Descriptive Inquiry

In this second episode of the 4th season, I interviewed my friend Stephane Barile about her role with the Institute on Descriptive Inquiry. In their own words, the Institute “uses group process to describe, look closely at, and reflect upon student and teacher work in order to enhance teacher and school practice.” 

Stephane and I met during our freshman years at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. We’ve remained friends over the years, and so I’ve been hearing about the descriptive inquiry process for many years -not quite ever since we were eager students ourselves, but definitely in the last many years. Stephane and I reconnected right before the pandemic because she moved back out to California. We went on a lovely walk through Golden Gate Park’s botanical gardens, and she inspired me by her glowing enthusiasm for the descriptive inquiry process.

Every summer Stephane travels to the East Coast to meet up with a group of her teaching colleagues to spend time with this method in real time. Born out of an alternative school in Vermont, called The Prospect School, the process aims to connect teachers with resources to consider their role as an educator in relationship to a learner.

As a parent who homeschooled or unschooled, I spent a lot of the last two decades actively creating opportunities for learning that catered to my son’s disposition and interests. As a parent of a child who has dyslexia and has struggled with the mainstream model of education, I’m always fascinated by teachers who will go the extra mile to support alternative learning options for my son and other learners like him.

I’m excited to share about this process on “The Positive Fantastic” podcast. And, for more information about how you can learn this method firsthand, you can visit the institute’s website or reach out to Stephane. Stephane is currently working as the co-director at the Institute on Descriptive Inquiry. You can visit the Institute website at idiprocess.org and you can contact Stephane at stephane@idiprocess.org