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Using Movement and Words to Augment Collaborative Learning
MOVING MEASURES
... once you start dancing to words you might never stop. from Sorcery by Jessica Hagedorn
Language is powerful, yet movement brings it's own power and opens portals to understanding.. Evaluators rely on words to describe, assess and shape programs. Increasingly, evaluators are required to engage diverse stakeholders throughout the evaluation life cycle. Many existing participatory techniques exist that facilitate full participation of all stakeholders, yet they primarily rely upon verbal communication or the translation of verbal information into pictures or diagrams. This technique of moving measures is inspired by the work of choreographer Vincent Thomas and an organization, Quest: Arts for Life, which, in the mid 2000s promoted visual theater often performed by hearing impaired artists. Their work reawakened in this evaluator the power of gesture and movement to convey ideas succinctly and in a way that transcends many of the boundaries that exist between peoples. At the same time, a mandate to find ways to move a client’s evaluation off the page opened the presenter’s mind to finding new ways to allow stakeholders to convey evaluation data. Together, these two opportunities inspired the use of gesture and movement to describe efforts and results The result? Gesture=based interactions that allow people to create, individually or collectively, representations of a variety of programmatic circumstances that illustrate everything from critical action pathways required to document program implementation to their ideas regarding how their actions achieve desired results or their perception of existing outcomes. Engaging communities in collective movement can also bond groups striving to work together, building trust through shared experiences and leveling power dynamics. Academic/Community partnerships, for example, can use movement to reduce the intimidation that can result when researchers strive to convey their perspective to lay people. Young people, who may be shy to speak in front of adults and professionals, may be inspired by their familiarity with skits and role plays to be more forthcoming regarding their perceptions and ideas. All of these efforts help groups gather deeper insight into their experiences that may transcend traditional information tools. Or these may stand alone as part of an exploration to determine what to learn about or how to use findings and results. Moving Measures can be used as a meaningful ice breaker, serve as a break from sitting and reviewing slides and information, replace polls and quizzes to assess knowledge gain or set the tone and content for sections of collective work.
25 Years Transforming Selves and Systems
The Process
Moving Measures
Developed by Geri Lynn Peak Inspired by Vincent Thomas vtdance.org Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. ShareAlike — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original. No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits. Photo Credits: Front page instagram: @jamiladesigns; back page Dubscience Photography & Film “The Mamas” from a Baltimore Girls performance at Artscape 2015. Instagram: @mrdubscience
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Prepare: Collaboration -- gather the people who will help guide and shape the process collaboratively? Self-Determination -- It’s okay to encourage, but do not impose, or take small steps at first. It’s also okay to work with the willing and build interest. Purposefulness -- there should be a good reason to proceed, even if it is relationship building over information. Design Develop a focus or theme-- what do you want to learn from movement centered assessment Create a guide or script for how folks will move through the process Create tools (for example, places to collect short statements, journaling or reflection sheet to gather insights. Logistics and Planning the actual experience. Materials and supplies. Capture movement on video, have backup audio recording. Consider how consent and permissions will be captured Execute Set a tone that encourages participation -- non-verbal exercises, embodied practices breathwork. Capture moments on video and audio “Replay” movements and words in several ways, remixing groups of people and voices. Reflect Gather input and insights from the community of participants Consider as a group how insights will be preserved and shared Share insights: collectively pinpoint key learnings, insights, ideas. Integrate Suggestions for use and more in-depth follow Gratitude for sharing and insights