Candidate Pattern: Table-top Concept Mapping

Summary	Establish a shared vocabulary by negotiating a concept map of the domain.
Status	alpha	Confidence	0
details...		Group	none

Problem

The Planet methodology aims to engage multidisciplinary communities in a design-level discourse. In order to do that, such a community needs to first establish a shared vocabulary. This vocabulary should be rooted in the practices of the domain, and informed by the relevant bodies of theory.

Context

This pattern originates from our Participatory Pattern Workshops, but would probably be relevant in other situations where a group of practitioners are engaged in an on-site (co-located) collaborative reflection.

The basic form of this pattern does not involve any "high" technology: it uses tables, post-it notes, ribbons and markers. However, it would ideally lead to an on-line, collaborative concept mapping activity. e.g. transfering the map to a tool such as - http://www.aypwip.org/webnote/ or an embedded FreeMind map.

Solution

Participants work in groups of 3-5. First, provide each participant a few texts from their previous work, and ask them to highlight key terms using two colours, one for "assets", the other for "hazards". Assets are terms which they see as having a well-understood and agreed meaning, hazards are vague, contentious or provocative terms.
Next, participants need to agree on a common list of "assets" and  "hazards", by writing them on two colours of post-it notes. Each post-it should have the term written on top and a definition below.	http://www.flickr.com/photos/yish/3180352435/sizes/m/in/set-72157612274782853/
Having agreed on the list of concepts, the group moves on to mapping them, using coloured threads or markers to note links.	http://www.flickr.com/photos/yish/3088233826/in/set-72157610828661088/
Finally, the group presents its map to other groups for discussion.	http://www.flickr.com/photos/yish/3088246344/in/set-72157610828661088/

In order to build on the outputs of this activity, they need to be converted to a persistent and manipulable form. This could be done by using the map as a basis for an digital on-line knowledge structure. A less work-intensive alternative would be to apply the paper2.0 pattern: post pictures of the map in a shared, annotatable digital space.

Notes, Links and References

Liabilities, potential risks, extensions, expected side-effects

======= Related ========
* Paper2.0

• Participatory Pattern Workshop
  ======= END Related ========
  

Licensing

This work is licenced under a Creative Commons Licence.