1. Ideas for Making Change with MDI Results
© 2016 Human Early Learning Partnership
Ideas for Making Change
with MDI Results

2. Choose a Focus KEY MESSAGE:
The MDI provides a breadth of rich data. It is very easy to feel overwhelmed by all of the potential ways that schools, communities and governments could begin using the data to improve child well-being. Moving to action will be more successful if you are able to focus your efforts on 1 or 2 areas for improvement instead of trying to change everything all at once.
© 2016 Human Early Learning Partnership

3. © 2016 Human Early Learning Partnership
Think BIG
But Start Small
KEY MESSAGE:
Avoid rushing this part of the journey by harnessing curiosity about the data and passion about the issues to develop a deep understanding about potential change. Leaping too quickly to action may result in scattered, unfocused and less effective efforts. Our advice is to think BIG but start small.
© 2016 Human Early Learning Partnership

4. For Discussion… Which results resonate the most?
Which results do you/we have influence over?
Which results align with current priorities and goals?
KEY MESSAGE:
Since the breadth of MDI results is compelling and potentially mind-boggling, begin with a reflective approach to help make a decision on which results to focus on. Make a list (individually and/or with others) with answers to these question.
© 2016 Human Early Learning Partnership

5. For Discussion…
Which asset in our school/community is the strongest? The weakest?
What are some things already happening in our school/community to build on.
KEY MESSAGE:
Don’t overlook results that are already strong. We tend to fixate on what is wrong or the weakest areas, yet it can be effective and empowering to take a strength-based approach and build on what is already working.
© 2016 Human Early Learning Partnership

6. For Discussion…
If you could choose two results to focus on, what would they be?
© 2016 Human Early Learning Partnership

7. © 2016 Human Early Learning Partnership

8. Action
KEY MESSAGE:
How will you make change? The middle years is a period when children begin to spend more time in a variety of social settings in addition to time spent at home and school. Being intentional and explicit in action planning means recognizing the opportunities, pressures, expectations and relationships that children have across the multiple contexts of their lives.
© 2016 Human Early Learning Partnership

9. Brainstorm…
What might be done by groups or individuals to improve MDI results for our chosen focus?
KEY MESSAGE:
Keep up the generation of ideas with prompts such as: What else? And? Who else?
© 2016 Human Early Learning Partnership

10. © 2016 Human Early Learning Partnership

11. Act Everywhere KEY MESSAGE:
Consider other variables that may connect and widen action idea.
© 2016 Human Early Learning Partnership

12. Who else might be interested in and have influence over actions?
Children’s Organizations
Educators
Parents
Community Planners
Funding Agencies
Policy Makers
© 2016 Human Early Learning Partnership
Sports and Recreation Associations
Health Agencies
Children

13. Engage Kids
KEY MESSAGE:
Engage children’s insights into the results and then leverage their creativity and enthusiasm to identify ways they see themselves making change happen.
Involve children in the process where possible. Explore opportunities to collect feedback from children on how both the school and the community can better serve their needs. Ask children of all ages for suggestions on how to improve their school climate and after-school experiences. Children tend to offer surprisingly creative solutions that can often be implemented easily and at no cost.
© 2016 Human Early Learning Partnership

14. Learn from the Success of Others
KEY MESSAGE:
Review MDI data from other neighbourhoods within your school district or other similar sized communities. Do you see examples of successful actions that you would like to replicate? What other implementation ideas have you come across from colleagues or from exploring discovermdi.ca?
© 2016 Human Early Learning Partnership

15. For Discussion…
What are the opportunities to widen participation in our action?
What else is happening in the school/community that we can align our action with?
© 2016 Human Early Learning Partnership

16. For Discussion… What are some resources we’ll need for action?
What are some barriers to action?
What additional information is needed to guide implementation and evaluation?
© 2016 Human Early Learning Partnership

