<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class="">Great story Harrison! It is reminiscent of an similar experiment that Anne Stadler included in the lovely collection she curated for a Berrett-Koehler Newsletter called At Work years ago.<div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">After a little digging around, while I didn’t find the whole collection, I did locate the story from two university professors who experimented with running their course in Open Space (linked and copied below):<div class=""><span style="font-family: -webkit-standard;" class=""><font size="2" class=""><p style="font-weight: bold;" class=""><a href="https://www.openspaceworld.org/files/tmnfiles/learning.htm" class="">We Passed the Flowerpot from Lap to Lap: Using Open Space to Create a Learning Community</a></p><div style="font-weight: bold;" class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Enjoy!</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Peggy</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">
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<!--StartFragment--><p class=""><b class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class="">We Passed the Flowerpot from Lap to Lap:
Using Open Space to Create a Learning Community<o:p class=""></o:p></span></b></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class="">by Sara Halprin and Herb Long<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class="">In Spring, 1996 we co-taught a course called
"Human Learning and Development," for the Master's of Arts in
Interdisciplinary Studies (MAIS) program at Marylhurst College. Given the vast
subject matter and limited time (three weekends) of the course, we decided to
hold it in Open Space, a methodology we had recently learned about from
Harrison Owen and Anne Stadler. Their continued support was invaluable.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class="">Marylhurst College, located in Lake Oswego,
near Portland, Oregon, offers four-year undergraduate programs and several
master's programs. Students at Marylhurst often comment that the atmosphere is
especially welcoming to them in all their diversity of age, cultural and ethnic
backgrounds, and life experience.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class="">The focus of this article is on the ways we
used Open Space in an academic setting; some of the problems we encountered
along the way, problems which were, at best, transformed into learning
opportunities; and ideas we plan to implement next spring, when we offer this
course again.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> We want to emphasize the usefulness of
Open Space for the particular subject matter we were exploring: theories and
practices of human learning and development.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> Fourteen students registered for the
course. When each student registered, she received a letter from us with the
class syllabus including a pre-class reading list of four books. Our intention
in providing this list was to prepare students for the approach to learning and
development we have adopted. We handed out a more extensive reading list on the
first morning. This list offers a map of the vast territory of theories of
human learning and development from our particular perspective, one that is multicultural
and gender-specific.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> We met for three weekends, during the
period from March 15 through April 14.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> EXCERPTS FROM SARA HALPRIN'S JOURNAL:<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> First day notes:<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> * Setting the atmosphere<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> We had fresh bagels and cream cheese,
coffee and tea, offered on a checkered tablecloth, a rug in the center of a
circle of chairs with potted flowers, crayons and paper, signs on the walls and
charts indicating rooms and times. We welcomed each person individually.
Several helped to set things up.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> Herb welcomed the group, asking
everyone to say their names and who they are when they're not at Marylhurst. He
spoke about his own ways of learning and developing and asked for others'. A
few people spoke about learning out of mistakes, by letting go of expectations,
etc. Then I introduced the open space format of the course.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> * The Stampede<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> I expected a long silence when I opened
the agenda. Just before I did so, one woman said she was feeling anxious, and
so was I! But there was a general rush for paper, markers and the bulletin
board. I had to stop people putting their topics on the board before they
announced the topic, and soon every space was covered and people were starting
to negotiate. So we went on to<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class="">* The Village Marketplace.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> No problems. I did tell one woman she
couldn't take the room and time post-it off my sign to put on hers, otherwise
it was ripple-free. A couple of people asked permission to do this or that, and
I just beamed at them. They all got the idea. Realizing I'd forgotten to
announce morning and evening news times, I had to stand on a chair and yell to
get their attention for the announcement!<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> * The first session.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> I was still feeling skeptical. There
was only one scheduled session, and Herb and I both went to it. It started
slowly, but built magnificently, into genuine open dialogue, very stimulating.
