Transdisciplinary Theory, Practice and Education by Dena Fam & Linda Neuhauser & Paul Gibbs

Author:Dena Fam & Linda Neuhauser & Paul Gibbs
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783319937434
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

10.3 The Annual Postgraduate Retreat: A Critical Reflection

The central intent of our first annual retreat in 2002 was to build a community of scholars—to help our postgraduate students see that they had much in common, despite engaging in disparate research topics. However, we recognized that the experience of being exposed to distinctly different knowledge perspectives associated with other disciplines can be cognitively and emotionally challenging, leading to ‘disorienting dilemmas’ and perspective transformation (Palmer et al. 2009; Taylor 2007). We felt the need to provide a safe space in which it was possible to experience, explore, and make sense of disorienting dilemmas, while also building the connectedness needed for TD research. Schumacher College’s model of transformative learning for sustainable living provided a model that met these needs. This kind of cognitive and emotional work benefits from a sense of belonging (connectedness), so foregrounding the business of building a community was also intentional: for the first decade, we chose locations that not only offered inspiring natural surroundings, but also required us to prepare our meals together, providing diverse opportunities for nurturing multi-dimensional individual and community relationships well beyond conventional office interactions. Further, we chose locations away from the office and encouraged participants to stay overnight by funding accommodation. The literature on TD research stresses the time required for such work, so it was crucial to secure uninterrupted time by reducing the distraction of other work.

Each retreat is a 2-day event, open to all graduate research students and supervisors, where participants engage in facilitated activities connected to one or more overall event themes. Since mutual engagement is dependent on ‘being included in what matters’ (Wenger 1998, p. 74), students and supervisors collaboratively organize and facilitate the learning experience in annual retreats so that the activities of the retreat are relevant for the current cohort. Themes have included TD research, change creation, systems thinking, theories of change, writing and publishing and epistemology. Typically, there is a mix of sessions requiring deep theoretical engagement oriented towards intellectual leaps—that is, collaboratively generating new insights for our practice, such as using Glassick et al.’s (1997) scholarship criteria to explore what might constitute quality transdisciplinary research—and those that are more focused on practical ‘tips and tricks’ for successfully completing graduate research.

The annual retreats represent the central investment in our programme, and they provide a regular space for us to revisit, enliven, and remake the mutual engagements, joint enterprises, and shared repertoires that comprise our community of practice. We would love to hold them more frequently but are constrained by available resources— both funds, and the willingness of participants, particularly supervisors, to commit the necessary time. The discussion below critically reflects on our experiences with the retreat over the past 15 years to draw out lessons for practice. We draw on two data sources. First, each of us has participated in the retreats as an organizer, research supervisor, or student. Collectively we have led and participated in all of them. We therefore draw on our own personal reflections on the retreats and how they have developed over time.

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