Our Approach

We enabled partners to advance their individual and collective progress through opportunities for learning, adaptation, and collaborative problem-solving

A Focus on Learning

Knowledge exchange and access were at the heart of 100Kin10. At nearly every network touchpoint, partners shared what they were great at and where they needed help, showing up as both teachers and learners. The network served as a marketplace of information and resources. We also grounded our work in what the field already knows. Too often in education, we start from scratch when we face a problem. So we commissioned research to support partners to avoid recreating the wheel and designed methods for partners to query the existing research base before moving to action. Overall, 91% of partners accessed expertise or resources through the network they would not have otherwise encountered.

Removing Barriers to Collaboration

Working together is hard, so we took it upon ourselves to get rid of as many obstacles to joint efforts as possible. Sometimes this meant supporting logistical needs, scheduling meetings and taking notes. Other times it was about making it easy to take action, creating templates and tools for easy (and legal!) plagiarizing. And at points, partners most needed to build capacity, so we provided access to technical expertise and/or leadership coaching.

83%

of Project Team participants reported that logistics and coordination support from 100Kin10 staff members was "make-or-break" for the success of their team.

The Power of Respect

Our partners and teachers will go to the end of the earth for their students -- as will all educators. We were clear that 100Kin10 was not about “fixing” those who had dedicated so much to preparing the next generation, but instead was about making their jobs easier and respecting their commitment. We seized every moment to show this trust and respect, creating the space for people to show up and give their best.

Matchmaking

We designed moments for serendipitous connection, but we did not rely on them. With our unique view as the hub of a network, we intentionally curated new relationships that advanced people’s work, whether they were working in similar ways but located on opposite sides of the country, or lived a few towns apart with different but complementary goals. We did this regularly via email introductions, connection concierge, and “no-strings” connections, but we also filtered it into a variety of network experiences, most notably at our annual event called the Summit. At our 2019 Partner Summit, 96% of attendees reported they met at least one person with whom they intended to follow up.

"
We each come to the 100Kin10 experience with our own deficiencies and strengths, and because we can acknowledge those deficiencies in a safe space, we’re able to take the expertise and concern and caring we have for each other to help us move forward.
"
- Jeff Thomas, Professor of Education, University of Southern Indiana

Partner-driven Action

The network was a place for partners to address the problems they most needed to solve. We trusted them to know what those problems were, and we created the structures for problem-solving. Partners decided the topics and goals for their Project Teams (small teams led by a partner who worked together over about a six month stretch to tackle a common question or need), and they proposed content for and led the sessions at the annual Summit and other partner gatherings.

112

individuals have stepped up to lead Project Teams since 2017.

Space for Experimentation

In most professional settings, there is little room for trying out a new method or exploring a different approach, keeping us from trying new things that might lead to improvements. 100Kin10 provided the cover needed to experiment, both by developing structures to support meaningful experimentation and by carving out safe and protected time for doing so. As a result, partners were able to tackle questions they otherwise would have left unanswered.