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Guildford Adventure

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Saved by PBworks
on June 24, 2007 at 2:57:28 pm
 
 
In visualising our conference we wanted to engage participants in a real experience of enquiry so we turned to Russ Law MBE, the not very well known author of ‘Get a life: an introduction to explorativity’. Its purpose is to provide an enjoyable, recreational, social and mildly challenging experience through which participants can undertake some light exercise and discover things they didn’t know about Guildford in the congenial company of fellow adventurers.
I think Russ had a vision of Jerome K Jerome's 'three men in a boat' when he wrote it.
 
 
 
 
 
The ‘explorativity walk’ (jogging is permitted) operates on the principle that participants have the freedom to decide how to do it, who to do it with and what they want to gain from it. The walk proceeds on two parallel levels: questions and tasks. The first level is provided by the traditional “treasure hunt” elements of the trail, with specific answers to be found to a range of questions or clues (some of a cryptic nature), by visiting the staging points en route and then searching and cogitating, individually or in conference with the team.
 
The other level requires participants to carry out certain activities, and engage in enquiring, cooperative, co-creative processes, which are of a less predictable nature and effect. Some of these may be challenging, in that they demand some motivation from participants to go beyond their normal levels of interest and comfort. (By definition, being “explorative” means going beyond limited or routine habits.)
 
By the end of the walk, regardless of whether there are any material prizes, the hope is that those who did it will have been able to gather something that will be of use to them – an idea, some information, a connection, a friendship, a new way of perceiving themselves or others, or simply a feeling of having achieved something small but enjoyable through the flow of experience.
 
If you have the time why not check out
 
Get A Life – An Introduction To Explorativity
 
Explorativity blog:


 Russ will be giving a modest prize (a signed copy of his book) for the best illustrated and animated wiki tale to emerge from the adventure.

 

 

 

Thanks to Jamie Durrant for these amazing pictures.

See if you can work out where they are on your walk.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamie-uk/532155322/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Russ:

 

A guilty conscience forces me to make a contribution here, to share my admiration of these great photos, and to add to the remarks made by Norman.

 

Actually, I think the whole impetus for the Guildford Explorativity Walk/Adventure was Norman's doing really - as was his vital nudging of my thinking around the time when the notion of "explorativity" arose (that's all in the book, so I won't go into it here). Certainly, the Three Men In A Boat concept was his! But as with all explorative things, the process by which the walk was subsequently planned, rehearsed and then developed was in itself an example of a creative, emergent learning experience and of the concept of explorativity itself.

 

Norman emailed me before Christmas with a page of imaginative effusions on the possibility of providing a real-life opportunity for people to undergo an explorative experience and to reflect on it in an appropriate context. His suggestion was a combination of brilliant inspiration and mulled wine, I think. However, we discussed it all in the cold light of day and decided that there was indeed scope for some real learning and fun, if we could get the right components in place.

 

How I approached the challenge

 

The process was fairly straightforward, in fact. A bit of thinking alone; some lively conversations with people; a couple of walks through Guildford in deeply thoughtful mode; some inspiration and serendipitous discoveries; lots of exciting ideas, and then the process of refining and organising all that had been learnt along the way, to produce something ready for presentation.

 

If I can work out how to do it, I will attach a PowerPoint slide show with the threads of this final stage self-evident...

 

Guildford SCEPTrE Challenge trimmed for wiki.ppt 

 

 

And here is a link to the Guildford Adventure's instructions/questions/tasks...

 

The Guildford Explorativity Walk for wiki.doc

 

 

 

 

 

 

And finally, for the moment (after having warmed us up a bit after the chilly introduction to this wiki!), here is the "explorativity questionnaire" for anyone who would like to check their levels...

 

 

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