Transcript Networked Improvement Communities

NETWORKED IMPROVEMENT
COMMUNITIES (NIC)
Bill Ruff
MSU
NIC
Designed to organize and lead an array of
continuous improvement processes.
 Concerned with building capacity to change
educational systems

Focused on Problems of Practice
 Developing capacities to sustain systemic change
 Promotes a iterative, collaborative inquiry design
 Establish practical theory used to solve issues
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PROBLEM - SOLUTION

Education R&D lags behind most other fields
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Educational research is underfunded, values theory
over practice, and fails to transform wisdom of
practice into professional action.
NIC is a highly structured network that brings
together professional educators working in
collaboration with designers and researchers to
address practical problems.
LEARNING AT SPEED
Research is typically slow taking a year or more
to get results which may be useful
 NICs measure changes in weeks not years

Idea Monday, Initial testing Tuesday, Adaption tests
of Wednesday and expanding on Thursday
 Start small
 Learn Quickly
 Scale Progressively
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UNDERSTANDING THE SYSTEM

Focus of the network is on understanding the
system then testing to make improvements.
Continuous inquiry
 Questioning and eliminating assumptions
 Increased capacity for real-world effectiveness
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MONTANA EDUCATION
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A complex system
Excellence, Equity and Autonomy are the most
frequently applied values in American politics.
 Montana holds autonomy as the most prized value
resulting in pockets of excellence and equity that
remain isolated because the political will to
standardize good ideas does not exist with purview of
state administrators.
 Disciplined inquiry and action through a NIC can fill
the leadership void.
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LEARNING BY ENGAGEMENT
Teachers tend to reproduce the methods used in
teaching them.
 Learning communities are enabling structures
that focus teacher professionalism collaboration,
data based inquiry, and professional reflection.
 Establishing a NIC of mentors and proteges will
engage them in a focused learning community
and model for them how to engage others in the
work of PLCs. (process benefit) while building
school capacity throughout the state.
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