When I started the process of going through my readings and notes, I will admit that I felt as though I was in a bit of an abyss. I tried to figure out a problem of practice that was a real-world dilemma to my organization (Ma, Fitchman, Adams and Kennedy (2018). Based on my knowledge and previous conversations with others, I thought our need was resiliency due to the day to day demands and COVID19. Much to my surprise, once I completed the interviews with managers, I realized that their concern was related to feeling connected with others. All three interviewees discussed the lack of connections and communication between peers, management and staff. Working in this new world that encompasses online meetings, emails, conference calls while not seeing, touching, and truly being able to read the body language of others they described as actually more difficult than face to face conversations. I redefined my problem of practice – Connecting with others. Next, I had to figure out my manifesto.
What is a manifesto? I reviewed the video of the professor who taught Entomophagy (eating crickets) to students. Brilliant!! The students will never forget what happened that day as they ate crickets or how they felt watching others eat crickets. That is active learning. I imagine that his manifesto is related to active learning in the classroom. Once I reviewed the WI+RE Way: a manifesto and a process for learner-led design, I realized that the manifesto is related to my core values and beliefs as it relates to designing learning for others and ensuring an ‘inclusive, transformative and learner centered pedagogy’ (p. 3). It occurred to me that I have to be true to my core values as I am happiest with my work when I live and follow my values. I identified the following as my mini-manifesto:
- Iteration not Perfection: Give myself the time to iterate and think outside the box, each revision will create additional ideas that can be applied; learn from feedback and collaboration with others
- Makin’ it Real SMART : Use Storytelling that provides examples that are relevant to the participants world keeping in mind the SMART ideology :
- Specific to participants world
- Meaningful to the participant
- Action Orientated to provide examples
- Relevant to their situations and circumstances
- Timely insofar as it has happened in the last three to five years rather than 20 years ago
- Construct with Universal Design Principles: Learning should be accessible and useable for all levels of participants
- Social Constructivist Approach: Provide active learning opportunities that afford opportunities to co-create learning and positively impact participants (Inspire and Motivate Participants into Action through Collaboration and Teamwork)
- Allow myself a culture of anything goes – just try it: Overthinking suspends creative thinking
Now on to my Empathy Map. In fairness, that was more difficult than I expected. I know I overthink, so the fact that the instructions suggested it could be completed in five minutes led me to believe – that was the case for some, but not for me. The Empathy Map ensured that I thought and more importantly wrote down information about the users, their context, the goals together with breakthroughs. I decided to define breakthrough as the ‘moment of understanding’ where I could see the learner ‘buy-in’ to the learning. I did that last because I wanted to envision what would that look like to me.
I look forward to your comments, questions and suggestions on how to move forward or to question my thinking.
Caroline
References
Harper, T., Mody, N., Romero, R., & Worsham, D. (n.d.). The WI+RE Way : a manifesto and a process for learner-led design. Journal of New Librarianship, 5(2020), 1–24. https://www.newlibs.org/article/11757-the-wi-re-way-a-manifesto-and-a-process-for-learner-led-design
Ma, V., Dana, N., Adams, A., & Kennedy, B. (2018). Understanding the Problem of Practice: An Analysis of Professional Practice EdD Dissertations. Impacting Education: Journal on Transforming Professional Practice, 3(1). doi:https://doi.org/10.5195/ie.2018.50
June 30, 2020 at 10:16 pm
Hi Caroline, thank you for sharing your thought process and discoveries. Isn’t it interesting and surprising sometimes to learn how others’ perspectives differ from our own? Personally, I find it easy to sometimes assume that others must be experiencing the same thoughts and challenges as me, but as you pointed out, this may not be the case! I look forward to seeing how you assist your peers in feeling more connected and improving online communications!
July 1, 2020 at 4:00 am
Hello Caroline, thank you for sharing a great post and articulating a clear manifesto for your practice as a designer. Your description of your PoP and your users feedback remind me that this is an unprecedented time in human engagement for many. The abrupt disconnection of f2f relationships and relative ease of communication has required the development of substitute channels. Some are more effective than others. As a Manager I have taken a lot of steps to consult with my teams to understand their individual needs for communication. A surprising thing I learned was that the channel wasn’t as important as the transparency about what was happening at more senior levels and genuine empathy for what they were going through as sudden remote workers.
July 6, 2020 at 7:23 am
Hi Caroline,
I enjoyed reading your post and your mini-manifesto resonated with me. I share your design values and appreciates the “anything goes- just try it” belief. It allows us to be adventurous and creative in our design process. I agree with Jenni that transparency is essential, especially coming from our leaders. It avoids distractions and unnecessary worry, and allow our staff to focus on the good things that they do. 🙂
I think reframing the problem is another consideration when defining potential solutions. According to Seelig (2013), reframing is a skill that is important to develop to identify real issues and potential solutions. Empathizing and looking at issues from different perspectives are approaches to help reframe a problem.
Reference
Seelig, T. (2013, April 19). How reframing a problem unlocks innovation [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.fastcompany.com/1672354/how-reframing-a-problem-unlocks-innovation
July 8, 2020 at 7:58 am
Hi Sharon – Sometimes overthinking can be the biggest deterrent to getting work done – therefore I thought of ‘just try it’. I am definitely learning about reframing as it is something that we have to do on a regular basis. We sometime think a situation has one answer/alternative whereas in fact we have to open our eyes and see all the potential answers and solutions.
Caroline
July 7, 2020 at 3:15 pm
Hi Caroline,
I really enjoyed reading your post. I just went back to work and with all the changes I have a feeling of being disconnected for sure. My managers are doing a great job in reaching out, but I still feel a little left behind with all the new softwares in place due to COVID.
Active learning in the classroom is such a great thing as the students can be triggered by the event (in your case, seeing a cricket) and immediately recollect the topic. Your mini-manifesto is awesome. It is short, sweet and to the point! I agree with imploring a SMART ideology, because that is how I learn – through storytelling.
Your empathy map was spot on and I feel we share very similar values and outlooks with what should be at the core.
Good job Caroline, I really look forward to the end product.
– Kerry
July 8, 2020 at 7:55 am
Hi Kerry – thank you for your comments. I believe we have to live and create according to our manifesto. Hopefully I will be able to do that.
Caroline