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2017 Conference

del 21 al 24 de June del 2017

Tuscon, AZ

AESS 2017 Draft Conference Session Schedule

Improving Cross-disciplinary Communication: An Introduction to the Toolbox Dialogue Method

miércoles, el 21 de junio de 2017 a las 09:00–12:00 MDT
ENR2 S 225
Abstract

Addressing environmental problems requires work with researchers from other disciplines. As AESS president David Hassenzahl has indicated in his challenge, “… working across disciplines is what we must do when important questions cannot be answered by a single discipline.” In order to ensure just responses to these problems, though, collaboration should also involve the meaningful participation of community members and other stakeholders. Since complex, heterogeneous projects such as these typically include multiple perspectives and differences in belief and value, the potential for misunderstanding is rife, and the consequences of misunderstanding can be great.

The Toolbox Dialogue Initiative, a US NSF sponsored project, has developed an approach – the “Toolbox dialogue method” – that is an established way of enabling heterogeneous groups to avoid debilitating misunderstandings. This method uses structured, dialogue-based workshops to enhance communication and collaboration in cross-disciplinary teams. Grounded in philosophical analysis, the Toolbox workshop enables collaborators to engage in a structured dialogue where they share their research and practice worldviews.

An evidence-based approach, the Toolbox dialogue method has both proximal and distal effects. Proximally, structured dialogue about research assumptions enhances self-awareness and mutual understanding, strengthening the collective epistemic foundation needed for effective collaborative research. Distally, these cognitive effects can increase team cohesion and communication effectiveness by enabling collaborators to avoid both unreasonable agreement and unreasonable disagreement.

In a Toolbox workshop, structured dialogue enables participants to achieve three learning outcomes:

The agenda for a half-day Toolbox workshop at AESS is as follows:

 

Workshop Co-Facilitators:

Dr. Michael O’Rourke is Director of the Toolbox Dialogue Initiative and Professor of Philosophy at Michigan State University. He has published extensively on the topics of communication, interdisciplinary theory and practice, and robotic agent design. Since its inception in 2005, the Toolbox Dialogue Initiative has conducted over 200 workshops around the world with more than 1,700 participants.

Dr. Marisa Rinkus is a Post-Doctoral Research Associate with the Toolbox Dialogue Initiative at Michigan State University. She has experience in participatory data collection, facilitation, and capacity building. Her research interests include stakeholder participation, community engaged research, and collaboration in conservation planning and decision-making.

 

Brief Workshop Description

This workshop introduces participants to the Toolbox dialogue method, an approach to enhancing communication and collaboration in cross-disciplinary teams. Attendees will share their research and practice worldviews in structured dialogue and then discuss how such dialogue could support just responses to environment, wellness, and community problems.

Primary Contact

[photo]
Marisa Rinkus, MS, PhD, Toolbox Dialogue Initiative and Michigan State University

Presenters

Co-Authors

Chair, Facilitator, Or Moderators

Discussants

Workshop Leaders

[photo]
Marisa Rinkus, MS, PhD, Toolbox Dialogue Initiative and Michigan State University
[photo]
Michael O'Rourke, PhD, Toolbox Dialogue Initiative
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