At one point I realized I was wide awake and really interested. From that point
on the day just built on itself.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> * By the end of the day a group on
art learning had constructed several colorful collages out of the
brilliant-colored post-its we'd brought and these embellished the walls. One
was called "Life's a Rough Draft."<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> * Evening news<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class="">everyone was excited, exhilarated, and also
much less tired than usual at the end of a Marylhurst weekend day. People
expressed real pleasure with the format and mentioned that they wished all
their classes could be like this one.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> * Late night thoughts<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> Of course, I'm nervous as hell--what if
it goes downhill from here? I did mention the need to express any possible
grumpiness or whatever, which was well-received, but I do believe this group
will just go from good to better. Some conflict may and should emerge, and
hopefully, as one man suggested, we can disagree without being disagreeable!<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class="">Second day notes<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class="">* Morning news<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class="">Everyone came in full of excitement and
bearing gifts--food, candles, hand cream (!), extra computers...angel cards and
hearthstones. But, when we rang the bell for morning news, there was a big
silence, which Herb broke by saying, here we are at morning news, etc. There
was a tendency to ask us for permission, turn to us as teachers...<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class="">* Disagreement happened.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class="">Against the good advice of Harrison and Anne,
I convened a session offering an overview of theories of development, and it
was difficult.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class="">I had some passion for the discoveries of
setting up the reading list, and I wanted to share that. But the role of
teacher came up right away, and in speaking about that and gathering responses,
evaluation seemed to be a ghost hovering over the group. I addressed that
ghost, and right away things got heavy. The discussion went on and on.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class="">Eventually I tried to sum things up and ended
up with a woman feeling steam-rollered because I would not take sole
responsibility for evaluation. We worked on that issue, and the group seemed
relieved, but the discussion continued. In response to a student's request, I
announced that it was time to talk about my topic, and I did so, whereupon a
hot discussion followed on development, gender, and culture. <o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class="">I got us to adjourn to lunch by mentioning
that I needed to pee and that I was hungry.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> * Evening news<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> People were tired. One woman left
early, saying she was getting a migraine and needed to get home to deal with
it. I suspect the group is poised on the edge of really taking responsibility
for their own learning. They need to be helped along by Herb and me keeping
space open for that.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> Am I sorry I didn't follow Harrison's
and Anne's advice about dropping my presentation? Yes and no, but ultimately
no. If it's a mistake, I certainly learned a lot from it, and several people
mentioned that the group had come to community in that session. I did follow my
heart, and my own enthusiasm for what I had learned and wanted to share. It
didn't feel right to me to cancel the session. Next time I just won't schedule
one so early in the proceedings.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> Third day notes:<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> Most people were ecstatic about the
weekend, and today was a time of deepening realization. The students were
really taking responsibility, even handling the big silence at the start of
each large circle. Once someone spoke, everyone spoke, of course. We decided to
use the flowers a woman brought as a talking piece--you could speak only if you
held the flowerpot. People spoke of how thrilled they are with this format,
happy to take a break and really looking forward to the next gathering, feeling
they've made real friends and learned a lot.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> * Academic standards<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> Herb said his professorial side feels
nervous about how much actual learning is going on and a woman echoed that and
asked that Herb and I share more of our passion with the group next session. I
responded by saying the professor in me absolutely believes that the only real
learning that can happen is happening in this format, which, like chaos theory,
seeks the deep structure underlying chaos. While all is patterned, each pattern
is unique and unpredictable. Therefore I look forward to seeing how much
learning and development will take place as we all continue in open space for
the next couple of weeks. (See Herb's journal note on this discussion.)<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> There is, clearly, still a strong
tendency to look to us for learning as well as direction, understandable in
such an academic context. There is also interest in working on that tendency,
becoming more self-aware.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> At the End of the Second weekend<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> Herb and I are both exhausted, and so
were several at least of the students. There was a repeated request for Herb
and me to convene more sessions. I gracefully or not declined, and Herb pointed
out that he had just convened one!<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> We moved from debate over learning in
this course into a discussion of learning and teaching, based on bell hooks's
book on radical pedagogy. The group is showing a tendency to want to be
together as a whole group and not split into separate pieces.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> Third weekend notes:<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class="">Saturday:<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class="">Today started with a strained atmosphere and
ended quite joyous and lively, with lots of energy for tomorrow. How did we get
there?<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class="">* At morning news,<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class="">Mentioning the atmosphere of the group led us
into a discussion of what we have been doing so far. One woman helped by
framing the whole discussion in terms of reflections on group work. Another
woman brought in her concerns about encounter groups (she doesn't want this
class to become one). This led us to discuss the relationships between thinking
and feeling in group work and in learning and development.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class="">* Good sessions followed:<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class="">one on adult development , then one on safety
in groups. A woman brought in two very strong paintings she had done in the
aftermath of an anti-gay initiative in Oregon. She spoke of her feelings as a
lesbian, then a Latina woman spoke of her anger at feeling repressed by others'
requirements that we have a "safe" group. Great discussion of safety,
abuse, respect, and other group issues in relation to learning and development.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class="">Sunday, last day of class:<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class="">* At morning news<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class="">one woman needed a chance to express herself,
after having felt attacked by some of the students yesterday. We supported her
to speak, which she did at some length, and then she seemed to feel better.
