This paper puts forward the early, practical actions “in context” that can begin to sensitize, or... more This paper puts forward the early, practical actions “in context” that can begin to sensitize, orient, expand, and constrain design dialogue at the outset of a design effort. Drawing on a case of “breaching experiments” in “non-places” we explore a “first approximation” of interventionist participation into the context of future interactive & responsive design interventions. By introducing a design journey, we have shed a light on how a human-centric approach, applied to the context of Human Building Interaction (HBI), can support an interventionist design dialogue between people and designed environment through processes of stirring up what’s beyond ‘norms’ of interaction.
Co-creating language learning journeys : a designerly approach to supporting experiential language learning practices : a resource for teachers and teacher educators
There is often a great difference between what a student learns in a second language class and th... more There is often a great difference between what a student learns in a second language class and the competence a student needs to use a second language in the context of everyday life. The ability t ...
Conversation Analytic Research on Learning-in-Action, 2019
This chapter introduces a "Rally Course" as a novel CA-inspired approach to teaching a second lan... more This chapter introduces a "Rally Course" as a novel CA-inspired approach to teaching a second language. This approach builds on an understanding of language learning as a social process that is closely intertwined with L2 speakers' evolving membership in the surrounding community. It addresses the need to develop experiential pedagogies that widen learners' opportunities for interaction and support the socialisation process. Building on recent pedagogical initiatives supporting language learning in the wild, we illustrate the overall structure of the Rally Course, describe the main materials that were designed to support the learning objectives and present a case analysis of a student carrying out a pedagogical activity supported by the materials.
To explore dismantling oppressive power relations in design, we bring to fore design encounters t... more To explore dismantling oppressive power relations in design, we bring to fore design encounters through the lens of relationality and improvisational competence. This paper is based on the premise that, if we are to move toward decolonizing design, design(ers) needs to rethink the organization of the design encounter and how we as designers practice participation in such encounters. We emphasize the improvisational nature of turn-taking in dialogue amidst asymmetric and dynamic power relations, with design's commitment to generating resources for future practices, and decolonization's commitment to re-configure power structures. After problematizing the design encounter from a power relation perspective, we explore practice models for developing improvisational competence. We do this by looking at the two improvisational dialogic practices of Capoeira and Improv Theater. We focus on what it can mean to develop skills in "improvisational competence" of relationality in design. We first touch on our previous Participatory Design work in the language learning "in the wild" agenda and then draw on each of our personal improvisational practices: Capoeira martial art, and improvisational theater. We then outline possibilities for relational improvisational design dialogue and conclude by outlining how it can be practiced in Design education and practice.
What if this abstract was actually the middle of the story? And instead of it being a summary of ... more What if this abstract was actually the middle of the story? And instead of it being a summary of what we try to do in this workshop, by individual ‘heroes’ that summarize the whole text, this section would be a collective account of why the text is worth reading and sharing. What if this section was not the beginning of a linear story, but a passage in a circular (re)telling of a shared experience? What if experimenting with such non-linear stories might change the way we tell stories in and through design? In this workshop we invite the design research community to explore how to situate sustainability through storytelling. In this workshop we explore how to bring forward individual neglected stories, dislodging heroic and universalist narratives, to explore how we can collectively listen, share, co-create and tell stories that can contribute to survival across individual and social scales
In this paper we argue that, in a world of pervasive technology, greater focus should be put on h... more In this paper we argue that, in a world of pervasive technology, greater focus should be put on harvesting all the possibilities that current technology enables instead of developing new technology. We advocate the use of “re-use design” [8] and introduce the concept of “designing for the designed use” as means for demystifying existing technologies to encourage participation. In this paper we introduce two cases where such methods proved effective for transitioning users from passive to active users of technology for participating in technology mediated interactions.
