High Risk (With Hope For) High Reward: Lessons Learned from Planning and Hosting an Unconference

Adam Stark Masters; Lisa D. McNair; Donna M. Riley

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Conference: 2019 CoNECD - The Collaborative Network for Engineering and Computing Diversity
Location: Crystal City, Virginia
Publication Date: April 14, 2019
Start Date: April 14, 2019
End Date: April 22, 2019
Conference Session: Track: Learning Spaces, Pedagogy, & Curriculum Design Technical Session 6
Tagged Topics: Diversity and Learning Spaces, Pedagogy & Curriculum Design
Page Count: 13
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--31768
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/31768
Download Count: 355

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Paper Authors

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Adam Stark Masters Virginia Tech

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Adam S. Masters is a doctoral student and Graduate Research Assistant at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. They received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from University of Delaware and are currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Engineering Education at Virginia Tech. Adam's research interests include access, equity and social justice in engineering.

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Lisa D. McNair Virginia Tech

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Lisa D. McNair is a Professor of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech, where she also serves as Director of the Center for Research in SEAD Education at the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology (ICAT). Her research interests include interdisciplinary collaboration, design education, communication studies, identity theory and reflective practice. Projects supported by the National Science Foundation include exploring disciplines as cultures, liberatory maker spaces, and a RED grant to increase pathways in ECE for the professional formation of engineers.

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Donna M. Riley Purdue University, West Lafayette

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Donna Riley is Kamyar Haghighi Head of the School of Engineering Education and Professor of Engineering Education at Purdue University.

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Abstract

CoNECD Track: Gender CoNECD Keywords: Race/Ethnicity, Gender, Disability, LGBTQIA+

Often in diversity and inclusion research, the goal is to represent the perspectives of those who are ‘not at the table,’ but seldom do research methods provide the participants an actual seat ‘at the table.’ Informed by a participatory action research approach, we partnered with study participants, positioning them as our co-researchers. Together, we employed an unconference (also known as an Open Space Technology workshop) as a research method in order to elevate the voices of study participants, provide space for them to create a meaningful network, and maximize their collective expertise. Unconferences are gatherings that have no pre-set agenda; instead participants are convened around a central theme and the agenda is collaboratively designed by the attendees. This open-ended structure allows participants to initiate sessions on topics that matter to them; engage in inquiry, reflection, and learning; and develop plans, recommendations, and a record of the proceedings as the process unfolds.

In the context of a research study, an unconference poses a high risk, high reward situation. The researcher/facilitator has very little control over the direction of the event and the types of data produced (i.e., high risk), whereas giving participants ownership and control generates insights that may be impossible to gather using other research methods (i.e., high reward). In June 2018, we held the ‘Unconference on Making Liberatory Spaces,’ bringing together representatives from diverse, inclusive, liberatory maker spaces from around the country to share their organizations’ stories and exchange best practices regarding inclusion of diverse populations in maker spaces. In this paper, we will share our planning process and the lessons we learned through planning and hosting our unconference — including event planning decisions, recruitment of participants, facilitation techniques, data collection methods, and IRB procedures — and discuss how an unconference could be employed by other researchers, especially those exploring emerging topics.

Citation
Format

Masters, A. S., & McNair, L. D., & Riley, D. M. (2019, April), High Risk (With Hope For) High Reward: Lessons Learned from Planning and Hosting an Unconference Paper presented at 2019 CoNECD - The Collaborative Network for Engineering and Computing Diversity , Crystal City, Virginia. 10.18260/1-2--31768

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - CoNECD Track: Gender
CoNECD Keywords: Race/Ethnicity, Gender, Disability, LGBTQIA+

Often in diversity and inclusion research, the goal is to represent the perspectives of those who are ‘not at the table,’ but seldom do research methods provide the participants an actual seat ‘at the table.’ Informed by a participatory action research approach, we partnered with study participants, positioning them as our co-researchers. Together, we employed an unconference (also known as an Open Space Technology workshop) as a research method in order to elevate the voices of study participants, provide space for them to create a meaningful network, and maximize their collective expertise. Unconferences are gatherings that have no pre-set agenda; instead participants are convened around a central theme and the agenda is collaboratively designed by the attendees. This open-ended structure allows participants to initiate sessions on topics that matter to them; engage in inquiry, reflection, and learning; and develop plans, recommendations, and a record of the proceedings as the process unfolds. 

In the context of a research study, an unconference poses a high risk, high reward situation. The researcher/facilitator has very little control over the direction of the event and the types of data produced (i.e., high risk), whereas giving participants ownership and control generates insights that may be impossible to gather using other research methods (i.e., high reward). In June 2018, we held the ‘Unconference on Making Liberatory Spaces,’ bringing together representatives from diverse, inclusive, liberatory maker spaces from around the country to share their organizations’ stories and exchange best practices regarding inclusion of diverse populations in maker spaces. In this paper, we will share our planning process and the lessons we learned through planning and hosting our unconference — including event planning decisions, recruitment of participants, facilitation techniques, data collection methods, and IRB procedures — and discuss how an unconference could be employed by other researchers, especially those exploring emerging topics. 

AU  - Adam Stark Masters
AU  - Lisa D. McNair
AU  - Donna M. Riley
CY  - Crystal City, Virginia
DA  - 2019/04/14
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - High Risk (With Hope For) High Reward: Lessons Learned from Planning and Hosting an Unconference
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/31768
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--31768
ER  -