This was an example of providing safety in groups through increasing awareness.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> The atmosphere stayed good all day. The
group clearly had no intention of splitting up, and at the end of the day
several people said explicitly that it had taken time and trouble to form a
sense of group and they didn't want to split up.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> Later Herb and I commented to ourselves
about how, from initially looking to us for approval and guidance for just
about everything, the group got to the place where they could cheerfully
ignore, reject, and discard our suggestions and do what was right for them.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> * The end of the day<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> seemed strained as we tried to figure
out how to do evaluation, then it got silly and fun as it evolved into writing
comments on our colorful post-its and attaching them to each other. We took a
class photo, taken by the campus cop, of all of us festooned with post-its. The
cop,.camera in hand, grinned at us all and barked, You're all under arrest!<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> * Evaluating the class experience<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> Some expressed interest in having an
ongoing group. Several said they were sad to leave. Most expressed great
appreciation for the whole experience. Harrison Owen's idea of turning outward
and thinking of going out into the world worked well, and we all joined hands
and sang row row row your boat, very anarchically. On the whole, an excellent
experience for all.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> But why were Herb and I so exhausted at
the end? How can we do this without being quite so drained? I suspect that the
more vigorously we keep the space open, for ourselves as well as for everyone
else, the more invigorated we will feel.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> ``<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class="">The changes we are making in our presentation
to next year's class are based on feedback from this year's students, which has
been overwhelmingly positive. We are adding Owen's Open Space Technology to our
pre-reading list and changing one of the the other titles. We are updating the
general reading list, and we have rewritten the syllabus, to be more explicit
about the nature of Open Space. We are offering both classes on a pass-fail
basis only.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> We are also increasing the spacing
between weekends, adding a consultation day between the first and second
weekend. We hope that students will take advantage of the longer interval to
pursue in-depth research on the areas which most interest them.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> In terms of the most controversial
issue that came up for us, the roles of "teacher" and
"learner," I think we are both aiming to feel free--free to be
passionate as well as fluid, free to be a teacher when that felt right, in the
moment, and to be a learner when that felt right. Modeling what we expected.
Hopefully that will leave us with more energy by the end of the course.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> HERB LONG'S NOTE ON USING OPEN SPACE IN
AN ACADEMIC CONTEXT:<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> It was a stretch for us to use the open
space format for a course on human learning and development. This was
especially the case for me--after all, with so much to cover and so little
time, how could I possibly expect that students would learn anything if I
didn't hold forth--summarizing, critiquing, offering gems of wisdom and
insisting that the students respond with formal research papers?<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class="">My own ambivalence appeared when I shared my
"professorial" concern with the students, that maybe serious learning
wasn't happening. Coming from me as a facilitator, such a comment might have
sunk the whole effort. But it didn't, because a deeper learning was taking
place than any I had experienced before in academe.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> This deeper learning was the result of
offering an opportunity for students >to reach into their own personal
history, and to make connections between that history and the learning process.
They could connect their own development with what they were reading,
discussing, and thinking about.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> The context of Open Space provided an
atmosphere in which feeling and intellect could combine rather than split off.
In a remarkably short period of time, we became a learning community.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> At the same time, my own passion for
teaching was re-awakened. That is, open space provided me with the same
supportive environment as it did the students. I too could begin making
connections between my own lived experience and what I was learning as a result
of my passionate involvement in the learning enterprise that engaged all of us.
The boundary separating student and teacher became more and more permeable. The
same passionate interest in learning transferred naturally into a heightened
desire to share what was learned. It's as if we were all being enriched in our
very beings. and when that richness reached a stage of overflowing, teaching
followed naturally as we shared with one another out of our own being.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> To me, such sharing is the essence of
true teaching and it's then that being speaks to being or, as the Psalmist puts
it, "deep calls unto deep."<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> FROM THE INTRODUCTION TO OUR CLASS DOCUMENT,
WRITTEN BY TWO OF THE STUDENTS:<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> The course was to be about learning and
development, so what did we learn and how do we learn? We learn by exploring.
