ManyRs

The R's of personal, professional, and intellectual development through a program of studies

• The development begins with someone who has already decided to be a "journeying inquirer." It leads towards becoming a reflective practitioner who has wholehearted, responsible engagement with others, that is, their "Head, Heart, Hands & Human Connection" are all aligned.
• The sequence of the R's is intended to convey that some later R's will make limited sense until more basic R's have been practiced and internalized. My suggestion would be to undertake Plus-Delta review periodically, say, every 4 months. For as many R's as make sense at that time, give an example of something that has worked well and something that could be developed further.
• The examples of tools and processes given do not map perfectly onto the R's—some fit a number of R's and some fit a given R but would probably make limited sense until "later" R's have been brought into the picture.
• The schema makes the development feel linear so the squiggle graphic at the top is included to remind us to expect that opening-out periods alternate with periods of consolidating experiences to date and that development will be windy and iterative, not step by step and directional.
• The source for most of the tools and processes and their annotations (as of 10/31/14) is Taylor P. and J. Szteiter (2012) Taking Yourself Seriously: Processes of Research and Engagement (Arlington, MA: The Pumping Station), available from online retailers or as a pdf via http://bit.ly/TYS2012.
• This is subject to Revision! What tools and processes might we introduce for the R’s that have none listed? What headings might we insert for tools and processes that do not fit well under an R (such as pRobing and gRoundwork)? Most notably, these R's do not yet include entries related to the core CCT courses in Critical Thinking, Creative Thinking, and Cognitive Psychology, nor any of the electives.

journeying inquirer

Reading

• Jig-saw Discussion of Texts
  • Allows all members of a group to get up to steam on issues raised by a set of readings without everyone having read every reading in depth
• Background Information (=Phase B)
  • Finding out what others have done that informs and connects with your project

Review

• Active Digestion
  • To ensure that what you read becomes part of your own thinking (Phase B)
• Annotated Bibliography
  • To check the significance of what you are reading against your current project definition and priorities (Phase B)
• Gallery Walk
  • Activity for a group's first meeting that introduces participants to each other and acknowledges that they already know a lot about the topic at hand
• Initial Guide
  • Someone to guide your inquiries in their early unformed stage (Phase B)
• Key Article
  • Points to many other publications and so moves you towards the goal of knowing what others have done that informs and connects with your project (Phase B)
• KAQF
  • Identify what you need to Find out by examining the interplay between Knowledge, Questions for inquiry, and ideas about possible Actions
• Models from the Past
  • Review reports from previous projects to get a sense of their scope and the look of the final products (Phase A)
• Sense-Making Response
  • An approach to Active Digestion of what you are reading based on Sense-Making (Phase B)
• Think-Pair-Share
  • Prepare your thoughts on your own, share with a second person, then with group as a whole
• Small-Group Roles
  • Roles that do not divert anyone from participating in a small-group activity and in which everyone has to reflect and synthesize what happened

Reasoning w/ respect to evidence & alternatives

• Component Propositions (=Phase D) and Component Propositions—Teasing Out
  • Identify the propositions that your project depends on and the research needed to support those propositions (Phase D)

Relationship w/ oneself (moving towards autonomy)

• Creative Habits for Synthesis of Theory and Practice
  • Framework to establish a structure of support to find your voice, clarify and develop thoughts, and express that voice in a completed written product
• Daily Writing
  • A practice of writing 15-30 minutes 5-7 days per week from the very start of a project
• Reflective Practitioner Goals
  • Emphasizing taking initiative in and through relationships (Phase J)
• Subject-Purpose-Audience (=Phase A)
  • Who you want to reach? What you want to convey to them? Why do you want to address them about that?

