Reflection on Semester 2 : Future of Our University
Over the course of the second semester there was a push to finalise the course. This has given everyone lots of time to reflect on the many different workshops and sessions that took place over the final months. For this reflection I will continue the themes from my first reflection on our method of association (consensus decision making) as well as general communication in semester 2.
In my first reflection I focused on the benefits of the consensus decision making process but felt like I didn’t go into enough detail when it came to possible detractions or criticism. I still feel that the system is good, when it works but we all found issues with it during the course.
The first of these reflections will be on the ease of discussion. I found that often the discussion would be dominated by a select few voices with others from the group joining in only occasionally. This I believe wasn’t due to those who spoke excluding others or by others not having any opinions. I instead feel that often those who wished to speak during the discussion hadn’t been encouraged enough and were therefore unwilling to commit in sharing their opinions. This problem could have been addressed by a more formal introduction to the method by those familiar with it. I feel like this would have greatly increased participation in the discussion.
Secondly, I felt that often I found it difficult to concentrate on the conversation and despite my best attempts at staying focused I would sometimes find myself day dreaming. I would then have to catch up with the discussion at a later point. This may have just been my problem but I find this unlikely that I was the only one. When it comes to improving my concentration and that of others in class I am drawn to the memory of when I used to go to a drama club in my formative years. The club lasted 2Hrs and had plenty of discussion along with improvisation and we always had a great discipline when it came to act and when it came to listening. This was due in part to a short 3 minute warm up activity we would do when we first came in. During FOOU we did do some activities in the same vein as the warm ups I remember but they weren’t always at the beginning of the session. I feel like an icebreaker like this would help settle the mood and get everyone in the right mindset to concentrate on our topic. Just a short icebreaker used to begin the session I feel would help provide a structure and improve co-operation and reduce timid behaviour in the group.
Furthermore, another issue we would have with discussion would be the time taken to reach a decision on how to proceed. We would often find ourselves talking about an issue and as it was passed round the group in debate it would changed and morph until we were so far from the initial point of discussion that no one was on the same page and we would have to remind everyone what we were talking about. Sometimes we would even talk about, how we are talking in this roundabout way without coming to a conclusion and still fail to reach a solution. The inability for us to find a solution over the course shows just how badly we need a built in solution within our consensus decision making, for this issue. I think that if we could visualise our discussion with notes being taken on a flipchart or blackboard as we are discussing them it would aid greatly comprehension of the matter at hand and serve as a point of reference if we got muddled up at all. Furthermore we could either lighten the workload for the person taking the sessions minutes or change their role completely into the person taking notes on the board which could be photographed or collected to be recorded as the minutes for the session.
In Semester 2 there were plenty of good moments that came about as a result of our medium of association that make it better then other ways to discuss in groups. As I have said in my first reflection I found the use of hand gestures throughout our course as beneficial to discussion the variety of which we used to a great extend. However in the final months of the course we used hand signals less and less. I think that this was regrettable as I found them to be very efficient in communicating precisely the objection whether it was a factual inaccuracy or a rebuttal or a technical point about time constraints. We would instead just say our point when there was a lull in conversation. I think this contributed to the sense of confusion over the direction of conversation that I have mentioned. In order to maintain the culture of hand signalling it would have been beneficial to have a ‘key’ of the code either placed on a wall for reference or written down in our computers for familiarisation of the code. This may have encouraged others to speak more in the group as they would feel more confident with the hand signals, encouraging their contributions and would have eased the flow of discussion as well.
In conclusion, this course from its inception has been a radical attempt at understanding our university. It set out in its goals to break us out of our own ‘silos’, for the roles of student and teacher to lose their rigidity, and find new ways of learning. From setting out with no initial starting point for assessment to rejecting the use conventional system of attendance due to how it is used by the home office to track students. The course set out to take a critical look at how the university is run and how it teaches it students. In all of these it had been a success and proved its worth as a course. From now on the task is that of refinement, to make better and improve upon the achievements of previous students, year on year. There is no better way to do this then the reflections we have all made in concluding this year. Hopefully we can go from strength to strength in the future that this course will have each successive year.
Thank you to those who made this course possible and well done to the participants for our successful inaugural year.
Hi, thank you so much for your reflection!