In this interactive exhibition we invite participants to experience and experiment with the tool ... more In this interactive exhibition we invite participants to experience and experiment with the tool called " Interaction Navigator ". The Interaction Navigator has been developed as a reflective tool for improving language learning through everyday " in-the-wild " interactions. This tool sensitizes users about the systemic connectedness of an interaction and all activities, tools and roles that can be used before and after an interaction to improve it. By using the interaction navigator and its guiding questions, one can reflect on personal journeys and find ways to improve such journeys over time. The practice of using the Interaction Navigator in different language courses proved to make a notorious pull for tech solutions to scaffold learning experiences. In this exhibition, we invite participants to use the tool to reflect on their own practices in order to find possible " pulls for tech " for improving their daily practices.
This essay looks at the front end of the design process as a generative design space. It describe... more This essay looks at the front end of the design process as a generative design space. It describes the emergence of the generative design space and the patterns we see as we explore ways to place stepping stones between research and design. This is the ...
Symposium on the Teaching and Testing of L2 Interactional Competence
This poster presents the “Interaction Navigator” as (1) a “learning tool” to support planning of ... more This poster presents the “Interaction Navigator” as (1) a “learning tool” to support planning of and reflection upon everyday interactions as language learning opportunities; and (2) as a “design artifact” resulting from a participatory design with L2 teachers, conversation analysts, and design anthropologists. The interaction navigator is a paper-based template with a simple structure for identifying a central interaction, and considering what can or did take place before, during and after the interaction. Its repetitive use is meant to sensitize learners to identify and engage with physical and digital materials, people and places that support “interactional competence” in the target language. Over the last 9 months, it has been used as a central piece four language learning courses in Finland and Iceland, where the classroom functioned as a type of “navigation system” for identifying material and human resources in everyday situations.
This essay looks at the front end of the design process as a generative design space. It describe... more This essay looks at the front end of the design process as a generative design space. It describes the emergence of the generative design space and the patterns we see as we explore ways to place stepping stones between research and design. This is the ...
2008. Gunn, W. Clark, B. and Asboe, M. ‘Observation as a form of engagement’. American Anthropological Association 107th Annual Meeting, Inclusion, Collaboration and Engagement, USA, 19th-23rd November 2008
Facing the Future of the Field: Northern Arizona University's Graduate Program in Applied Anthropology
Applied anthropology's focus on the practical applications of anthropological knowledge chall... more Applied anthropology's focus on the practical applications of anthropological knowledge challenges anthropologists to observe and interact with the diversity of modern human existence. Accordingly, the discipline's education and training curricula should reflect the changing focus and scope of anthropological inquiry. This paper highlights an applied anthropology program that acknowledges and actively encourages the dynamics and diversity of applied anthropology. Seven graduates of the applied anthropology internship-track M.A. program at Northern Arizona University detail their experiences – from the investigation of corporate alliances to the preservation of cultural heritage – illustrating the benefits of integrating academic with practical education in anthropology.
In innovation work that spans various professional contexts, there is an overreliance upon verbal... more In innovation work that spans various professional contexts, there is an overreliance upon verbal explanations and one-way presentations, as opposed to demonstrating, trying and performing. Organizing project teams across organizations and professional competencies relies upon creating active collaborative activities upon how they work together. Innovation work involves not only discovering what could be possible, but also bringing novel solutions into practice, and driving the spective project trajectories, especially at the outset of a project, the partner team members have the opportunity to orient their future actions according to potential desired and undesired futures.
A student, a product, a process: a fresh look at 'design games' in the Habraken tradition
In the changing climate of design education, programs attempt to prepare their students for profe... more In the changing climate of design education, programs attempt to prepare their students for professional practice in an uncertain job market. Educators attempt to equip their students with the skill sets and the development model to effectively contribute to innovative work practice wherever they may end up. Here we revisit Habraken's 'concept design games' to explore the value of the 'developing/playing combination' of design games, and how that tradition has been mixed with participatory design traditions. Through an example of a student-managed design project developing a board game for a client, we explore the role design games and designing games play in extending the value of design games into industrial practice. We conclude that the structure provided by games and the 'in-play development' that occurs, enables the student to invite multiple stakeholders into the design process in a way that provides valuable insights of their practice as well as h...
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