Part 4 Module: Appreciative Inquiry 

Participants will learn to use an appreciative inquiry process, which is designed to align with adult learning techniques to facilitate interactions and encourage curiosity about where there may be opportunities for next steps. The objective is for participants to learn how to generate continued and sustained conversations about mentorship that reinforces the use of engagement as the “fuel” for and a “gauge” of language development.

Mentorship

The Social Emotional Engagement—Knowledge and Skills (SEE-KS) approach offers a Six-Step Mentorship process that is easy to follow and can be implemented by all who interact with children to mentor one another to appreciate what’s working to foster engagement and brainstorm additional strategies to enhance engagement.

How do you think mentoring another person would improve your own awareness of language? 

SIX-STEP MENTORSHIP

The SEE-KS Six-Step Mentorship process is designed to align with adult learning techniques by building upon what the mentees are already doing to facilitate interactions and following their curiosity about where there may be opportunities for next steps.

The approach’s affirmative nature provides an appeal that generates continued and sustained interest in having these conversations, which reinforces the use of language as a well-being indicator.

Step 1

Clarify one’s role by pointing out or noticing what is already working to foster engagement. Then provide an opportunity for the mentee to identify an aspect of engagement where there may be opportunities to enhance one of the “3 I’s” of engagement—Investment, Independence, and Initiation.

Step 2

Provide an opportunity for mentees to share what they know about a given activity, what they hope the children do with respect to their communication and language development, what is already working, and where there might be opportunities to enhance engagement.

Step 3

Have a mentor observe the mentee engaging with an individual or group of children, noticing what they’re doing that appears to foster investment, independence, and initiation. In appreciative inquiry, the focus is on what is enhancing—not interfering. So, look for those moments that are successful and share those observations.

Step 4

Mentees are asked where they believe opportunities might exist to enhance engagement within this activity in one of the “3 I’s” of engagement.

Step 5

Once an “I” of engagement is selected, mentors may ask if the mentees have a sense of what they might do to enhance this element or if they want to collaborate. When collaborating, the mentor reads with the mentee the section of the Quick Reference Tool that aligns with the child’s language level and the selected “I” of engagement. This tool provides ideas to enhance investment, independence, and initiation. The mentor can, once again, inquire, “Do you have a sense of where you might go next to enhance engagement, or would you like to collaborate?” to see if additional brainstorming would be helpful.

Step 6

Once an “I” of engagement is selected, mentors may ask if the mentees have a sense of what they might do to enhance this element or if they want to collaborate. When collaborating, the mentor reads with the mentee the section of the Quick Reference Tool that aligns with the child’s language level and the selected “I” of engagement. This tool provides ideas to enhance investment, independence, and initiation. The mentor can, once again, inquire, “Do you have a sense of where you might go next to enhance engagement, or would you like to collaborate?” to see if additional brainstorming would be helpful.