I really appreciate that you rose some technical points about how the course could be improved, especially regarding communication. I agree with what you said on encouraging participation and people’s short attention spans. I do think that some people are naturally more of listeners than others though, and this should be taken into account when envisioning new ways of organising participation. For example, it could be worth going into smaller groups. But your perspective from your drama club was very interesting and it would be great in the future if people who have experience in setting up group discussions could share this with everyone so that we can improve our organisation.
Your point on solutions was spot-on as well and having a tangible representation of the progression of the discussion would definitely help with that.
I really hope new students read your contribution, it’s very practical and helpful!
Hi Ruairidh!
I’ve had a read at your semester 1 reflection as well to have the context. I will focus on this reflection in my comment but, as they are interconnected, it will be tangled.
Your first reflection was really positive, I found it inspiring and exciting to read about something that I know well and used to from someone who was discovering consensus decision making, a enjoying its advantages from a fresh outlook. With time, I (and, I believe, lots of people) tend to see the negatives and issues more predominantly. It was heart-warming to be reminded of why consensus decision making is a tool that I value a lot.
For the rest of this comment, I will draw on my experience of group dynamics and consensus decision making from the real EFI occupation (6 weeks with General Meetings every night at first and then every few days, plus working groups meetings, it was quite a hardcore introduction to consensus haha…) and from the ESHC (Edinburgh Student Housing Cooperative) where I moved in in September. You have highlighted many issues that I have encountered as well with consensus, I will share my experience and reflections on those.
In general, I like the fact that you give concrete suggestions and way forwards after your criticism. I think that it is a really productive attitude to have, thank you! You are also concise and to the point (which is something I struggle with, sorry in advance).
About the domination of the conversation by a few people. I think that the major issue is the lack of good facilitation. Facilitation is often taken for granted, but it is a skill that needs to be developed, my major suggestion for the people next year is to get facilitation training. Our current culture around communication and group dynamics is not healthy and definitely not adapted to consensus. As you said, people are not maliciously trying to take-over or not contribute, but they are generally unaware of their habits and behaviours and how these impact others. Good facilitation can help making sure that everyone contributes equitably. There are many interesting techniques that I’ll encourage to look at. For instance, you can have a rule of ‘everybody speaks once’, where nobody can speak two times until everybody a contributed (people can pass). Another factor is people’s preferences on how to contribute. Some people will always feel more comfortable contributing in smaller group, so it is good to vary the meeting styles: our world cafés or sub-groups discussions were good for this. Also, sometimes I just feel like listening and don’t have any strong opinion, I just use the hand-signals to show my dis/approval. The hand-signal, if used consistently and picked up by the facilitator can be a powerful way to contribute non-verbally.
I like your suggestion about using the body and more breaks to help us focus, it will be even more relevant for the 3 hours long session next year! Consensus gives uninterrupted speech so there is less pressure to be concise. People also feel like they want to have their say, so they repeat the same thing that has been just said rather than using hand-signals. These are issues of not being used to consensus culture. This links with your observation that we used hand-signals less and less. Keeping up and integrating this culture we are not used to is difficult. We often don’t acknowledge it, so we don’t take time to ‘learn’ consensus. I have myself just been thrown in the occupation with no experience or introduction to consensus whatsoever.
I like the idea of the flipchart to visualise the discussion! I never thought about having it outside of workshops, but it could be useful for any meeting.
Thank you for these reflections, I enjoyed reading them and reflecting on them myself. Your presence in the course always felt kind to me, thank you for your contribution, and hopefully see you around!
PS: Some advice for improvement would have been to search for examples of what other groups do to improve their consensus decision-making, and maybe share some of their techniques as suggestions 🙂
Thank you for this, Ruairidh! It was very lovely to get a more concrete understanding of your experience in the course. Also a good break with the abstract take on reflections I find myself falling into in academia. I hope this experience and all its mistakes are tools we can bring with us in the future!
Thanks for the reflection Ruairidh – I’ve certainly not thought enough about the underlying process and actual practical activities of the course and disappeared likely too much into abstract thinking about the course. I think the things you highlight are essential and need to be squarely addressed next year – despite all our reflections on hierarchy, informal power structures etc we reproduced many and as you say, voices became dominant. I feel, at least for me, we were swept up in the desires for the course to be transformative and despite the considerable ground work we established, we often defered key questions of actual procedure. Similarly, actually making ice-breakers and visualising discussion really embedded in the course not just occasional practices would have likely hugely benefit. As you say, its a question of refinement for the course next year, and being reflexive on the failures and successes of the course this year. Thanks a lot Ruairidh !!