Group Wise: Create a culture of inquiry and develop productive groups

Author: Garmston, R. J.
Publisher: National Staff Development Council (NSDC)
Publication Date: 2005, Spring
Publication City: Oxford
Publication State: OH
Journal: JSD
Journal Volume: 26(2)
Full text available online at: http://www.nsdc.org/library/publications/jsd/garmston262.cfm

Abstract (written by WestEd)

Basing the brief article on the premise that student learning is the result of a collaborative effort, especially among teachers, the author points out that school reform, restructuring efforts, and other changes alone are not enough to improve student learning. Teachers need to learn to collaborate and to have effective meetings in which they work productively to improve student learning — in other words, they need to create a culture of inquiry, which emphasizes self-examination rather than feedback.

Garmston lists three factors that distinguish schools that create a culture of inquiry, provides principles for successful meetings, and includes a technique for assessing meetings and reflecting on them as a group. He concludes that "we do not learn from experience, only from reflecting on experience."