[OSList] Open Space classrooms

[Brendan McKeague]

Hi Tricia - great idea - go for it!

I've used Open Space a couple of times with MBA classes, by way of invitation from the teacher. 

One interesting one, a couple of weeks before the end of semester, was along the lines of 'what do we need to know to prepare for our final exam?'.  The teacher introduced me, I opened the space (15mins), students set their agenda and moved into break-outs around the topics they raised. We had three x 45min sessions followed by a closing circle - close to 3 hours all up as I recall. The teacher was impressed by how the students interacted with each other and the students were SURPRISED by just how much they learned from, and taught, each other.  

Another Open Space in that same Business School was on 'how do we create a world-class MBA program at this university? - inviting teachers, administrators, students, alumni and business partners into the same space....a very rich experience indeed. We had a half-day for this - the opening, followed by 3 x 50 sessions, followed by a swift action planning session and closing circle -  and then a BIG LUNCH!

I've used the OST principles many times in similar teaching environments, languaged as 'opening space for self-organised conversations on issues that matter to us' - or something similar.  While not the 'real deal', folks do get a good sense of the powerful liberating impact of self-organising and emergence...not to mention the FUN of collaborative learning!

Good luck with your initiative - that low-hanging fruit can still be VERY TASTY - and as HO regularly says, don't work harder than you need to! 

Cheers
Brendan


On 30/01/2014, at 4:15 AM, Suzanne Daigle wrote:

> Tricia, Run and go do this.  
> 
> With a theme that ignites what students and faculty are passionate about, I think it will open a great deal.  It would be wonderful if you could invite a planning team beforehand to work on it with you which will deepen the learning. Also who knows from 1 experience it may lead to much more.  As you read what I describe below, know that we opened the space and had people create the market place wall in as brief a time as possible. We rehearsed our opening of space so it would accord the maximum time for all to experience and be in Open Space. 
> 
>  We did the same on a project with the University of South Florida, working on a sustainability program around Meg Wheatley's work over a 7-week period (90 minute classes).   Community, Students and Staff.  Three of those weeks were in Open Space.
> 
> Here's the link to the effort.  It was a blast. It opened the door to the World Open Space and even led to a Student Center being built -- it was one of the Action Initiatives with students asking for a place to engage together.  It's where we hosted WOSonOS. 
> 
> For a flavor of it, have a look at this:
> A Taste of Open Space
> 
> Congrads!  Enjoy!
> 
> Suzanne
> 
> 
> On Wed, Jan 29, 2014 at 2:30 PM, Tricia Chirumbole <tricia at mojocollaborative.com> wrote:
> Hi all!
> 
> I am writing to request your advice and experiences with open space in classrooms - this is for a one time MBA class. 
> 
> the upcoming engagement:
> I have been invited to hold an Open Space style class for MBA/International Affairs students in a Global Perspectives class on Feb 24th at George Washington University (my former MBA program). The standing theme of this class in the prof's curriculum is, "Putting it all together"
> 
> background: 
> This invite was born from discussions I have been having with the professor of the aforementioned class, about the opportunities of introducing some Open Space and Scrum practices into their MBA program - she is also the Associate Dean and involved in program development. 
> 
> My real interest was to explore opportunities not just for actual classroom time, but also for other components, such as: The kick-off orientation week for FT MBAs, Curriculum/program planning, and for executing projects. My pet titles include: Hacking my MBA, and the Agile Classroom.  
> 
> the conundrum: So, this is cool, BUT, I am concerned about the short time frame (2.5 hours) and the isolated nature of the engagement. 
> 
> I would very much like anyone's direct experience or insight on holding classes OS style or holding similarly short, one-off Open Space engagements. I know they are done, I can envision how I would do it, but I still feel concerned that I may have jumped on low hanging fruit that may not be the best format for sharing these practices. 
> 
> For me, I can definitely see open space style classes and "agile" classrooms w/out multi-day OS summits, but I see them flourishing more as part of an ecosystem of principles and cultures being practiced, rather than as a one-off classroom brouhaha!
> 
> All thoughts welcome - thank you in advance! :)))))
> 
> Tricia Chirumbole
> Open Space Facilitator, Certified Scrum Master
> Mojo Collaborative
> www.mojocollaborative.com
> 
> 571-232-0942
> skype: tricia.chirumbole
> twitter: @themojozone
> 
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> 
> 
> -- 
> Suzanne Daigle
> Open Space Facilitator
> NuFocus Strategic Group
> 
> FL 941-359-8877  
> Cell: 203-722-2009
> www.nufocusgroup.com
> s.daigle at nufocusgroup.com
> twitter @suzannedaigle
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