AR+ coLABs and Sandboxes– workshops that unite “inner” and “outer” work
AR+ coLABs and Sandboxes foster friendly, person-centered spaces as dynamos of good Action oriented Research for Transformation (ART) in different domains, from education to healthcare, to sustainable organizing.
CoLABs invite participants to turn the camera on themselves as they work within the collaborative spirit of action research with special attention to cultivating the conditions in which their own practice - their "inner work" may happen. Think of a coLAB as a community of inquiry and practice that invites and supports participants to develop capacity with other ARTists from around the world. CoLABs start "here," among those who turn to learn from their personal experience. Expect a small group (we limit the size of coLABs to around 12), who together can make a positive difference. Each coLAB supports the participants' own learning orientation and their "inner' work for the world.
An AR+ Sandbox turns the camera back out to a real life project held within a community associated with AR+ and around which all members may learn together. We're less concerned with talking about the "very very right answers" to sandbox challenges (as conventional scientific training encourages) and much more with how to help transformations in a specific context from which we may proliferate insights to other spaces.
In coLABs and Sandboxes scholar/practitioners inquire/practice in an integrated way that includes personal/ first-person, interpersonal/second-person and impersonal/third-person inquiry/practice. Both emphasize participative relational space, where we strive to feel brave (if not always comfortable), and find what it takes to have confidence in undertaking experiments.
The emphasis on experiment is very important at AR+. It means going beyond merely talking or reading about eco-social challenges. From inequality to climate change, our issues are complex and require reflection. But they also require action. Having individual insights and answers is now secondary to finding pathways for activation and coordination.
Be aware that we treat agents of change also as subjects of change. Y(o)ur work is not just for your stakeholders or for those "out there." We aspire to cultivate ourselves, starting "in here" so we develop our own repertoire in response to increasing eco-social challenges.
Key Characteristics of an AR+ Co-lab
- Emergent work, i.e. we don’t know the answer in advance;
- People affected by the problem are part of the solution;
- Interdisciplinary and multi-sectoral;
- Complexity and systems thinking;
- ARTistic: Whole Person/Whole system.
- By donation.
Co-labs Involve
• A dedicated space - virtual and occasional F2F;
• A complex challenge that draws people together in inquiry;
• Keyholders, i.e., people who feel a deep need to address that challenge;
• A facilitative, emergent methodology;
• Results oriented with social impact in mind.
• Regular (monthly) meetings with concern for high quality "relational space."
AR+ coLABs Overview
AR+ co-labs engage key aspects of transformative learning (e.g., learning design, power and mutuality, constructivist adult development, etc) for a regenerative world. We bring willingness to cultivate the self and systems, syncing scholarly-practice with spirituality and social justice. ART scholar-practitioners convene from all walks of life, from healthcare to education leadership, social activism to therapeutic counseling. We work with sensitivity to gender and race issues.
Individual partnership/mentorship scholarly-coaching - separate from coLABs - may also be a useful option. More details under the "About" tab or inquire below.
The coLABs drop down menu, in the navigation bar, will show you the co-labs that are available. The image below suggests that sometimes "scaffolding" - reflexive-developmental learning - is best when it brings back the love of learning we knew as children. For this we can include and transcend teaching that over emphasized competition and expertise.
An action oriented transformations approach, if practiced more broadly, may represent a leap as great as the enlightenment in encouraging individuals to know what is true for them; we might say it’s similar to the leap in learning our forebears took when they stood up, leaving all they had known on the African savannah, simply to survive.
CoLABs are about collaborative action. Let us assume that the human heart already knows what to address, be it human suffering, climate change, mass extinction of our fellow species, the cruelty of those domesticated. All of those and more! What is needed now is to develop ourselves as learners in helping others link their own experience with sense making, and regenerative action. In other words coLABs are a microcosm for much more!
If you have questions before registration please send an email to admin@actionesearchplus.com. If you wish to register for a coLAB use the tabs to navigate to the co-lab that calls you. Registration links are provided on each page.
