The truth about…TV experiments

Posted on 20 January 2019 by Helen Wilding

I have started to get concerned about shows such as ‘The truth about…’ and ‘Twinstitute’. I do enjoy watching the shows but I worry that viewers take away an oversimplified ‘health’ message based on a single experiment that is designed for ‘good viewing’ rather than necessarily good overall scientific practice.

In particular, I am thinking about experiments conducted on Truth about…fitness (shown a year ago but re-released recently on iplayer) and Twinstitute (first season showing now) which both compare the benefits of two different forms of exercise. Continue reading →

What do I do when I do what I do (now)?

Posted on 13 January 2019 by Helen Wilding

When I studied TU812 in 2010 and first attempted an answer to this question, my domain of practice was very different to what it is now. Then I worked in local government and was engaged in policy development and partnership coordination. Now, I spend the equivalent of my ‘working week’ engaged in the practices of ‘researching’ (doing my PhD) and ‘educating’ (as an Open University associate lecturer).

On and off for the last 6 months or so, I have been trying to construct a ‘claim’ for associate fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (via a scheme operated by the OU itself). In essence this is a way of getting recognition for my teaching competences. One of the main elements of the claim is a ‘reflective statement’ that needs to demonstrate the ‘why?’, ‘what?’, ‘how?’ of my practice in supporting adults to learn at a distance and any ‘so what?’ that arises from that reflection. When I set out I thought that this would suit me down to the ground given how much I have written about my experiences and practices in the past. But, I have experienced it as really constraining and at times annoying. I think I can understand why. Firstly, there are certain ‘buttons’ that I have to press in terms of the range of tasks I am involved in, the types of knowledge I use as I am doing so, and, how certain values guide me. Secondly, there is word ‘guidance’ in essence a hint of how much material the assessment panel will want to read. These constraints are making me focus so much on achieving an acceptable output that I am not enjoying it or getting any value (i.e. learning) from the experience. Continue reading →

Zooming in on experience

Posted on 11 December 2018 by Helen Wilding

When I think about it, the word ‘experience’ can be interpreted in different ways. Google tells me that it is “practical contact with and observation of facts or events” (noun) but it is also a verb “to experience” meaning “encounter” or “feel”. These definitions convey a sense of closeness – an experience is something that we see, touch, hear, feel – we use our senses and emotions when we ‘experience’. We relate to an experience – it’s not something happening over there somewhere. Continue reading →

Systems thinking in practice and running a marathon

Posted on 4 November 2018 by Helen Wilding

On Sunday 7 October 2018, this moment happened.

Kielder marathon finish

It’s me at the finish line of the Kielder marathon – a marathon that involves a full circuit of the beautiful Kielder Reservoir in Northumberland.

It’s odd to say it but I can attribute my achievement in that moment back to my study of systems thinking. When students start studying the TU812 module, there is an exercise in considering the personal trajectory leading up to the point of starting the module and what the student anticipates moving forward. I would never have dreamed of putting ‘run a marathon’ in my trajectory beyond the module. There are some things you don’t anticipate, don’t plan, but in retrospect you can appreciate how earlier events influence the achievement of later ones.

Continue reading →

The practitioner and the situation

Posted on 31 October 2018 by Helen Wilding

Recently I wrote a post on Situations which ended as follows:

But, in spite of all the commonalities, there is a distinction in the way that TU811 treats situations of interest compared to the way TU812 treats situations of concern…

In TU811, it is perfectly possible to adopt a first order stance – using systems approaches to analyse a situation of interest that you stand apart from. You can take the mindset of a consultant asked to advise or make recommendations to someone in government or in an organisation. It is possible to be objective and distant, to lack ownership of and for the situation. I say possible, you don’t have to engage with the situation that way but you can still engage pretty effectively as a systems practitioner if you do.

In comparison, when TU812 talks of situations of concern, they tend to be situations you experience directly – something you are part of. This means a first order stance is more constraining and it is more appropriate to adopt a second order stance. Here your personal engagement with the situation and the other people who are part of it matters. Your emotioning, understandings, actions and interactions can have an influence on whether the situation improves or declines. Your own action and interaction matters.

In the last few days, I have been reflecting on this in the light of closer reading of the work of Ison (2017) and various works by Checkland (e.g. 1985) which formed the basis for Ison’s conceptual model of what it is to think about practice.

The particular aspects I have been reflecting on are the way in which the practitioner and the situation can be perceived to relate to each other.

Continue reading →

Policy process advocacy – is the desirable, feasible?

Posted on 22 October 2018 by Helen Wilding

A few weeks ago, the co-occurrence of a ‘twitter discussion’ (initiated by @LukeCraven) and some reading I was doing on policy analysis tools prompted me to start thinking about what Hill (2013) refers to as process advocacy. Process advocacy is concerned with improving the nature of policy making. It is different to policy advocacy in that it concerns advocating generally for ‘better’ policy process rather than the substance or content of a particular policy.

Continue reading →

Situations

Posted on 17 April 2018 by Helen Wilding

When I studied the OU systems thinking modules, TU811 and TU812 (in that order), I remember getting a little agitated that TU811 used the term ‘situation of interest’ and then TU812 used the term ‘situation of concern’. I did try at the time to understand the difference. Looking back now, I did write a blog about this at the time but mostly I just decided that of all the new language I was coming to terms with it wasn’t worth trying to work that one out.

But recently, I have found myself coming back to this. I think I am mulling it over because I can’t decide which of the two terms to use in my thesis. This is where my thinking is currently taking me.

Continue reading →

Design turn – ok yet again!

Posted on 13 April 2018 by Helen Wilding

I am not inclined to do a search of the number of times I have written about the idea of the ‘design turn’. It is now over 7 years since I first encountered the term in Ray Ison’s book ‘Systems Practice’. The book is even in a second edition now and still I ‘re-learn’ about my understanding of design turn when I am prompted to reflect on it.

The latest insight has come not from considering the phrase ‘design turn’ as a whole but making a connection with another context where the word ‘turn’ is used.

Continue reading →

Writing about writing

Posted on 29 October 2017 by Helen Wilding

I have been thinking about writing a lot recently. It’s partly because I have been reading a fab book by Rowena Murray on ‘How to write a Thesis’.

The last time I wrote about writing, was in the TU811 student forum for the recent presentation. Rather ironically it was written on 29 April 2017 – exactly 6 months ago. I have copied it below (with minor changes) Continue reading →

Just Practicing

sharing my journey through landscapes of practice

The truth about…TV experiments

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What do I do when I do what I do (now)?

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Zooming in on experience

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Systems thinking in practice and running a marathon

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The practitioner and the situation

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Policy process advocacy – is the desirable, feasible?

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Situations

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Design turn – ok yet again!

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Writing about writing

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