How many break-out spaces
Neils Christiansen
nchristn at sunwave.net
Thu Aug 21 09:57:07 PDT 2008
Hi All,
It seems to me the clustering of cards Harrison refers to was done by
the "ICA style" facilitator. If that is so, the process was not ICA's
Participation Technology. In the ICA process, the participants do the
clustering: 1) A participant suggests a possible pairing or the addition
of a card to an existing cluster and states the relationship between the
cards that underlies his or her suggestion. 2) Any other participant may
indicate that the suggested pairing or addition to an existing cluster
does not work for them, in which case the suggestion is dropped. 3) If
the suggestion makes sense to the other participants, that is, there are
no objections, then and only then does the facilitator move the cards
into a pair or add to an existing cluster. As the clustering progresses
and the group's sense of the underlying structure firms up, participants
often modify the clusters; it is the group sense of relationships that
counts.
I have seen times where the facilitator "suggests" a pairing or addition
when the relationship seems obvious (exact duplicate cards are an
example). However, if the facilitator uses his or her sense of which
cards go together, it is not the ICA process precisely because it is not
participatory, but hierarchal.
An OS "marketplace" follows exactly the same principles. However, in
place of a facilitator standing in front of a group of seated
participants and following their directions about clustering (perhaps
with clarifying questions), the OS participants carry out the process on
their feet by choosing "cards" they wish to pursue including the
possibility of combining "cards" into clusters of people with similar
interests.
The clustering process in both cases arrives at a consensus. I found
both Bui's and Harrison's descriptions of consensus very helpful. Bui's
quoted definition is an attempt to describe, in detail, the conditions
that foster consensus. It is the sort of description a novice
"facilitator of consensus" might study at length while pondering about
how to foster those conditions in practice. Harrison's description
forgoes all that detail in favour of an intuitive sense of "what seems
right". It is the statement of a seasoned practitioner. However, I
suspect behind Harrison's sense of what seems right lies a strong belief
in the value of trust, respect, etc. If it were not so, the OS he
"discovered" might have looked more like an operation manual for Dackow
rather than the participatory process that has inspired so many.
Neils Christiansen
Harrison Owen wrote:
>
> Shikha – You are not very far from that old question of “Optimal Group
> Size.” Some said six. Some say 12. . . My own experience is that the
> optimal size is whatever works, and that depends… I have seen groups
> of 3 that were a disaster and groups of 70 that were marvels of
> inclusion and communication. My conclusion: Only the people can tell,
> and figuring groups size is one more thing I don’t have to do. I guess
> I would put “clustering cards” under the same heading. I know the
> people who do what I think is called Participatory Technology,
> developed by ICA – do that, but every time I found myself in one of
> their gatherings it seemed to me that it all took much too long and
> never came out “right” anyhow, for the simple reason that only the
> people knew the issues well enough to know what went with which.
>
> Harrison
>
> Harrison Owen
>
> 189 Beaucaire Ave
>
> Camden, ME 04843
>
> 207-763-3261 (Summer)
>
> 301-365-2093 (Winter)
>
> Website www.openspaceworld.com <http://www.openspaceworld.com>
>
> Personal Website www.ho-image.com <http://www.ho-image.com>
>
> OSLIST To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options
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>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> *From:* OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] *On Behalf Of
> *Shikha Shrestha
> *Sent:* Wednesday, August 20, 2008 11:34 PM
> *To:* OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> *Subject:* Re: How many break-out spaces
>
> Hi,
>
> I feel that it is hard for us to determine the number of participants,
> as the people themselves choose the group they want to join in. The
> number of groups that we can manage at one time slot depends on our
> venue, how much groups that can be managed. We do not need very formal
> space but just a space for people to talk and share. In most cases,
> having at least table or flipchart is helpful to write their notes and
> that is visible to all in the group. It is not mandatory though!
>
> In the number of people in each group, I also agree that 5-6 people
> per group is the best but as facilitator we cannot determine the
> number so i suggest you not be worried and let the session be chaotic
> so that people feel the warmth of informality and do feel comfortable
> in sharing.
>
> In some cases, if there are too many cards than we can handle but I
> tried using the method of clustering the uniform cards together. But,
> we should be very much careful in not clustering the cards that are
> not similar or carry different meaning. It is only the last thing that
> can be done.
>
> Hope it helps,
>
> Shikha
>
> On Thu, Aug 21, 2008 at 2:48 AM, ashley cooper
> <mail.easilyamazed at gmail.com <mailto:mail.easilyamazed at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
> Thanks Doc and Harrison.
>
> So all we have to do is remember to KISS every experience we have. I
> love it!
>
> On Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 3:53 PM, Harrison Owen <hhowen at verizon.net
> <mailto:hhowen at verizon.net>> wrote:
>
> Spaces – my rule of thumb is 5 (SPACES) per 100 people. Same ratio for
> computers. KISS. Keep it simple S… Something I can remember and it
> always seems to work.
>
> ho
>
> Harrison Owen
>
> 189 Beaucaire Ave
>
> Camden, ME 04843
>
> 207-763-3261 (Summer)
>
> 301-365-2093 (Winter)
>
> Website www.openspaceworld.com <http://www.openspaceworld.com>
>
> Personal Website www.ho-image.com <http://www.ho-image.com>
>
> OSLIST To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options
> http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> *From:* OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> <mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>] *On Behalf Of *Tenneson Woolf
> *Sent:* Wednesday, August 20, 2008 10:49 AM
>
>
> *To:* OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> <mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
>
> *Subject:* Re: How many break-out spaces
>
> Hey Ashley,
>
> My experience is one for every 5-6 people. If the group is small,
> 12ish, I have a few more. If the group is large, for me 120ish, I have
> a few less. And, I just invite people to create another space if we
> run out. I'm always happy to observe that when topics are called from
> that place of passion and responsibility, walls in breakout rooms
> become less important. Corners of rooms work fine.
>
> I wonder what you've learned, the Ashley formula?
>
> Hugs.
>
> /Tenneson Woolf/
>
> Lindon, Utah USA
>
> tenneson at berkana.org <mailto:tenneson at berkana.org>
>
> skype: tenneson_woolf
>
> 801 785 2276
>
> 801 376 2213 Cell
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> *From:* OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> <mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>] *On Behalf Of *ashley cooper
> *Sent:* Wednesday, August 20, 2008 7:53 AM
> *To:* OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> <mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
> *Subject:* How many break-out spaces
>
> Hello,
>
> I still haven't mastered the ease of searching our archives... so
> please forgive my repetition.
>
> Do you use a 'formula' for estimating out how many break-out areas
> based on the number of participants?
>
> Thanks,
> Ashley
>
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