We begin our deep dive into our “Inside the Knowles Fellowship” series with a look at how we lay the foundation for our Fellows inquiry journey by developing the Habits of Mind of Collaborative Inquiry.

Fellows begin their work with us by reflecting on what it means to adopt a learner stance, explore how identity shapes their interactions, and build the trust and vulnerability needed for meaningful collaboration. These habits—curiosity, agency, openness, and a commitment to equity—form the bedrock of sustainable inquiry and leadership.

Becoming a teacher is full of “shoulds.”
We should be reflective.
We should stay curious.
We should build community.
We should think deeply about equity.

But in the whirlwind of the first few years of teaching, what does that actually look like? How do these ideals take shape when you’re just trying to get through the day?

At Knowles, we don’t hand teachers a list of shoulds. Instead, we invite them to develop a set of habits that will sustain their teaching and leadership over time. These habits aren’t assumed—they’re named, nurtured, and practiced in community.

The Habits of Mind of Collaborative Inquiry are cultivated during the first year of the Fellowship. These habits are:

• Exercising agency in and taking ownership of one’s learning and professional growth
• Approaching teaching as a site for knowledge generation
• Practicing open-mindedness and sustaining curiosity
• Seeking out and valuing multiple perspectives
• Engaging in and contributing to collective learning as a collaborative community member
• Centering equity in thought and action
• Acting with integrity and honoring ethical responsibilities in inquiry

We’re transparent with Fellows about our intentions—we’re trying to support the development of many things. But we don’t expect anyone to internalize all of these habits at once. In fact, we believe that deep learning takes time. That’s why we slow things down, create space for meaning-making, and help Fellows reflect on how these ways of thinking show up in themselves and in the people around them.

In the first year of the Fellowship, our goal isn’t mastery. It’s awareness, reflection, and community. Here’s what that looks like in action.

We Start by Naming the Learner Stance

A first step to developing agency and ownership over your learning is recognizing yourself as a learner.

We ask Fellows to reflect on this sentiment from Onward, a book about building resilience in education:

Taking a learner’s stance allows us to remain open and curious, to reframe potential obstacles or setbacks as moments of learning. How might you take the stance of a beginner, a new and open learner, in your work? How might you reframe your setbacks as learning opportunities?” (Aguilar, 2018)

Fellows recall moments when they truly took a learner stance and reflect on what supported or undermined it. They then connect their reflection to the cohort norms:

1. Impact is greater than intent. Seek to understand your impact and interrogate your intent.
2. Ask for what you need and tell what you can give.
3. Ask for what others need and what others can give. (Lin & Perry, 2022; p.32)

Fellows identify which norm they’ll lean on in their next moment of struggle, and share that commitment in small groups. It’s a small but powerful act of community building that deepens agency.

One Fellow shared, “I was able to be conscious of the fact that intent and impact are not the same and it allowed me to be open to receiving feedback from my peers.”

Naming the norm helps us practice it. Practicing it together builds trust and curiosity, essential Habits of Mind of Collaborative Inquiry.

We Reflect on Identity, Assumptions, and Healthy Groups

Maintaining an open mind to support learning within a community isn’t just about what you notice—it’s about how and from where you notice.

In our Hand Identity activity, Fellows trace the outline of their hand on paper. Inside, they write words that describe how they see themselves. Outside, they write how they think others see them. Then they reflect:

• What parts of myself feel visible in this group?
• Which assumptions do I carry into collaboration?
• How do I define “healthy group interaction”—and where does that come from?

This activity surfaces questions about belonging and visibility. Fellows begin to consider the ways identity can influence how collaborative work happens, whose perspectives they seek out, and where their beliefs about collaboration might stem from.

Consider this reflection from a Fellow:

My understanding of doing has been impacted by my identity as a young woman in STEM. I’ve always felt pressure to live up to expectations because I worry about being perceived as incapable; I’ve often suffered from impostor syndrome. As an Asian person, I worry about meeting the stereotype that I “should” be good at math.

Fellows not only reflect on these ideas, but they share their responses with their cohort members, which further positions the community as a place to be curious, open-minded, and one that can support collective learning.

We Visualize the Teacher Journey

Many Fellows arrive feeling like everyone else has it all figured out. Our Teacher Journey activity helps disrupt that myth.

Fellows chart their evolving thoughts and feelings over time—about teaching, student engagement, and the Fellowship. For each domain, they plot moments from their first day of teaching and imagine what those points might look like in their fifth year and beyond.

They often discover:

• They have more control over their journey than they anticipate.
• They have access to lots of resources that can support them on their journey.
• They aren’t alone in the emotional and intellectual ups and downs of teaching.

This exercise builds open-mindedness toward one’s own growth and reinforces that knowledge generation doesn’t come solely from external experts—it comes from lived experience and reflection. It also opens the door to collaborative reflection, where shared stories become sources of insight—not comparison.

We Practice Being Critical Friends

We don’t just expect Fellows to engage in collaborative inquiry—we support them in learning how to support others’ inquiry too.

Early in the Fellowship, we introduce the role of critical friend—someone who offers insight not by giving advice, but by asking questions that push thinking and reflection.

We help Fellows practice:

• Sharing a slice of their practice without needing it to be perfect.
• Naming what feedback they’re ready to hear.
• Offering probing questions that push thinking gently, but clearly.

One Fellow reflected:

“Critical friendship and collaboration around inquiry stand out to me because they create a space for honest reflection and real growth. The structured approach of Critical Friends Groups keeps conversations meaningful, helping educators challenge their thinking and improve their practice. I appreciate how trust and diverse perspectives are central, which ties into my focus on equitable teaching.”

Over time, Fellows continue to seek out opportunities to continue learning from one another in these ways.

We Invite What’s Missing

While we provide structure, we also make space for Fellows to raise the questions that aren’t in our curriculum.

Sometimes that means:

• Asking, “What voices are missing from this data?”
• Naming tensions around belonging, identity, or school structures.
• Surfacing equity issues that don’t always get discussed in formal spaces.

These moments remind Fellows that inquiry is also about power—who gets to ask questions, whose questions get answered, and how systems enable or limit equity.

Fellows begin to see their work not just as technical improvements to practice, but as a form of ethical and political engagement.

Why This Matters

By focusing on the Habits of Mind of Collaborative Inquiry in Year 1, we help Fellows develop sustainable, reflective, and equity-driven approaches to their work. These habits don’t live in a framework, they live in everyday moments:

• How we respond when something doesn’t go as planned.
• How we show up in group discussions.
• How we reflect on identity and community.
• How we hold ourselves and others accountable for equity.
• How we remain open to learning, even when it’s hard.

Our goal isn’t to make teachers “get inquiry right” but to help them slow down and ask:

“What kind of inquirer do I want to be—and what kind of community do I want to build?”

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Coming up next in the series:
We’ll look at how in the second year of the Knowles Fellowship, Fellows build on these foundational habits by turning their attention toward the classroom—examining the relationship between task, talk, and doing. As they begin to analyze classroom discourse, reflect on power and participation, and redefine what it means for students to be the ones “doing” math or science, Fellows deepen their inquiry stance. Through this work, they start to shift their practice in ways that elevate student voice, challenge traditional hierarchies, and spark lasting transformation.