4 An appreciative stance and process
Wall, Beck and Scott (2020) discuss inquiry as being both a stance and a particular form of project work. Adopting an appreciative approach to inquiry can involve a significant shift in how you think and act about inquiry as an educator, where you have to adapt your stance, as well as how you might conceive of a particular project idea.
This section looks at some of the ‘ways of being’ appreciative that underpin the approach. Some of these may feel intuitive and you may feel you already act and see the world in this way. Some may feel more challenging, where you may feel you have been socialised into a more critical, problem focused way of viewing inquiry. Throughout the other weeks of the course, activities and techniques will continue to be introduced to develop a more appreciative approach. It starts by considering what it means to develop an appreciative mindset.