Collaborative Inquiry to Scale

Part Two: Strengthening the Power: Realizing Change in Schools and Classrooms

Part Two: Strengthening the Power: Realizing Change in Schools and Classrooms

Chapter 3. Determining and Maintaining Focus

  • Establishing a Needs Based Focus
  • Formulating an Inquiry Question
  • Developing a Robust Theory of Action

Chapter 4. Provoking Thinking to Assess Impact

  • Building Appreciation for and Capacity to Use a Variety of Assessment Data
  • Teacher Learning Through the Collaborative Analysis of Student Work
  • Determining Next Best Move
  • Reconciling Discrepancies: Theories of Action

Chapter 5. Shaping the Development of a Professional Learning Culture

  • Shifting from Professional Development to Professional Learning
  • Building Quality Professional Relationships
  • Improving Collaboration
  • Expanding the Reach of Learning

Resources

Resources

References

References

Resources

Companion Website

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The Transformative Power of Collaborative Inquiry

Realizing Change in Schools and Classrooms


May 2016 | 136 pages | Corwin

Format Published Date ISBN Price
Paperback 01/02/2026 9781483383897 $37.95
Lifetime 01/02/2026 9781506302225 $35.00

Foster reflective teacher leadership and make real change happen!

Teachers are powerful change agents in the on-going process of school improvement. This insightful, must-read guide helps school leaders shape the development of a sustainable professional learning culture. Practical suggestions and in-depth research shed light on your path as you explore the benefits and challenges of adopting authentic teacher collaboration across schools and districts. A follow-up to Jenni Donohoo’s best-selling Collaborative Inquiry for Educators: A Facilitator's Guide to School Improvement, this book will quickly move you from theory to practice. Learn valuable lessons from leaders’ experiences in the field and discover:

  • A rationale and framework for engaging in inquiry 
  • The vital conditions needed to ensure systemwide collaboration 
  • Common pitfalls and the four stages of school improvement

Included are Cardwork Strategies with explicit actions and phrases to improve professional practice. Use this insightful guide to develop teacher leaders who lead and learn productively! 

"The concept of collaborative inquiry is increasingly bandied about these days with little precision. In one fell swoop, Donohoo and Velasco change all that with this succinct, hard hitting, complete, powerful, and, above all, accessible book on collaborative inquiry.”
—Michael Fullan, Professor Emeritus
OISE/University of Toronto


"Donohoo and Velasco guide readers through an inquiry process that can strengthen every professional learning community. They provide the ‘how’ to teacher collaboration and shine light on the path that will get us all there.”
—Douglas Fisher, Professor
San Diego State University


Table Of Contents:

  • Acknowledgments
  • About the Authors
  • List of Figures, Tables, and Resources
  • Preface
  • Part One: Collaborative Inquiry: A Transformative Professional Learning Design
  • Chapter 1. Teacher Driven Improvement
  • Addressing Adaptive Challenges
  • A Collaborative Inquiry Framework
  • What it is and What it is Not
  • What do the Experts Say?
  • Moving Collaborative Inquiry from Theory to Practice
  • Chapter 2. Bringing Collaborative Inquiry to Scale
  • Coburn’s (2003) Redefinition of Scale
  • Conditions Necessary to Bring Collaborative Inquiry to Scale
  • Part Two: Strengthening the Power: Realizing Change in Schools and Classrooms
  • Chapter 3. Determining and Maintaining Focus
  • Establishing a Needs Based Focus
  • Formulating an Inquiry Question
  • Developing a Robust Theory of Action
  • Chapter 4. Provoking Thinking to Assess Impact
  • Building Appreciation for and Capacity to Use a Variety of Assessment Data
  • Teacher Learning Through the Collaborative Analysis of Student Work
  • Determining Next Best Move
  • Reconciling Discrepancies: Theories of Action
  • Chapter 5. Shaping the Development of a Professional Learning Culture
  • Shifting from Professional Development to Professional Learning
  • Building Quality Professional Relationships
  • Improving Collaboration
  • Expanding the Reach of Learning
  • Resources
  • References

Recent Product Reviews:

"There is a new #1 in Visible Learning – teachers’ collective efficacy. This book gets to the heart of working together to build the confidence that teachers and school leaders can change the learning lives of all learners, that they then do change their learning lives, and that they collaborate in this endeavour. Donohoo and Velasco ensure we focus on the right problems to collaborate about, that the process can be scaled, and that thinking is provoked to maximise impact. A most worthwhile book that shows the why, the how, and the impact of collaborative inquiry."
John Hattie, Professor of Education & Director of the Melbourne Education Research Institute, University of Melbourne
"The Transformative Power of Collaborative Inquiry is a fantastic resource for anyone interested in realizing the enormous potential of collaborative inquiry to substantially deepen the learning of students, adults, and educational systems. With a rich collection of guidelines, tools, and examples, Jenni Donohoo and Moses Velasco bring clarity and precision to the what, the how, and the why of effective collaborative inquiry. A valuable and timely book for change agents in schools and districts."
Santiago Rincon-Gallardo, Banting Postdoctoral Fellow, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
"Robust and ongoing collaborative inquiry at every level — among teachers but also among school and system leaders —has been shown to improve schools and school systems. Yet such collaborative inquiry remains relatively uncommon. This book enables collaborative inquiry “at scale” by combining an informed and nuanced grasp of relevant research with astute and practical guidance derived from the authors’ own extensive experience."
Judith Warren Little, Professor, University of California, Berkeley
"Donohoo and Velasco's book provides an engaging, informed and practical call to action for placing educators as the leaders of their own, their peers' and their students' learning through The Transformative Power of Collaborative Inquiry. Vitally they go beyond merely calling for action to providing examples from schools and educators, their own professional experiences, and from latest research evidence. There are many authors who advocate for collaborative inquiry; where Donohoo and Velasco stand out is in a providing a timely must read book with useful resources to support facilitators develop conditions and practices for depth of quality collaborative inquiry to benefit educators and students."
Carol Campbell, Associate Professor, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto
"By focusing on the importance of teachers as drivers for school improvement, Donohoo and Velasco highlight an important element that is often overlooked in this crucial learning process. Realizing that school improvement is not an event, they help us engage in the collaborative inquiry process in a way that changes culture in schools, leading to improved outcomes for students. Teachers in classrooms, principals in schools and leaders in central offices all play a significant role in creating the conditions for learning and improvement that are outlined in this very timely work."
John Malloy, Director of Education, Toronto District School Board

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