We hope the Challenge Map tool, and the recent survey findings highlighted in the previous sections, can inspire discussion as many schools’ challenges have shifted or been amplified.
Because school districts and regional contexts are unique, Digital Promise has developed a resource to support groups of education stakeholders, including district leaders, parent-teacher organizations, grade-level teams, and others interested in using the Challenge Map to plot and prioritize their own goals and challenges. Below are guidelines and discussion questions to help parents, teachers, students, school and district leaders, and other community members apply a version of Digital Promise’s approach to challenge identification in their own settings.
The Challenge Map communicates shared goals and challenges that schools and districts are addressing. By inviting users to attend to specific school or district-related issues, as well as explore how these challenges play out across varying education roles, school levels, and district contexts (suburban, urban, or rural), this tool can empower education stakeholders to consider the challenges in their specific learning communities, and consider how their own experience relates to what other schools are facing. Exploring the Challenge Map as a group provides the opportunity to inform and interrogate situational perspectives and work together to prioritize goals and overcome obstacles.
Spend 5-10 minutes exploring the Challenge Map. What do you notice? What questions arise?
After discussing your goals and challenges and identifying priorities for your school or district, you can keep the momentum going by developing a plan of action. A rapid-fire action plan provides the space to quickly brainstorm and identify next steps, including assigning roles, establishing budgets and timelines, and planning inclusive data collection activities. Along with this plan, consider whose voices were left out or not represented in your discussion.
Have you used this discussion guide with a group of colleagues or community members? We’d love to stay connected and learn from your experience. Please share your challenges, goals, and reflections on social media using the hashtag #ChallengeMap (don’t forget to tag @DigitalPromise!).