This year's Symposium was the 16th annual get-together of practitioners of Cognitive Coaching^SM. Attendance was high, and we were pleased to welcome participants from Alaska and Australia for the first time.

The Symposium opened on Wednesday evening, January 27th, with a welcoming dinner and activities to assist others in getting to know each other. We all got down to work on Thursday, opening with a States of Mind haiku related to the Symposium theme of "Sustaining Cultures of Inquiry." Bob Garmston and Art Costa spent the morning engaging the audience in examining constructivist learning, the drive for self-directedness, and the roots of Cognitive Coaching^SM. Using a metaphor drawn from nature, they explained how, after many of the old elephants were killed by ivory poachers, many young elephants died off because they did not have the knowledge of where to locate the watering holes. We learned of the CC "watering holes" which nourish our practice today.

Diane Zimmerman and Jim Roussin, two CC Training Associates, conducted the afternoon of the first day. Our learning focused on how Cognitive Coaching^SM creates a holding environment for adult development. Using artistic representations, we were guided through a review of the concepts in Robert Kegan's theories. There was exploration of how a coach's own development impacts the capacity to coach.

Friday morning was a time of making choices among excellent book talks and small group workshops. It was a true celebration of our community to have four authors who are Training Associates in our community:

• Linda Jungwirth and Delores Lindsey spoke about their book, Culturally Proficient Learning Communities: Confronting Inequities Through Collaborative Curiosity.
   
• Jenny Edwards guided the group in considering the concepts in her book, Inviting Students to Learn: 100 Tips for Talking Effectively with Your Students.
   
• Jim Roussin modeled some processes from his book, Guiding Professional Learning Communities: Inspiration, Surprise, Challenge and Meaning.

Small group workshops featured other Training Associates:

• Linda Bersinger: "Building Trust"
   
• Amy Duncan: "This is Your Brain Being Coached!"
   
• Sue Presler: "Connecting the Dots"
   
• Amy Duncan and Linda Jungwirth: "Using Electronic Media to Increase Fluency in Cognitive Coaching^SM"

The afternoon concluded with a presentation by Carolee Hayes and Jane Ellison on the theme of collegial inquiry, one of the pillar practices for adult learning in Ellie Drago-Severson's work.

We are already planning for next year's Symposium. The pre-conference will be on Wednesday, January 26, 2011, featuring Robert Kegan, author of "Immunity to Change." Ellie Drago-Severson will also be with us during the Symposium, which begins Wednesday evening and concludes at 2:30 PM on Friday, January 28, 2011. Mark your calendars now and plan to join this learning community again.