Getting everyone on board to push in the same direction is challenging. How can learning to ask questions and focusing sharply on key decisions lead to greater buy-in and collaboration? The Right Question Strategy (RQ Strategy) offers a deceptively simple strategy for positively jumpstarting a change process that gets buy in by focusing on the refinement and use of two key skills: question formulation and effective participation in decision-making.
The Right Question Strategy was developed by the Right Question Institute over the course of the past two decades and has been applied in many fields with many applications. Research has shown that the strategy is very effective for increasing active and effective participation and strengthening partnerships. It is a deceptively simple strategy that allows all involved to efficiently and constructively ask questions and explore the rationale and need for any proposed change, the decision-making process and how they can play a constructive role in the change process. The strategy distills complex ideas on effective civic participation and problem-solving into an easy-to-learn and easy-to-teach process that can be replicated easily. This session will be particularly relevant for district, school and departmental leaders who want to get buy-in for new initiatives, create a collaborative problem-solving culture and address specific challenges.
How can you more easily build consensus for change in your school and district? How can you get more buy-in for making important changes to improve teaching and learning in all settings? The Right Question Strategy offers a simple yet powerful strategy that helps individuals more effectively participate in decisions by learning to 1) define and identify decisions; 2) explore three key elements in decision making—reasons, processes, and roles; 3) ask questions about decisions. This easy-to-use and easy-to teach-strategy can be used to build consensus within a group through creating a space where everyone is able to efficiently and effectively ask questions about decisions.
In this hands-on, active learning experience, participants will work closely with Dan Rothstein and Luz Santana, developers of the Right Question Strategy whose work has been enthusiastically adopted by teachers in the classroom, administrators in the districts and schools, and has been featured in presentations to Microsoft, Google, Harvard Medical School, the Library of Congress and in many countries, including Japan, Argentina, and Canada.
In this half-day session, participants will:
- Participate in an active learning experience using the two core tools of the Right Question Strategy:
- The Question Formulation Technique (QFT)
- The Framework for Accountable Decision-Making (FADM)
- Unpack the key principles embedded in the strategy
- Be introducted to additional planning tools
- Form self-organized working groups around topics of interest
- Receive and use a planning guide for designing relevant applications of the Right Question Strategy
Administrators who have used the Right Question Strategy for consensus-building report that they observe “an unprecedented level of collaboration and effective problem solving.” One principal said “I heard questions I never would have thought about and saw people who often butt heads actually working well together.
Workshop participants leave with a deep understanding of the strategy and the ability to immediately apply it with colleagues and staff in a wide range of settings.