Reflection & metacognition

• Focused Conversation
  • A series of questions that begin with concrete things you observed and move through feelings and associations, on to interpretations and finally get to the overall implications
• Freewriting
  • Write non-stop for seven to ten minutes to expose thoughts about the topic that had been below the surface of your attention
• Five F's
  • Background research involves a continuing interplay among Find, Focus, Filter, Face Fears, and File (Phase B)
• Governing Question
  • Focuses you on what you need to find out that you do not already know or cannot yet demonstrate to someone else
• Making Space for Taking Initiative in and through Relationships
  • Focus on a few reflective practitioner goals at any given time, but keep the other considerations in mind and address any tensions among them
• Self-Assessment, Mid-Project
  • What you like about your work so far. What you plan to do differently. Support you need for this (Phase J)
• Sense of Place Map
  • A picture that addresses: Where are you? Where have you come from? Where are you going?
• Sense-Making
  • Form of contextualization that teases out what has helped you and what has hindered you (Phase B)
• Supportive Listening
  • Each person has half the time available to be listened to and simply paid attention to even if not talking
• Taking Stock (=Phase J)
  • What has been working well and what needs changing—start early in the project and repeat often
• Writing Preferences
  • When you see your strengths you may keep that in mind as a resource. When you see your weakness, you may do remedial exercises to try to reduce that as a liability (Phases G and H)

wRiting

• Direct Writing and Quick Revising
  • Split the time you have available into two: write complete sentences, then put what you have in order (Phase H)
• Narrative Outline
  • Outline with explanatory sentences that indicate the point of each section and interconnections among sections (Phase G)
• Overall Argument—Clarification
  • What are the steps or progression that leads your audience to the position you want them at least to appreciate? (Phase G)
• Paragraph Overview
  • A single paragraph to orient readers to your project as a whole (Phase A).

Relationships w/ peers & allies (dialogue & collaboration)

• Check-In
  • An opportunity for every participant to begin to participate and have their voice heard
• Closing Circle (Check-Out)
  • An opportunity for every participant to take stock of the session or their plan for the time ahead and to have this heard (witnessed) by the rest of the group
• Dialogue Process
  • Shared and personal meaning that emerges within a group discussion through listening, inquiry, and reflection
• One-on-one Session
  • Discussions between researcher and advisors are typically free-form, but can be given a more mindful structure
• One-on-one Consultations within a Group that Meets over an Extended Period
  • Opportunities to solicit advice one on one during a meeting or workshop when there is 45-60 minutes to spare

Risk & experiment

• Direct Information, Models, and Experience (=Phase F)
  • Information, models, and experience not readily available from other sources
• Engagement with Others (=Phase I)
  • Facilitating new avenues of classroom, workplace, and public participation
• Plus-Delta Feedback
  • Feedback in the form of an appreciation (plus) and a suggestion for change (delta)

Rest

pRobing

• Mapping
  • Tease out connections from the central issue that concerns you (Phase C)
• Methodological Believing
  • Systematic attempt to believe something in order to find virtues or strengths we might otherwise miss
• Pyramid of Questions
  • A compilation of questions arising during your research, with later questions building on earlier ones (Phase C)
• Questions for Opening Wide and for Probing
  • Where? Who is implicated? Tease open arguments, categories, definitions, holes, and ambiguities (Phase C)
• Ten Questions, for Opening Wide then Focusing
  • Write down 10 questions then circle two that interest you the most. Take these two and list 10 questions under each (Phase C)

Rearrange, adapt & create

gRoundwork (pReparation, Planning)

• Design of Further Research and Engagement (=Phase E)
  • Clear objectives with respect to product and process, in sequence of steps
• Interview Guide
  • So you set the scene clearly, do not forget essential things, and have a checklist of items you wanted to cover
• Personal and Professional Development Workbook
  • An organized compilation of materials to facilitate review of and later re-engagement with your thinking and processes of development
• Possible Directions and Priorities (=Phase C)
  • Expose possible new directions and clarify direction and scope within the larger set of issues
• Research Design
  • To end up with a sequence of achievable steps begin with reflection on your wider vision and obstacles to realizing that vision (Phase E)
• Research Organization
  • Keep your ears and eyes open to good ideas, but customize the development of your research organization to your own situation and foibles
• Strategic Personal Planning
  • Acknowledging a wide range of factors and wishes that your work could take into account (Phase E)

