Rosalind Armson

Metaphors for Reflecting on Research Practice: Researching with People

There are renewed demands for transparency and stakeholder participation in environmental planning and management. Research is a generic form of practice common to many professions. Appreciating the position of the researcher and reflecting on research practice can enhance its transparency. The case is presented for considering underlying metaphors as a way of making understandings explicit, transparent and structured, so as to enhance reflection on research practice. Metaphors can be explored, either individually or jointly, and learning opportunities can come from the exploration and awareness of alternative metaphors. Four metaphors have been chosen to reflect on research practice: research-as-action, research-as-narrative, research-as-facilitation and research-as-responsible. These metaphors define various roles relevant to researching with people and seem powerful ways of discussing what researching or planning with people might entail, and how to include the position of the researcher/planner in reflective practice. Whilst the primary concern is with research practice, the arguments might equally apply to other forms of practice such as planning, managing, advising or regulating.

Learning participation as systems practice

Abstract Learning participation only makes sense if it is purposeful. From our perspective its primary purpose is to achieve more effective managing in situations of complexity and change. We describe our evolving understandings and practices (a praxeology) for Systems Practice for managing complexity, built on 30 years of developing supported open learning opportunities in the area of Systems within the curriculum of The Open University (UK). We ground this description in two specific examples of how notions of participation are incorporated conceptually and practically into a learners programme of study by considering: i) the postgraduate course ‘Environmental Decision Making. A Systems Approach’ (T860) and ii) the undergraduate course ‘Managing Complexity. A Systems Approach’ (T306). From these courses, as well as a historical review of teaching practice, we identify nine pedagogic design features of our practice. Metaphorically all of the elements of our praxeology can be understood through the lens of the practitioner as chorographer (a systematic describer and analyst of regions) and choreographer (one versed in creating a dance of the emotions).

Systems and the ‘Polo Mint’ Metaphor

The Systems Department in the Faculty of Technology at The Open University is unique in that it has taught systems thinking within an applied systems framework, using supported distance teaching methods, for 21 years. In this period over 16,000 undergraduates and associate students have taken one of the Department’s three major Systems courses. In their current ‘incarnations’ these are; Managing in Organisations (T245); Working with Systems (T247) and Complexity, Management and Change (T301). New postgraduate and undergraduate courses are envisaged. All Systems courses are supported by a one week intensive and experiential systems summer school (SYST 999). The Department also hosts Third World Development, contributes around 80 per cent of the ‘teaching’ for both the Faculty’s foundation course, Living with Technology (T102) and the Faculty’s MSc and MBA programmes in Technology and Manufacturing management. Open University teaching material has been widely disseminated and used to guide other curricula. The formation of the Systems Department was a highly innovative move in 1972; it remains the largest Systems Department in Europe with 21 full-time academic staff. Courses remain popular with students with around 2500 enrolments in courses in 1994.

Teaching the Second Law: Experience from the Open University Technology Faculty

Confusion about the concepts arising from the second law is a well known phenomenon. A conscientious attempt has been made in the Open University course ‘Thermofluid Mechanics and Energy’ to face up to this by a new treatment of the teaching of both First and Second Laws. This treatment has involved several factors. Firstly, there is an explicit attempt to dismantle students’ pre-existing misconceptions about energy. Energy is treated as the capability of effecting change.