A work-in-progress reflection: Designing for learning through community

Evanston sailing beach
~ Jeff Merrell ~ 1 Comment

I've been (slowly) hacking away at a longer essay to summarize how I came to think about learning and communities. It's challenging. Like herding concept cats. When I write things like this, I start by trying to find key ideas or concepts that come to represent principles for me. (An example is Have direction, let … Continue reading A work-in-progress reflection: Designing for learning through community

Monthly update (June): Looking for bright spots

~ Jeff Merrell

"It's exhausting." That comment is stuck in my head. It came at the end of an email exchange with a leader of Environmental Justice Evanston (EJE), an elder, and veteran activist and community organizer. The exchange was about implementing progressive changes that come out of large-scale community listening efforts in Evanston. She noted that, in … Continue reading Monthly update (June): Looking for bright spots

Have direction, let the dialogue go where it wants to go, and engage everyone.

Dawes Mansion in Evanston
~ Jeff Merrell ~ 2 Comments

I recently facilitated two meetings that took me slightly outside of my normal setting, which was teaching working professionals in a graduate degree program. Both recent experiences yielded interesting insights in my journey to apply my know-how in different settings. One of the things I realized is that these three things - have direction, let … Continue reading Have direction, let the dialogue go where it wants to go, and engage everyone.

How do you know you are making progress toward inclusive community engagement?

Northwestern campus at night
~ Jeff Merrell ~ 1 Comment

I originally wrote about this question in At what point does your spidey-sense tell you that you have the right amount of community input? The question is coming back again in a slightly different context. But it is the same fundamental challenge. How do you assess progress toward a vision of inclusive community engagement? The new … Continue reading How do you know you are making progress toward inclusive community engagement?