oooh what a juicy opportunity. In your course, do you deal with issues of complexity in Data Visualization etc? I've used Ecocycle to help students (and others) discern what parts of their work/tasks are super clear, which are clear but no longer useful, where new insights are needed and where to test ideas for viability. One could map one's learning (or even the emerging threads of a curriculum) on an Ecocycle and then use that to track progress/movement/growth.
Nancy White
Posts made by Nancy White
Hey Beth, here in Washington State we have been introducing LS in the Person Centered Planning workshops which include providers, people with developmental differences, families and community members. I can testify that the LS used went VERY well and now some of them are embedded in the network's working practices. I can connect you with the woman who is currently stewarding the network here, Lisa Latchford, if you are interested. Somewhere I even have pictures. Hm, some Shift and Share and Ecocycle pictures in this album. And social network webbing at the end of the set. Just a sample. Holler if you want to see more. It was so life-affirming to see this community blossom EVEN MORE when they moved out of traditional "speaker from the front" meeting styles and really tapped into the community knowledge.
It was verbalized by a leader in the group who said it violated their cultural norms. You don't turn your back on people speaking to you. Similarly for a colleague working in Laos and Cambodia, when people's bosses or superiors were in the room, both the back turning and the speaking frankly were simply non starters. Power differentials have different cultural manifestations. LS looks to diminish power differentials and distribute control and this can be perceived of as threatening and/or against cultural or institutional norms. Make sense?
Ecocycle may also be something useful, though it took me a while to grasp and fully use it. Now it is one of my favorites. Somehow it has echoes of Four Directions and certainly looks at things from a systemic vs atomistic perspective. This may be a potential cultural bridge. In a classroom, for example, we've used Ecocycle to assess current state of understanding of a subject or at a personal level one's use/practice of the domain being studied.
There is another visual LS in development called Spiral Journal. I'm looking for a good link for that. Oh, found it! https://trello.com/c/5LxzefeS/371-spiral-journal-10 - a super reflection tool that works both with those who prefer a slower, more personal activity and energetic, extroverted learners. Something calming. It comes out of Lynda Barry's work. I think @Beth recently was writing about it!