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Section 9: Use and share learning

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Is this section for me?

Once PDSA Cycles are underway, we recommend organizations continue onto this section for guidance on sharing what they are learning. Before beginning this section, let’s see if you are ready to start sharing results and what you are learning.

Is your implementation underway?
Have you begun testing changes through PDSA cycles?
Do you have some data or observations to reflect on?
Have noticed early patterns, questions, or learning?

If so, you are ready to begin the work outlined in this section. If not, you may want to continue with implementation and testing until you have something concrete to reflect on and share.

What's in this section

Using and sharing what you’re learning

Implementation, PDSA cycles, and data collection happen simultaneously. There may be many points in the process where the data can be valuable to share, even when the project is ongoing.

In many cases, it may also be helpful to share updates informally with others who are connected to the work, such as colleagues, leadership, partners, or community members. This type of communication does not require polished results or final conclusions. Providing preliminary information can build understanding, support transparency, and reinforce shared purpose.

Whether your audience is internal or external, sharing learning is not about proving success. It is about helping people make sense of what is working, what is challenging, and what is still being figured out in ways that are useful, honest, and appropriate for different audiences. When done thoughtfully, communication becomes a tool for learning, connection, and continuous improvement.

How this step fits into the larger QI process

Communicating learning is most useful at specific points in the quality improvement process, rather than as a continuous or separate task. Teams often choose to share learning:

After implementation is underway and early patterns begin to emerge,
Following a PDSA cycle, especially when something important was learned,
After a planned data collection point or baseline comparison, or
When a decision is needed about whether to continue, adjust, or expand the work.

Reflecting and sharing at these moments helps teams communicate progress in ways that fit the stage of the work and keep learning connected to action.

Guidance and questions to ask

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Make sense of what you are seeing

Before deciding whether to share anything, take a few minutes as a team to interpret what the data and experience are showing. Consider:

What is this data telling us right now?
How does this information affect our work or decisions?
Does this suggest progress toward our aim, or something else?
What questions or uncertainties does this raise?

Spending time here helps the team name what is being learned, and whether it’s worth sharing yet, rather than sharing based on assumptions or heat-of-the-moment reactions.

Be clear about purpose and feedback

Not all sharing is necessary, and not all learning needs to be communicated right away. Before sharing, it can be helpful to pause and decide whether there is a clear reason to do so at this point in the work. Start by asking why you are sharing this information right now. Is it…

To show progress or early signals of change?
To inform a specific decision or next step?
To build understanding or buy-in among a particular group?

If there is no clear purpose, it may be worth waiting. Sharing without a reason can create confusion, invite unhelpful feedback, or add unnecessary work.

If you decide sharing is useful, be clear about what kind of response you are inviting. Are you asking for feedback, ideas, or critique, or are you primarily sharing updates and context?

If feedback is invited, consider what kind of feedback would be most helpful at this stage and who is best positioned to offer that feedback.
If feedback is not invited, consider how you will say that clearly and respectfully, and how you will acknowledge feedback if it is offered anyway.

Clarifying purpose and feedback expectations helps teams share learning intentionally, reduce distraction, and keep communication aligned with the work.

Decide who needs to know

Different audiences care about different parts of the story, and not everyone needs the same information at the same time. As you decide who needs to know, consider:

Who will use this information to make a decision?
Who needs this context to understand a change they will experience?
Who has influence over whether this work can continue, adjust, or expand?
Who would benefit from understanding the “why” behind what is happening?

Depending on your purpose, audiences may include:

Leadership, when learning may inform decisions, approvals, resourcing, or next steps;
Staff, when learning affects practice, workload, or how children, families, or other staff are supported;
Families, when changes affect their experience, expectations, or engagement;
Partners or community members, when shared understanding or coordination matters;
Policymakers, when learning has implications for policy, guidance, or system-level practice; or
Funders, when learning helps explain impact, progress, or the value of continued investment.

Not every update needs to go to every audience. Being selective helps keep sharing focused, relevant, and respectful of time.

