21st century communication
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mapping the terrain of school health (9)
In this day-long retreat, K-12 educators, community members, and researchers in public health gathered to meet each other and compare their perceptions of the landscape of public school health. Note: Photos can't do these justice: the original maps are quite large: 5' high by 8' long. Impressive! -
iLEAP scholars (4)
They came to Seattle from Togo, Cameroon, India and Nepal, for three months of intensive dialogue and knowledge exchange regarding their sustainability principles and practices, and those in the Cascadia bioregion. This workshop explored the role of listening in ecological design, using blindfolds, stories, and--of course--stringed instruments! -
piecing the elephant (3)
It's not easy being green! In this organization, the primary challenge involved identifying who the players were, and analyzing how their differing agendas were influencing this team's ability to adopt sustainable strategies. Rudyard Kipling's famous poem "The Blind Men and the Elephant" provided the inspiration for how to approach this critical thinking challenge. -
graphic recording & facilitation (11)
As we face increasingly complex social, economic and environmental problems, it is imperative that we find ways to "make sense" out of a vast array of sensory, contextual and quantitative data. Because the brain processes images approximately 60,000 times faster than words, graphic recording and facilitation methods offer groups a way to stabilize understanding of difficult ideas, develop tolerance for ambiguity, notice and deal with emerging realities, and exercise their collective imagination. By taking the time to acquire a basic "visual vocabulary" any group can improve its ability to think and act more sustainably. -
visioning, literally (7)
This organization wanted to find ways to imagine their future home without getting stuck at the level of words on a sheet of newsprint. Mapping their desired outcomes and making concrete connections between committee groups enabled them to do so.