17. Check Out discovermdi.ca
KEY MESSAGE:
The Human Early Learning Partnership has created the Discover MDI: A Field Guide to Promoting Well-Being in Middle Childhood; an online resource to help interpret the MDI reports and move forward with action. Innovation happens when people build on ideas, rather than simply duplicating them. Explore the growing collection of video stories, downloadable tools and action articles in the MDI Field Guide. Be inspired, edit, adapt or create new! Visit: discovermdi.ca.
© 2016 Human Early Learning Partnership

18. Facilitation Ideas
Ideas for Making Change is an exciting process that has two distinct outcomes. The first is to choosing a focus which will help groups to narrow down and decide on which MDI results will be the target for learning more and change efforts. The second is to act everywhere and seek innovative and effective action ideas to make change.
Depending on your audience, the time available, and how you have moved through the making sense steps in the MDI Journey (using MDI 101 and Exploring Your MDI Data), you may choose to break this up into two sessions. Idea generation can be exciting and exhausting. In addition, many participants who “perk” on ideas may need more thinking or process time. A natural split is finishing the first session with Choosing a Focus, leaving the second session to confirm that focus before moving on to designing action.
© 2016 Human Early Learning Partnership

19. The Agenda Welcome & Introductions
Ideas for Making Change Presentation
Choosing a Focus Activity
Moving to Action Brainstorm Activity
Act Everywhere Activity
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20. Activity Instructions
CHOOSING A FOCUS (SLIDES 1–7)
To increase interactivity during this phase, utilize pairs, triads and small groups to think through the discussion questions on each slide. Use sticky notes to share the discussion outcomes. Sticky notes offer the benefit of being used in the sorting square activity suggested below.
A Sorting Square (see slide 10) is a process that helps groups bring some objectivity into decision making. Our experience is that the MDI has so many important elements, all of which have an emotional factor because it’s about helping children. It becomes hard for people to narrow down their focus. A process like a sorting square can help.
Step 1—Draw the four quadrants on a white board or flipchart paper, labelling the x-axis from low impact to high impact and the y-axis from easy to hard.
Step 2—As a group, discuss each potential focus and plot them in the appropriate quadrant.
Tip: If different variables have more influence for this decisions, swap them out before plotting. Consider options such as resources required, level of urgency, within (or not) of mandate.
© 2016 Human Early Learning Partnership

21. Activity Instructions
MOVING TO ACTION BRAINSTORM (SLIDES 8–10)
Classic brainstorming leverages creative thinking and innovative ideas. Be clear about the focus you have chosen and the request for action ideas. Invite contributions and not critiques (the theory being that quantity will spark innovation). Brainstorming can be successful in both large and small groups. Small groups allow for quieter voices to be heard, large groups foster more ideas. Kick off the generation of ideas with the question; What might be done by groups or individuals to improve MDI results for our chosen focus?
For alternate versions of the classic brainstorm, try one or more of the following:
Sustained brainstorming occurs over hours/days/weeks using a group bulletin board or a notebook that gets passed from person to person.
Forced Brainstorming requires participants to meet and contribute an idea “quota” using coins, candy or dice that commits people to come up with a certain number of ideas (hopefully stretching their thinking).
Prop inspired ideas use an assortment of visual stimuli to approach the classic brainstorming question in a new way.
When idea generation has been exhausted, repeat the Sorting Square (adjusting the variables as required) to choose the top action ideas to move forward with.
© 2016 Human Early Learning Partnership

22. Activity Instructions
ACT EVERYWHERE (SLIDES 11–16)
Finish the presentation by reviewing other variables that may enrich your action idea (learning from others, involving children, engaging everyone).
Address the discussion questions offered in the slide deck which are designed to enhance and widen the reach of your action plan. This can be done in small groups or can be used as follow up questions after the presentation. Re-create the questions as part of a take-home paper evaluation or send the questions in an electronic survey. This post-presentation variation allows for participants who are members of different organizations to seek out wider input and perspectives.
© 2016 Human Early Learning Partnership