1. Ways of working How will we work as a teacher group?
Tool PDC-2: Collaborating
© 2016 mascil project (G.A. no ). Lead partner University of Nottingham; CC-NC-SA 4.0 license granted. The project mascil has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/ ).

2. Overview
Aim:
To identify important aspects of becoming a successful collaborative inquiry group.
We will:
Consider ten important features of such groups that researchers have identified;
Discuss what it means to be a community of practice and how this relates to working as a Mascil group.

3. Features of teacher inquiry groups
For a healthy, inquiry-orientated teacher group that is focused on professional learning, researchers have identified ten essential elements (Dana & Yendel-Hoppey, 2014). Discuss these ten elements together and consider the implications for you as a group.

4. Healthy inquiry-oriented Professional Learning Communities
Establish a vision that creates momentum for their work.
What are you hoping to achieve? Individually? Collectively?
Build trust among group members.
How can you as members of the group come to trust each other? For example, will you feel able to share with each other experiences of what doesn’t work as well as what does work?
Pay attention to the ways power can influence group dynamics.
Do you feel comfortable collaborating with colleagues who may have greater or less job status than you?

5. Healthy inquiry-oriented Professional Learning Communities
Understand and embrace collaboration.
Do you feel comfortable collaborating with colleagues? Within school? Across schools?
Encourage, recognize, and appreciate diversity within the group.
Within the group what different experiences and expertise do we have to offer?
In any group there will be diversity: for example, it may be that newly qualified teachers are working alongside experienced teachers.
Promote the development of critical friends. Can each member of the group identify and work with a critical friend?

6. Healthy inquiry-oriented Professional Learning Communities
Hold the group accountable for and document learning.
Is there some way in which as individuals and as a group we can document what we have learned?
Understand change and acknowledge the discomfort it may bring to some group members.
Have a comprehensive view of what constitutes data, and are willing to consider all forms and types of data throughout the work of the group.
What data will we collect to inform our collaborative inquiry?
Work with school managers.
Do you have support of your school managers? If not, how do you gain such support?

7. Communities of practice
The term community of practice was introduced by researchers Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger to describe how individuals in their professional, and other aspects of their life, operate as members of groups that have a common interest with members learning from each other. The following diagram gives an overview of important aspects in cultivating a new community of practice. What implications does this have for your own development into an effective community with a focus on professional development?

9. Finishing off
As a group discuss the factors that you think will be critical for your success. You might consider, for example, aspects of:
Being a supportive community;
Facilitating professional learning;
Using an inquiry orientation.
Before next time you should reflect on the characteristics of effective groups that you have discussed and be ready to share ideas on the way forward for your group.