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Focus on what is most useful to share

You do not need to share everything you have learned. What you choose to share should help someone understand the work better, make a decision, or stay aligned.

After reviewing what you’ve tried and what you’re noticing, ask:

What would help someone make a better decision right now?
What has shifted how we think about the work?
What might prevent misunderstanding or misalignment if it went unshared?
What is still too early, unclear, or incomplete to be useful outside the immediate implementers on the team?

Then clarify:

What are the one or two things we want people to walk away understanding?
What do people not need to know at this point?

Sharing with intention helps keep communication focused on learning rather than activity.

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Choose simple ways to share

Sharing learning does not require a formal report or polished product. What matters more is helping the audience understand why this information is relevant to them and how it connects to their role or decisions. In many cases, simple formats are more effective than comprehensive ones.

Choose formats that fit your capacity, your culture, and the nature of your relationship with the audience.

For example, one or two slides can be useful for internal teams or leadership meetings when the goal is to highlight key learning, pause together, and decide next steps without going into unnecessary detail.
A short, written update that explains what was tried and what was learned can be helpful for leadership, partners, or funders who need context and reasoning but are not involved in day-to-day implementation. This format works well when decisions, continued support, or alignment are needed.
A simple visual showing change over time is often effective for teams, leadership, or funders who want a quick snapshot of progress or early signals of change. Visuals can help people see patterns or trends briefly and are especially useful for regular check-ins.
In more informal or relational settings, a few clear talking points may be enough. These work well for conversations with funders or partners where the goal is to explain what you are learning, answer questions, and maintain transparency without creating a formal product.

Tools and templates

Here are a few additional, optional, tools that might help as you work through the Guidance and Questions to Ask.

Learning Update (One-Page or Slide Template)

Share what’s being learned without turning it into a report. Sections might include:

What we’re working on (brief reminder of the aim or focus)
What we tried recently
What we’re noticing so far (data + observations)
What questions we’re holding
What we’re doing next

This works well for team meetings, leadership check-ins, or informal partner updates.

Simple Progress Snapshot

Show change over time at a glance. Includes:

One or two key measures
A simple table or line graph
A short note or takeaway box, explaining what the trend does or does not suggest yet

This is especially helpful for recurring check-ins or when people want to stay updated without a lot of explanation.

Talking Points

Prepare for informal conversations without over-preparing. Prompts might include:

What is the main thing we want to convey?
What question are we most likely to be asked?
What are we still figuring out?
What support or understanding (if any) are we hoping for?
Useful for conversations with funders, partners, or leadership.

Reflection prompts

How might sharing this learning strengthen trust, relationships, or connection with others?
Who could feel more seen, supported, or respected if we shared this thoughtfully?
What context do we need to include so this learning is understood as part of growth, not judgment?
How does what we are learning connect to our purpose or values, not just our outcomes?
What kind of sharing would support hope, clarity, or engagement at this stage of the work?

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In practice: Using and sharing learning

By this point, Riverside Middle School had completed several small tests (PDSAs), collected early outcome data and staff feedback, and made targeted adjustments to their approach based on what they were learning.

The team shared learning in simple, regular ways. During standing monthly staff meetings, they used one or two slides to summarize what had been tested, what the data and observations suggested, and what they planned to try next. These updates focused on learning and decision-making rather than reporting results.

At key points during the project (i.e., planning, launch, halfway through the project), school leadership shared brief written summaries with district partners. These updates highlighted the aim, early signals of change, and questions still being explored, clearly framing the work as an ongoing learning experience.

The team also planned a more formal share-out at the end of the school year, using their post-project data to reflect on overall impact, identify lessons learned, and inform decisions about whether and how to continue or expand the work in the following year.

Closing remarks

Sharing what you are learning is not the end of the process. Insights gained through reflection and communication should feed directly back into your implementation to shape what you test next, how you adjust your approach, and what you continue or expand. As your work continues, so does your data collection, testing, and learning. Each cycle builds on the last, helping you refine your approach over time.

Quality improvement is ongoing. Continue using what you are learning, iterating on your implementation, and building on both your data and experience!