I am currently taking a special topics course on Citizenship Learning, Participatory Democracy, and Social Change. Even before starting the course, I knew I would be able to link much of what is studied in the class to things I… Read More »
Tag Archives: facilitation
Democratic Deliberations and Self-Interest
Posted in Education, Perspectives Also tagged attitude, citizen discussions, communication skills, deliberation Leave a comment
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Scheduling a Student Discussion using Doodle
As I was digging through old posts, I would like to add my thoughts to the topic “setting up student discussions” 18 months ago. I am particularly going to recommend the website www.doodle.com for scheduling.
Scheduling… Read More »
Posted in Education Also tagged citizen discussions, Classroom Discussions, communication skills, Project Discussions, recruiting, student-centered discussion Leave a comment
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Teaching How to Think About Policy
One of the things that the Interactivity Foundation does is to teach people how to think about public policy possibilities. This will sound patronizing only if you misunderstand why, what, and how we do it.
I heard an interview with… Read More »
Discussion as Improv: Serve the Others
New participants in an Interactivity Foundation discussion project often wonder how to act when taking part in the discussion. Often when people hear that we’ll be engaged in thoughtful civic discussion, they think of this in terms of “debate” or… Read More »
Posted in Perspectives Also tagged attitude, creativity, discussion process, IF discussion process, Project Discussions Leave a comment
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Facilitating for Democratic Discussion
IF’s mission is to “promote and enhance democratic discussion.” Not just any discussion, but democratic discussion. IF’s facilitators have a significant role to play in achieving this core aspect of IF’s mission—both before and during public discussions.
Before IF’s public… Read More »
Key Aspects of IF’s Public Discussions•
At least four interactive aspects are critical to useful public discussion of IF’s Citizens Discussion Reports.
1. Facilitation is critical in public discussions of IF Citizens Staff Work Reports. There is nothing “magical” about IF facilitators. They are, however, trained and… Read More »
Learning from Experience
A couple weeks ago, I facilitated a public discussion on Anticipating Genetic Technology with a group of individuals residing in the borough of Queens in New York City, and I wanted to comment on how different the process was from… Read More »
In Public Discussions, Look First at the Forest, Then at the Trees
IF’s public discussions routinely begin with an exploration of the concerns relating to the topic at hand. Discussants then move on to explore various conceptual possibilities for addressing those concerns.
There are various schools of thought among IF facilitators about… Read More »
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