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

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.

I had another opportunity this past week to attend a community listening event. This one was successful in a number of ways, but I am now beginning to form a short list of principles I think may lead to improving the design of these events. Design to the type of thinking task(s) you require of … Continue reading Designing community listening events

Earlier this week I attended a meeting billed as a community listening event. It drew 100-plus folks. And it has me thinking about missed opportunities to engage every participant who attends such events. The event I attended was styled as a town hall with a very specific topic focus: Options to address serious financial challenges … Continue reading Thinking about: Town halls and missed opportunities to engage the engaged