3.2.4 Appreciative Inquiry—A Tool for Transformational Learning

Historical Development

Appreciative Inquiry is a product of the positive psychology and organizational change movements developed in the 1980s by David Cooperrider and his colleagues at Case Western Reserve University (Cooperrider & Sekerka, 2003). Whitney and Trosten-Bloom (2003) describe AI as “a form of personal and organizational change based on questions and dialogues about strengths, successes, values, hopes, and dreams.” The technique focuses on positive energy rather than negative energy. For educators, AI offers a participant-friendly process for enabling learning and initiating change at the campus, departmental, and institutional levels.

Theory of Appreciative Inquiry

The AI process initiates and fosters a conversation within an organization which prompts participants to tell the narratives that define the organization and the individuals who comprise it. The conversation then reframes these narratives in a way that fosters transformation. This is achieved by following a four-phase model known as the 4-D Cycle: discovery, dream, design, and destiny. The “discovery” phase aims to identify the “best of what is” by soliciting and capturing stories about positive aspects of the current situation. Stories are central to the AI process; they serve to create and foster images of success. The “dream” phase focuses on “what might be.” In contrast to the type of critical reflection that is practiced in traditional transformative learning, this approach uses a process of appreciative reflection which emphasizes the positive aspects of the current condition. This avoids the dissonance that is inherent in the critical approach. During the “design” phase, “provocative propositions” or design statements are articulated. The stories generated in the discovery, dream, and design phases stimulate the collective imagination to envision a desired future. The fourth phase, “destiny,” defines “what will be”; it yields action plans to achieve the design statements. The orientation towards action in the last phase is consistent with more traditional approaches to transformative learning.

Research on positive emotions demonstrates one of the benefits of an appreciative approach to transformational learning. One model of the psychological impact of positive emotions, offered by Frederickson (2003), is called the “broaden-and-build” model. The “broaden” dimension posits that individuals who are experiencing positive emotions have greater thought-action repertoires than do individuals who are experiencing neutral or negative emotions. Positive emotions have also been shown to reverse the negative physiological effects of negative emotions. The “build” dimension increases an individual’s “upward spirals” that enable not only his or her emotional well-being but also his or her resources for personal growth and development. These findings suggest that a transformational learning process based on positive emotions will be stronger than one based on pinpointing deficiencies. This is supported by other data. One study shows that 90% of patients who have had coronary bypass do not change the unhealthy lifestyles that led to the procedure, while by contrast, of those who participated in a heart disease prevention program that took a positive approach, 77% maintained healthier lifestyles after three years (Deutschman, 2005).

Appreciative Inquiry in Organizations

Appreciative Inquiry in the Classroom

Implementation Issues

The greatest challenge for faculty and students who implement AI is to shift from the traditional negative approach of evaluation that focuses on what does not meet the performance criteria to an assessment approach that celebrates the strength in the work and suggests positive ways to improve it. The process of identifying deficiencies does two things. First, it creates a psychologically negative environment that forces the teacher and student into an adversarial role. Second, if the process involves identifying only the weaknesses, the student does not gain information about how to improve. When teachers recognize strengths and high-level performance, students receive feedback that they can use to improve their future success by doing more of what works. The long cultural history of using the evaluative approach in higher education makes it challenging for both faculty and students to avoid critical practices.

AI is a constructivist process in which reality is socially constructed by the participants. The facilitator must be careful to enable the learners to be active participants, central to the process of conversation. To enable a positive exchange of ideas, it is also important for the learners to treat each other with mutual respect. Conversation takes time. It is important for the facilitator to allow ample time and to keep discussions on track. As with other forms of group facilitation, it is important that the facilitator minimize her or his input.

Preparation provides an essential base for the process of Appreciative Inquiry. The topic or program to be addressed provides a focus. Also critical are the questions used to initiate discussions in the discovery and dream stages. These two sets of conversations provide the foundation for everything else that follows. The questions need to elicit discussion that is appropriate for the purpose of each phase. In the discovery phase in particular, the goal is to generate stories that can be shared. Effective questions will trigger memories and stories. Samples of protocols used by other AI implementers are freely available on the Web and can be a useful starting point.

A final challenge is to capture the results of the discovery and dream stages of the process. For those who are present, the impact can be immediate, but standard note-taking may not capture the essence of the stories and visions shared. As much as possible, a transcript of the session should be made. Video or audio tapes can aid this process. The design and destiny stages can be captured more easily since they generally produce written statements and agreements. For all stages, it is important to share the results with participants as soon as possible after the event both to prepare participants for the next stage in the process and to maintain enthusiasm and momentum for change.

Concluding Thoughts

Appreciative Inquiry is more than a facilitation technique. It is also a philosophy of inquiry from a positive rather than critical perspective. It is aligned with research findings in positive psychology that conclude that appreciative approaches to change are more productive and are resisted less than traditional transformative learning models. The challenge is for faculty to move beyond a traditional deficit-oriented, critical approach to improvement and to try the AI approach. Embracing this challenge is likely to spawn a vibrant learning community among educators on your campus.

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