Reception: being Read, heard, & Reviewed

• Clarification Through Communication (=Phase G)
  • Overall progression or argument underlying your research and the written reports
• Compelling Communication (=Phase H)
  • Drafting and revising writing so the result grabs the attention of the readers, orients them, and moves them along in steps so they appreciate the position you have led them to
• Critical Incident Questionnaire
  • Five minute feedback that can be fitted in at the end of almost any session
• GOSP (Grab->Orient->Steps->Position)
  • Grab the attention of the readers or audience, Orient them, move them along in Steps, so they appreciate the Position you've led them to (Phase H)
• Visual Aids
  • Aid your presentation, not duplicate it (Phase G)
• Work-in-Progress Presentation
  • Through preparation, delivery, and feedback clarify your overall argument and plans for subsequent research (Phase G)
• Sharing of Work to Elicit Responses
  • Sharing as giving so that responses be elicited and offered from a place of mutual respect
• Varieties of Responses (P. Elbow)
  • Eleven different and valuable ways of responding to writing, from "Sharing: No response" through "Believing and Doubting" to "Criterion-based feedback"
• Writing Groups for Support and Feedback
  • A small group protects a regular meeting time and takes turns to give and receive feedback on the latest installment of writing

Relationships w/ authority (negotiate power & standards)

• Assessment that Keeps the Attention Away from Grades
  • Helps teaching and learning interactions focused on the student's process of developing through the semester

Revision (incl. dialogue around written work)

• Dialogue around Written Work
  • Written and spoken comments on each installment of a project and successive revision in response facilitates generative interactions between researcher and advisor
• Drafts (Narrative, Complete, Final)
  • building on a narrative outline, proceed directly to a complete draft of your report (or through the intermediate step of a narrative draft) then revise in response to comments to produce a final report
• Reverse Outlining
  • After making a note on the topic(s) or thesis(theses) of each paragraph, see how these can be rearranged, streamlined, discarded, combined, split, so that each paragraph makes a distinct contribution to a definite GOSPing path (Phase H)
• Revision
  • You should not expect to work out your ideas in one attempt—everyone needs to revise!
• Self-Assessment, at the End
  • Describe for each pre-specified goal (e.g., the goals of the Phases) one thing that reflects what you have achieved well related to this goal and one thing that you have struggled with or need more help on or want to work further on (Phase J)

Relaxation

Research & evaluation (learning from the work of others & your own)

• Evaluation Clock (to plan evaluations)
  • A framework to design your own evaluation or systematic study, working both sequentially and recursively
• Evaluation Clock (to review completed evaluations)
  • Learn to plan evaluations by using the Clock to and identify the steps taken in a completed evaluation
• Historical Scan
  • Review a group's progress or set the scene in which a project is to be undertaken
• Statistical Thinking
  • A simple chain of thinking to be understood before enlisting a statistician to analyze the data

Respect (explore difference)

Responsibility (concern w/ aims, means & consequences)

Repose

Room of one’s own (studio or analogous supportive space for reflective practice)

• Support and Coaching Structure
  • Consider ways that the group can function as a support and coaching structure to get most participants (students) to finish their research and writing by the target date (Phase J)
• Writing Workshop
  • Regular hour-long writing workshop to check in on progress and reflect on relevant topics

Roundabout or indirect paths

Recursion & practice (address same concern from many angles & in variety of settings)

• Cycles and Epicycles of Action Research
  • Framework that emphasizes reflection and dialogue through which you revisit and revise the ideas you have about what action is needed and about how to build a constituency to implement the change
• Phases of Research and Engagement
  • Framework of ten phases that researchers move through and, in a process of iterative development, revisit in light of other people's responses to their work and of what they learn during the other
• Process Review
  • Selected examples with annotations that capture the process of development of your work and thinking about the subject of the project or course (Phase J)
• Written Evaluation, at End of a Project or Course
  • Starting with a quick self-evaluation and moving through steps towards composing a synthetic statement aimed at helping the advisor (or instructor) and some third party appreciate the strengths and weaknesses of the process (or course) (Phase J)

Reevaluation (of emotions at root of responses) so as to better take initiative

Reconstruction (personal/organizational/social change)

reflective practitioner

wholehearted, responsible engagement with others

"Head, Heart, Hands & Human Connection"