| Session Title: What We Don’t Say Can Hurt Us: Working with Undiscussables |
| Think Tank Session 244 to be held in Lone Star C on Thursday, Nov 11, 10:55 AM to 12:25 PM |
| Sponsored by the Collaborative, Participatory & Empowerment Evaluation TIG |
| Presenter(s): |
| Alexis Kaminsky, Kaminsky Consulting, akaminsky@comcast.net |
| Discussant(s): |
| Hazel Symonette, University of Wisconsin, hsymonette@odos.wisc.edu |
| Jennifer Dewey, James Bell Associates, dewey@jbassoc.com |
| Virginia Dick, University of Georgia, vdick@cuiog.uga.edu |
| Maggie Dannreuther, Stennis Space Center, maggied@ngi.msstate.edu |
| Ranjana Damle, Albuquerque Public Schools, damle@aps.edu |
| Elena Polus, Iowa State University, elenap@iastate.edu |
| Abstract: Silence--what we don’t, won’t or can’t say--is one means of controlling information, reflection, and action in evaluation. Frequently, silences grow out of issues related to gender, race, and class but not always. They can happen any time people from different backgrounds, organizations, aptitudes, and interests come together. However, the greater the differences, the more pronounced the challenge to break the silence. How do we help ourselves and our evaluation participants open up spaces to explore the silences that keep us “safe” but stuck? Participants in this session will explore disrupting silences in small groups based on short practice-based vignettes shared by the session’s presenters. Small group discussion will examine: (1) strengths and limitations of different approaches, (2) identification of additional approaches, and (3) identification of critical contextual factors that foster or inhibit movement. The whole group will reconvene to share observations and elucidate questions that merit further attention. |