Leveraging Networked Improvement Community Tools and Processes as Boundary Objects in Collaborations for Systemic Change

This session is designed to support those involved in transforming institutions to approach their work more systematically using the networked improvement community (NIC) model championed by Bryk et al. (2017). Over the past decade, this model has been used and adapted by the Mathematics Teacher Education Partnership, a collaboration of over 45 U.S. universities, to guide its work on transforming secondary mathematics teacher preparation. However, the general structures can be of value for those seeking to address a wide range of change initiatives in higher education, from local to multi-institutional. This session will provide participants with a participatory introduction to the model addressing a problem of particular interest. Attendees will first explore how to develop a theory of action, expressed in a driver diagram, that will help them identify and prioritize actions to leverage change toward a well-defined aim. Attendees will then consider the use of Plan-Do-Study-Act improvement cycles to guide particular interventions, incorporating data collection and analysis to assess their effectiveness. However, rather than focusing on definitive measures of efficacy, data is used to guide decisions about next steps, including any needed refinements. Finally, we will discuss the importance of developing a strong community working collaboratively toward a common aim. Note that these collaborations can occur within a given context or across contexts. Particular attention will be given to the tools of NICs that serve as boundary objects, which facilitate boundary crossing (Star & Griesemer, 1989; Akkerman & Bakker, 2011), as teams work across institutions or systems to enact change. The intent of the session is to provide participants with an overview of how these structures might guide their own institutional change efforts.