Re: [Kb-complexity] How much need they know?

[Carol Webb <carolwebb75@yahoo.com>]

Hi All

You raised an interesting question Glenda, and I agree
with some of your points Ian.

I did some work on a project to do with this, and we
wrote up some of it in a paper: Facilitating Learning
and Sense-Making with Complexity Science Principles in
Organisations by Means of a Complexity Starter Kit.

The abstract was as follows: It is acknowledged that
the underlying principles of complexity science hold
intrinsic value as sense-making analogies for managers
and others working in organisational settings.
However, recent research found that academics and
practitioners encounter difficulties communicating the
meaning and value of complexity science principles to
people in organisations. While one school of thought
in the literature holds that it is not necessary to
attempt to communicate principles transparently, one
set of researchers set out to develop a range of tools
and a workshop session to do just this, and called it
?The Complexity Starter Kit?. The Complexity Starter
Kit features a 6 day calendar and ?water-cooler? area
posters, an exercise class and group sense-making
session, and an online knowledge development tool with
group discussion boards. The kit enables
interdependent learning and sensemaking in a context
specific environment. While the 6 day calendar and
posters stimulate interest in key complexity science
terminology, the exercise class builds on this by
providing a physical encounter and experience that can
be used to elicit examples from which participants can
begin to learn and apply to their own understanding.
Their knowledge and understanding in this area is
developed further through group discussions and online
interactive learning focussed on their day to day
work. While this paper describes the Complexity
Starter Kit at high level, suggesting how it can be
used, the main focus of the paper is on the principles
of educational strategy that develop learning about
complexity science, a consideration of the ways in
which these principles are informed by complexity
science, and how this informed the development of the
Complexity Starter Kit.

Anyone wishing to read the paper can find it at:
http://public.cranfield.ac.uk/sims_staff/wccw1/Webb_Lettice_Liverpool_Complexity_Conf_2005.pdf

Best wishes, Carol



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