We learn by listening. We learn through our families, our culture and our
experiences. We learn by taking risks and stretching our minds. It is a
lifelong process and a spiritual process. What we discover as we go along is
that much of what we think we need to know, we actually have inside ourselves
already. The trick is to accept ourselves and to look inside ourselves to find
the teacher within.<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class="">***<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> Sara Halprin, Ph.D and Herb Long, Th.D
are certified Process Work therapists, with diplomas from the Process Work
Center of Portland. They bring, in addition to their backgrounds in education
and counseling, the wide-spectrum skills of process work facilitation, which
have deepened their experience with Open Space. They live and work in Portland,
Oregon. Sara is also the author of "LOOK AT MY UGLY FACE!": Myths and
Musings on Beauty and Other Perilous Obsessions with Women's Appearance
(Penguin, 1996).<o:p class=""></o:p></span></p><p class=""><span style="font-size:10.0pt" class=""> </span></p>
<!--EndFragment--></div><div class=""><br class=""></div></font></span><div class=""><br class=""><div class="">
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<div><br class=""><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class="">On Apr 16, 2019, at 11:28 AM, Royle, Karl via OSList <<a href="mailto:oslist@lists.openspacetech.org" class="">oslist@lists.openspacetech.org</a>> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><div class=""><div class="WordSection1" style="page: WordSection1; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">Dear Harrison<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">Sounds great. We have used open space at our university and I use it on my module but have never used it for a sequence of sessions. I think perhaps it may work better in this format for adult education although I could see it working for all sorts of other topics now I thing about it. I was recently reading a book by Valoufakis the Greek ex minister and economist. He distinguishes between goods and commodities. As most universities are busy commodifying education when they are met with a ‘good’ such as OST it is hard for them to measure, quantify and grasp its significance. They might see it as some sort of subversion… which is all good.<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">Best<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">Karl<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></div><div style="border-style: solid none none; border-top-width: 1pt; border-top-color: rgb(181, 196, 223); padding: 3pt 0cm 0cm;" class=""><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><b class=""><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class="">From:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;" class="">OSList <<a href="mailto:oslist-bounces@lists.openspacetech.org" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline;" class="">oslist-bounces@lists.openspacetech.org</a>> on behalf of Harrison Owen via OSList <<a href="mailto:oslist@lists.openspacetech.org" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline;" class="">oslist@lists.openspacetech.org</a>><br class=""><b class="">Reply-To:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b>World wide Open Space Technology email list <<a href="mailto:oslist@lists.openspacetech.org" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline;" class="">oslist@lists.openspacetech.org</a>><br class=""><b class="">Date:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b>Tuesday, 16 April 2019 at 16:40<br class=""><b class="">To:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b>'World wide Open Space Technology email list' <<a href="mailto:oslist@lists.openspacetech.org" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline;" class="">oslist@lists.openspacetech.org</a>><br class=""><b class="">Cc:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b>Harrison Owen <<a href="mailto:hhowensr@gmail.com" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline;" class="">hhowensr@gmail.com</a>><br class=""><b class="">Subject:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b>[OSList] Ten Weeks in Open Space<o:p class=""></o:p></span></div></div><div class=""><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></div></div><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> For some odd reasons, I committed to “teaching” a course which met once a week for 10 weeks. I think my hosts assumed I would do the standard “Lecture/Discussion,” but I had a different plan. Do it all in Open Space. It has become an interesting experiment.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> I have been involved in multiple, multi-day events, but the days were always contiguous. What would happen, I wondered, if you did 10 Open Spaces, each an hour and a half, and separated by a week? I had little question that something useful (rich learning, community, etc) might occur in the first session – but would it continue, build, attenuate? The question is neither idle or purely academic, and could point in the direction of enhancing extended, formal learning environments.<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> My host was a university and my experience to date has been that no matter how fiercely universities pursue “advanced learning environments/approaches,” they are terrified of Open Space. Those may not be the words the academics of my acquaintance would be comfortable with – but those words do seem to fairly describe the behavior. Open Space is occasionally allowed as an “experiment” – with the full and certain knowledge that it could not possibly “work.” I have also witnessed massive and sustained efforts devoted to the eradication of Open Space in those rare instances when it seemed to have taken root.<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> Why these attitudes exist, I do not know (but I do have some suspicions) – however the opportunity to test the academic environment was irresistible. Certainly the statistical significance of my experiment is negligible. There is an effective N of 1… all the way around. One class, one university, one time. The participants are all senior citizens, and the course content perhaps bizarre:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i class="">Death, Dying and Life</i>.