Providing Technical Assistance to Improve Student Performance: Insights From the Collaborative Inquiry Project

Abstract

This article focuses on the concept of external technical assistance and the practices associated with the concept. More specifically, the focus is on how those who do not work in a school on a regular basis might help the school's staff improve student performance and eliminate the achievement gap. The first part of this article challenges traditional thinking about-and traditional ways of doing-technical assistance. The second part describes the Collaborative Inquiry Project, an initiative that exemplifies an alternative approach to helping schools improve performance. The final section discusses lessons learned from the Collaborative Inquiry Project's pilot implementation in a number of schools in a large urban school district.