Colloquium on Large Scale Improvement: Implications for AISI

The Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI) is a province-wide partnership program whose goal is to improve student learning and performance by fostering initiatives that reflect the unique needs and circumstances of each school authority. It is currently ending its third cycle and ninth year of implementation. "The Colloquium on Large Scale Improvement: Implications for AISI" took place in Edmonton, October 20-22, 2008. The purposes of the colloquium were to share information about AISI from multiple perspectives and to set a strategic direction for the future of the program. The colloquium brought together three perspectives on the program--that of AISI partners, school authorities, and experts in areas of strategic importance to AISI. Representatives from these groups made presentations, participated in the deliberations, and wrote chapters for this report. This report divides into three parts. Part 1: Partner Perspectives, contains: (1) AISI: from Inception to Transformation (Nelly McEwen and Dianna Millard); (2) Has AISI Run Out of Gas? (Heather Welwood); (3) ASCA Thoughts on AISI--Past, Present, and Future (Tina Boymook); (4) Getting to the Heart(h) of AISI (J.C.. Couture); (5) Experiencing AISI from a School Business Officials Perspective (Christine L. Lee and Alberta Hutchings); (6) AISI: The College of Alberta School Superintendents Perspective (Paulette Hanna;) and (7) Enhancing Professional Practice and Mobilizing Knowledge (Philip McRae). Part 2: School Authority Perspectives, contains: (8) AISI --Winds of Change: Shifting to Collaboration (Ian Osborne and Sheldon Rowe); (9) AISI: Growing from Good to Great (Jenise Bidulock, Corrie Ziegler, and Debbie Jackson); (10) AISI Footprints in Pembina Hills (Judy Lefebvre and Richard Harvey); (11). From the Inside Out: An AISI Journey (Del Litke and Gerry Varty); (12) Looking Back / Planning Forward (Judy MacKay and Lucy Miller); and (13) Systemic Change for School Improvement (Brian Andjelic). Part 3: External Perspectives, contains: (14) Evidence for Educational Policy and Practice: What is Credible? What is Useful? (Robert Crocker); (15) The Present and Possible Theory of Change for AISI (Andy Hargreaves); (16) I Have a Dream: School Improvement for Enriching Communities (Pasi Sahlberg); and (17) Educational Innovation and Complexity 2.0: Some Implications for AISI (Brent Davis and Dennis Sumara). (Contains 53 footnotes and 27 figures.)