<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> We are now three quarters of the way through. Prudence would dictate waiting for the end and a follow up with post-tests. However the trends are pretty clear and academic purity was never my strong point. Besides if the definitive word is not written others (that could be you!) might do a replication, and that would be wonderful! For the record, I did everything “by the book” – including post-its, masking tape, Issues of concern stuck to the wall. In the first session we posted issues to be addressed over the next 10 weeks, with the clear understanding that additions and changes could be made at any point along the way.<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> The first session happened just like usual – no surprise. We took about half an hour to create the agenda leaving one hour for the first groups, of which there were four. Reports were generated over the next week, emailed back to me – and then combined and resent.<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> One week later everybody returned (16) and the next round of groups occurred (I forget how many) without prodding or assistance. In fact I left to get some coffee. When an hour had expired, all returned for a brief Closing Circle, actually sort of square, as it seems that circles are a step too far for the university<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings;" class="">J</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I thought we might be getting somewhere when one of the participants said the whole thing was really odd. “We were talking about Death and Grief… and people were laughing.”<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> This past week I received an email from the university official saying that she wished to “visit the class, possibly for 15 minutes.” I responded that she was certainly welcome, but that I was unsure what, if anything, she might see or hear. The room we had been assigned was rather small and definitely noisy with multiple groups conversing. It took the participants virtually no time at all to discover a number of small “conversation nooks,” furnished and private, located all over the building. Of course, during class hours everybody else was in class – except for our participants. They were everywhere and kept moving. I suggested that the official might do better to come for the whole time (1 ½ hours) so she would at least know where to start. I also told her that she would be treated just like all participants – no special handling or introduction. I knew she would make her way and the people would take care of her – as they did for everybody else.<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> When the session was over, everybody came back to the “home room.” We never did have a “sit down” closing circle because the place was just buzzing and people had busses to catch. Our official visitor had this bemused smile and was now totally enveloped by the group. I never did formally meet her, actually I’m not even sure exactly what she looks like. But I did receive an email from her when I got home saying that something quite strange must be happening. Apparently all of the other classes in her program area were losing participants, sometimes by half. She was so impressed that our full compliment arrived promptly at the appointed hour, and everybody was there at the end. I confess I smiled too, always believing the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i class="">Law of Two Feet</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>is the most powerful test for, and indicator of, Customer/participant Satisfaction. One might suspect we were hitting pretty close to 100%. 24 hours later I got another email asking if I could do mini-courses in the summer and a full repeat in the Fall. I thanked her for the honor and declined – saying that I only did it once for any group. However there were now 16 people who could do as well or better. We’ll see. In any event it is an experiment you can try, and I wish you as much fun as I have had.<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> The points of significance for me were several. First, the topic (Death, dying and Life) which is taboo in many circles and difficult in most – was freely and openly explored by people for whom it was all pretty much virgin territory. Of course as senior citizens, that territory was getting smaller and smaller (bigger and bigger?). Secondly, I was struck by the evolving feeling of warmth and connection. I can’t imagine how you would measure that, but even my faculty visitor couldn’t escape. Lastly, and certainly least provable, was a sense expressed by several and certainly me … that 10 discreet weeks evolved into one connected open space. Sometime of greater intensity, sometimes less … but always connected.<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> For our last gathering I have invited everybody to my house to enjoy a rich performance of Beethoven’s<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i class="">Missa Solemnis<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i>done by the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, followed by lunch at a small country restaurant down the road. I call it my Office. Gathering for a requiem mass might seem rather ghoulish, but as I said when making the invitation, “No dead person has ever listened to a requiem.” They are all written for the living and in their own way are a celebration of life. This was explicitly true of the Brahms<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i class="">German Requiem</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>– and frankly the 9<sup class="">th</sup><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Symphony (Ode to Joy) has nothing on the mass – I think. Try it. It’s amazing.<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">Harrison<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></div></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; 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font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;" class=""><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none; float: none; display: inline !important;" class="">Past archives can be viewed here:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.mail-archive.com/oslist@lists.openspacetech.org" style="color: purple; text-decoration: underline; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; 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