Monte,
I'd like to see some examples of the dialogues, if that wouldn't break
confidentiality.
I have a hunch that there will be a correct 'feel' to dialogues in which
there is real learning going on instead of intellectual abstracting. It
will probably have something to do with two factors:
* what is revealed about oneself in the dialogue - level of openness
* the congruency of the message
I've sat in on many management development seminars and noticed lots of
abstracting, and little openness, congruency.
The interaction patterns will also be of interest.
* do learners pick up on and work with the ideas of others vs. the typical
'yeah, but ...'
* does the learning group take a subject deeper vs. surface dialogue
* do people present aggressively or assertively
These are just some thoughts off the top. I'd be interested in what you are
noticing about the dialogues you're seeing. What excites or interests you
about them.
Ray
>At 02:07 PM 10/2/97 -0400, you wrote:
>>Thomas Ang, Ray Rasmussen, and others,
>>
>>I use experiential learning with increasing regularity
>>in the course of teaching subjects such as scientific inquiry,
>>experimental design, planning and decision-making, and a course
>>I call "process consulting." The last course has to do with helping
>>students develop their ability to intervene helpfully with others,
>>especially in difficult interpersonal and organizational situations.
>>
>>Increasingly, I have been engaging students in dialogue through
>>email - just as Ray does. We create a list (like the MG-ED-DV
>>list) and then begin to "chat" about course topics. I have experi-
>>mented with student learning jounals and with hardcopy (as opposed
>>to email) reaction reports but neither of these vehicles engages
>>the whole learning community as effectively as an interactive email
>>discussion group.
>>
>>The fact that a learning community does develop is almost magical.
>>As Ray noted, "... the other stuff that we call teaching ..." pales
>>by comparison with methods that really engage students in a community
>>of learning.
>>
>>Thomas Ang asked about the time commitment and the effect on
>>research. I agree with Ray's reply and wish to add the following.
>>First, engaging students through email "chat" (we have to find
>>a better word for it because it isn't fluff) does take time. Of
>>course it also takes the students' time because we are in effect
>>extending our engagement with students well beyond the time and place
>>of the classroom. This seems like a good thing except for the
>>fact that it begins to cut into other activities.
>>
>>The question, Is it worth it? is difficult but worth our careful
>>attention. We might begin to explore the answer by asking, Is education
>>a major or a minor mission of the university? I think most will agree
>>that it is a major mission.
>>
>>If so, then perhaps we academics should not see teaching and research
>>as activities that compete for our time but rather as two, equally-valued
>>forms of _scholarship_. [See Earnest Boyers report "Scholarship
>>Reconsidered" for a fuller treatment of this idea.]
>>
>>To put it another way, instead of asking, Shall I engage in
>>scholarship or shall I teach?, let's ask, What form shall my
>>scholarship take (at this moment) - teaching or discipline-based
>>research or some mix of the two?
>>
>>At least some of us will decide that teaching - in a way that fully
>>and athenticly engages students in an active, experiential, critically-
>>reflective learning community - is: a) an important form of scholarship,
>>and b) definitely worth it.
>>
>>
>>Kenneth M. Brown
>
>
>I have just returned to teaching after a 15plus years of consulting. I
>decided to try the email and chat room as extensions of opportunity for
>students to interact and for me to listen in and share other thoughts
>between classes.
>
>After the hassles of getting set up, the community is beginning to develop.
> Class room discussions pick up from where the chat room left off. Guest
>lectures can be anticipated and followed up on through these devices.
>
>I am and will be asking the students about their responses to this. No
>other faculty in the program has used these to date.
>
>Monty Brown
>Editor, Health Care Management Review
>and this semester, Prof at Arizona State Univ.
>
>>
Dr. R.V. (Ray) Rasmussen
Chair, Department of Organizational Analysis
http://www.bus.ualberta.ca/rrasmussen/
Director, Environmental Research & Studies Centre
http://www.ualberta.ca/~ersc/