OST following a creative enhacing training

Sat Nov 13 19:29:22 PST 2010

Hi Artur

You address some interesting issues around combining a variety of methods. 

Some years ago I went to a number of conferences where open space was allocated a half day within a conference and I always wondered why they whole conference hadn't been organised in open space. Now I understand that, at least in New Zealand, and especiallty in the education context, conference presentations are an important part of a persons 'research credits' for their own career and the funding of the organisation, so there is a perception that conferences must follow the 'convention'. The idea that formal = valid is still prevalent on the conference circuit. 

Last week I facilitated my once a year half day open space 'You, the Teacher and te Tiriti o Waitangi/the Treaty of Waitangi Now' for Graduate Diploma of Teaching (Secondary) students. In a way I do combine it with other training. At the beginning of the year I co-facilitate a one day workshop  entitled 'Introduction to te Tiriti o Waitangi'. They then go about their business for the rest of the year and I invite them to the half day open space at the beginning of November. Invariably some don't come to the open space, but 'whoever comes...'. I have never considered doing an open space at the beginning of the year, merely because to turn up you have to have passion (positive I presume) for the topic and in New Zealand there is a great deal of resistance and animosity towards te Tiriti o Waitangi and anything associated with it. New Zealand history is an optional subject in the New Zealand curriculum so students are only taught it if their teacher chooses to. I probably seem to be justifying my method but as a Māori it keeps me safe - I think. At least the students get to know what happened in this country through colonisation and that seems to reduce resistance so they can open up to other possibilities. For information about te Tiriti o Waitangi go to <http://www.trc.org.nz/education> or one of the many other sites.

With regard to your 'normal' opening. Last year I wrote a summary of my 'normal opening' and this year I opened with the summary. It worked perfectly well. I was talking for between 5 and 7 minutes and I hardly had time to get out of the circle before the first people were rushing for the paper and pens. What I found was that with very little commentary the participants were more cognisant of the principles and when someone displayed some 'conventional' behaviour I would hear one of the principles being quoted. Before long the participants had taken complete control, creating their own spaces for sessions, combining and dividing session at will and organising their own closing process. What a blast. In the closing I always get a question about Open Space Technology and point them to the Internet where they can find out far more than I could ever tell them in the opening. Some of the student teachers have used the process with their students.

I use posits with time and place on and for trhe first time by session 2 they groups were ignoring them and going SPE, I may hang on to the postits for another year or so but if the same thing happens again I may even leave that up to them and just give time guidelines. Each year between 15 and 25 students participate.

Regards

Anne

Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2010 10:35:02 -0800
From: arturfsilva at yahoo.com
Subject: [OSLIST] OST following a creative enhacing training
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU

Dear Open spacers:

Last week I have done a half day OST in some special conditions. It was a retreat of a Department of a Company (about 20 people). During all the day of Friday they had a program of outdoor training aimed to develop, among other things, team building and creativity. Saturday morning they had an Open Space session to discuss "how to improve the success conditions of our Department?", with an opening, two breakout session periods and the closure.

1. I was curious to see if the training of Friday (that I have not attended, but received very good comments from participants) would have any influence on the OST session. I know that one experience is not enough to take conclusions, but comparing this to other events in different conditions, I could not see any substantial differences, except the fact that a "team spirit" that quite often emerges during the event or at the closure was already present from the beginning. 

Any of you had similar experiences of opening space after an outdoor training or any other training with similar objectives? Have you noticed any differences?

2. I have done a "normal opening" even if it was not among the best I have done. (As a side note: I was a bit ill and concerned that I should not be stand up for a long period. Interestingly, the opening was not shorter but longer than usual and a bit too long for the timetable defined). 

Anyhow the main facilitator/trainer of the previous day made me a suggestion that I would like to have your opinions about. The suggestion was based in the way they have done their trainings in the past (explaining everything in the beginning) and the way they do now (explaining only what is needed for each phase). So the suggestion was to divide the opening in two parts: the first one with a bit of history and the presentation of the timetable with no Agenda and then ask for session topics; and then explain the principles, law and animals and go on to the Market Place.

I have some opinions about this, but I prefer to give them later. At this moment I would like to know if anyone has ever tried this two-steps type of opening and with what results. If not (and considering the context I have mentioned of the previous one day training) what do you think about the suggestion I have received? 

Regards

Artur

P.S.: A final note, Harrison, to say that in my two last Open Space events I have used your post its and not my usual time-space grid ;-)

It worked ok but it is too soon to to have conclusions, especially as they were both small events (20-30 people)... 

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