Place, perspectives, and participation: The art of the field trip
Image source: National Arts Centre
“Where do you begin telling someone their world is not the only one? — Lee Maracle, Ravensong
“A desk is a dangerous place from which to view the world” — John LeCarre
What do you think of when you hear “field trip”? Entertainment? Perks? Distraction? How can you or your team get up close and personal with the places and issues you’re working on, even on a small scale and with limited or no budget? Back in 2014, Hal Hamilton described bringing food industry, fair trade, and social justice organizations together to explore sustainable food systems. When people share experience outside the scope of their regular contexts, new ideas and possibilities can emerge. I have long been curious to try this in a policy context, in order to engage with people and understand our evidence base in new ways. According to Hamilton, “the first step toward becoming a system leader is to develop the capacity to see the system through the eyes of others.” My mother used to call this “walking a mile in someone else’s shoes”.
Is place-based learning possible? Practical? What have I learned so far?
What’s involved in creating a meaningful learning activity? First, some early reflection so participants can set some intentions and talk about their starting assumptions. As they visit a place (or places), an opportunity to learn more about related issues from multiple points of view means they can see the impact from a number of perspectives. Some post-visit reflection, individually and as a group, helps everyone to work through their experience, their insights, and how they can use what they have learned in the future. Otto Scharmer, a Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and founder of the Presencing Institute, publishes a goldmine of resources, including my favourite instructions for undertaking what he names “sensing journeys”. The idea of visiting with people and learning from them isn’t new. What also excites me is what can happen the process includes space for individual and shared reflection. What surprised participants? What insights came up? What can happen when people with divergent views, or representing varied perspectives, see the same things and contribute to a collective set of insights? As policy practitioners, the ability to understand our issues in new ways is critical to working with the increasing levels of complexity we face.
So you have the idea and a general set of instructions. Can this work in a policy context?
It’s time to try. That’s why within the Canadian public service, the 2019 Policy Community Conference organizers are testing this immersive learning experiences. We’re mindful that so many conversations about policy take place in Ottawa, yet are often separate from “Ottawa”. In two pilot sessions of Where is Here? The Art of Place, Jonathan Dewar and I will guide a walk and conversation around land, place, and story. What do we see? What is unseen? Where are we? How might it matter in our work and life?
We’ll guide participants through exploring a few places, engaging with multiple perspectives, and participating interactively. By piloting the experience, we’ll build a shared understanding of what the approach can offer, and share our frameworks to help people think about how they might use place-based learning to explore their own questions.
Curious? Want to join me?
If you are already attending the Policy Community Conference, consider signing up for one of the sessions. Otherwise, we will also share our design and questions so you can explore the topic at your convenience. Finally, I look forward to sharing what we learn over the coming weeks, here and on Twitter @joycuriosity.