Jo A. Tyler

Re-searching Research Models: What is Emergent, Elastic, and Nonlinear All Over?

The rising popularity of research partnerships between practitioners and scholars raises questions about the efficacy of current research models for in situ research that yield timely and practical results to practitioners at the same time as they meet scholarly requirements and continue to grow the knowledge base in the field of HRD. Three characteristics—emergence, elasticity, and nonlinearity—are suggested as fundamental elements of new models. Tensions between the worlds of the scholar and the practitioner are discussed and concrete actions that would facilitate the development of new models are suggested.

Moving Beyond Scholar-Practitioner Binaries: Exploring the Liminal Possibilities of the Borderlands

The recent discourse connected to the notion of scholar-practitioner in human resource development commonly uses the metaphor of a “gap” between these two binaries that must somehow be bridged or that otherwise requires linking. This article examines the contemporary expression of this gap in the AHRD literature and the nature of the duality it implies.An alternative metaphor based on Anzaldúa’s borderlands and the mestiza consciousness that emerges there is suggested. This reframing and its implications are explored with an eye toward the possibilities of prompting new dialogue and creative responses across the many types of work, interests, and personas that comprise and enrich HRD as a field.

From Spoke to Hub Transforming Organizational Vision and Strategy With Story and Visual Art

This article reports on a case study at an inner-city nonprofit service agency that inquired into the ways integration of storytelling and visual art as a method of adult learning and way of knowing might influence the process of strategic visioning and planning in a nonprofit organization. The case study focuses on data collected through interviews and observation in the context of an action research project, with an aim of better understanding the influence of presentational ways of knowing and learning on transformative learning at the organizational level. Findings of this case study point toward the possibility of such transformation, in particular a shift in meaning perspective manifested at the level of organizational vision and strategy that can affect the organization’s work all the way down to the operational level. Project background, process, and findings are discussed, followed by implications for practice.

Through a Kaleidoscope: Dimensions of Scholarly Practice:

The Problem In contemporary work environments, a professional’s learning and development is often encouraged “in the flow of work”; there is an expectation that people will develop knowledge and skill while doing the day to day work of the organization. In considering how one might develop scholarly practice capabilities, therefore, professionals need to look to ways in which they can deliberately begin to incorporate scholarly practices into their standard processes. The Solution The purpose of this article is to provide guidance on everyday scholarly practice so that practitioners might hone their skills through daily work activities. We outline the dimensions of everyday practice and then describe the scholarly practice behaviors and activities that come into play in each dimension of practice. The Stakeholders By offering a more detailed version for scholarly practice in their daily work, this article provides a practical approach to enacting scholarly practice in daily activities that will benefit both practitioners and their managers.

Ways of Thinking, Being, and Doing: The Scholar-Practitioner Mind-Set for Successfully Innovating HRD

The Problem A number of scholars write about scholar-practitioners, including their role, general competencies, and the work processes they undertake. This literature reflects our understanding of the nature of the scholarly practice but does not extend to the consideration of the attitude or mind-set that can distinguish the contribution of scholar-practitioners in the field. The Solution In this article, we add to the discourse by considering the mind-set of successful scholar-practitioners who seek to provide a competitive edge to their organizations by transcending trends and conventional wisdom with innovative human resource development (HRD) approaches. We examine a few tenets for developing habits of thinking, being, and doing, and offer practical counsel to support those who wish to adopt a scholar-practitioner mind-set. The Stakeholders For individuals who wish to develop and maintain identities as scholar-practitioners, this article provides information that will help them and their leadership team better understand the distinct benefits from integrating scholarship and practice. For organizational leaders, this article sheds light on ways to foster a culture that will support the scholar-practitioner mind-set to yield competitive advantage.

The Story Holds Its Heart: Living Story Expression in Reflexive Storytelling

For more than a decade, Gail Rosen has told the powerful Holocaust story gifted to her by survivor Hilda Stern Cohen. At the request of the Healing Story Alliance, Gail crafted her own story, Choose Hope, of the journey that has unfolded for her as she told Hildas story. This paper examines the potency of Rosens experience crafting and telling this second story as a reflexive process that serves to expand her learning about herself, the world, and the original story she crafted based on her interviews with Hilda. The essay further considers how this reflexivity is bound up with the notion of living story and story aliveness. Included is the full text of Choose Hope as Rosen performed it in 2006.

What Really Happens When Adults Play?: A Call for Examining the Intersection of Psychosocial Spaces, Group Energy, and Purposeful Play

Play is an increasingly popular process for working with groups of adults in a range of contexts. We are increasingly sophisticated in our ability to integrate creative forms of play into our facilitated work with groups, often with excellent outcomes. Experience and research have deepened our understanding of how to design and implement powerful and effective playful scenarios in connection to objectives for adult learning and performance. We are convinced, intuitively and experientially, about the value of play. However, our confidence in the efficacy of play seems not to be matched by clear insights into why and how play actually achieves results. This conceptual article builds a case for the importance of understanding the nature of the influence play has on psychosocial spaces and group energy in the interest of better informing our application of play as a learning intervention. It advocates for designing ways of systematically and qualitatively researching the influence of play as it unfolds in real time. A brief case study of a simple experiment undertaken by the author at a session of the 2016 Playful Learning Conference is described here as a thought-starter for ways we might explore the psychosocial and energetic dynamics fostered when we introduce play as a way of purposefully engaging adult learners.

Cats, Turtles, Grinches and Pachyderms: Mythical Inspirations for Organizational Realities in Dr Seuss

The literature we read as children is densely populated with archetypal characters, mythical characters that serve as inspiration for organizational realities, leaders, loners and lovers among them. While some people may have vivid memories of the Ugly Duckling, the boy with his finger in the dyke, or the various villains from the Brothers Grimm, it is the characters of Dr Seuss who remain most active in my imagination and indeed at times, seem to possess it.