Improvement science is both a set of principles to guide equitable improvement and an applied discipline that emphasizes innovation, rapid-cycle testing in the field, and evidence-driven spread in order to generate learning about which changes work for whom and under what conditions. We welcome stories of work in all phases of the improvement journey, from problem exploration to testing, to analyzing progress, to spreading or scaling proven changes to new contexts. Sessions of this category may share stories of improvement to advance equity in the form of better systems and more equitable outcomes or experiences for students. Sessions in this category may also describe advancing equity through improvement processes that intentionally involve a variety of stakeholders, especially those closest to the impact, use inclusive processes and structures, and/or share power and decision-making. 

We encourage stories:

• told by improvers of a variety of roles and perspectives
• in different phases of an improvement effort and that rely on evidence and analytics to convey progress
• anchored in particular improvement principles and/or an improvement  framework
• appealing to either new or seasoned improvers 
• about change ideas that have proven effective or promising to move an aim, or other knowledge about impacting a particular equity challenge

Expertise is growing in the field as organizations build improvement science capabilities in their daily practice to enact change. We welcome stories centering and showcasing development and use of equity-centered improvement tools and methods to advance equitable outcomes. Sessions feature the tools and approaches that are advancing impact along with concrete takeaways to inform the improvement work of others. In contrast with Improvement Stories, sessions in Tools and Methods focus on explicitly sharing  “how to” knowledge with the Summit community.   

We encourage stories and interactive learning experiences featuring improvement methodologies in action, with concrete artifacts that showcase how tools and methods were utilized to advance equitable outcomes and integrated into systems to promote sustainable improvement. Tools and methods may support:

• Understanding the problem
• Building a theory of improvement
• Measuring improvement
• Developing change ideas
• Learning through testing
• Spreading and scaling
• Initiating and developing a network
• Leading for equity-centered improvement
• Coaching for Improvement or building capacity  
• Managing and sustaining improvement

The community of improvers in the education space is growing! The field of improvement in education continues to evolve, expand, and strengthen as individuals and organizations representing diverse experiences, geographies, and positions in the education landscape join the movement. As new and long-time community members share their work, engage with different perspectives, invite feedback, and envision new possibilities together, our collective capacity to impact students and systems grows. Building on the diverse sessions presented at the 2023 Summit, we invite sessions that offer different ways to make sense together of what we are learning about improvement as a field, the questions and opportunities we are grappling with now, and the work ahead as we take on major equity challenges together. In this strand we are seeking to start or continue stories of exploration or discovery as participants engage with presenters and each other.

We invite sessions that share ideas that are issue focused, innovative, early stage or exploratory in nature. Sessions may focus on specific equity problems of practice or innovative change ideas, improvement methods and processes, or an intersection of problem and method. They may explore questions of how improvement can be leveraged to advance progress in new areas. Presentations may draw on specific examples from practice, explore generalized dilemmas or questions, or anticipate future directions in the field.

These sessions provide opportunities for presenters to bring members of the improvement community into their stories to engage with critical questions together to advance the field in ways that allow for collective sense-making, generating new ideas, advancing thinking, or collaborative problem-solving. 

Examples of past sessions that illustrate this category include:

• Failing to Improve: Lessons Learned from a Decade of Doing
• Reclaiming the History of Equitable Improvement
• Lowering the Barrier to Entry: Demystifying, Decolonizing, and Democratizing
• Moving to a Future that Supports Equity-focused Improvement 
• Reimagining the Teaching Profession Together
• Democratizing Evidence: A Catalyst for Equity-Centered Research and Development