Comparing Traditional and Dialogical Conferences
Traditional Conference |
Dialogical Conference |
|
|---|---|---|
Pre-conference preparation |
-rush to finish your research, develop a power point presentation, and, depending on your personal style, practice until you are no longer stressed out or just wing it | -initial contact is made among the track participants, such as the track chairs sharing some inspirational reading or materials that allow you to think deeply about the far reaching implications of your research as it connects to a broader research stream |
Dominant form of communication |
-monologue; information is pushed out from an expert speaker to a passive group audience through formal public presentations in a controlled and managed format | -dialogue; ideas are explored and shaped within active group discussions and informal meetings amid dynamic and shifting relationships |
Broad conference experience |
-sit in sessions that you find particularly interesting; in a good session, get some research sparks that evoke burning questions and issues that you would love to discuss, have the session run out of time with only one or two questions asked; sneak off for shopping or sight seeing because this gets tiring | -sit for many hours among scholars who share a passion for similar research issues, find out about their ongoing projects, share common problems and explore different solutions, find synergies with some of the research projects, explore potential collaborations; leave tired but energized |
General goal |
-present your research as a cumulative part of ‘normal science' stressing the continuities with past research and opportunities for future research; create and operate under a joint vision | -explore a number of competing research ideas, unearth different research visions, explore many possibilities, see how different people follow their own learning needs while helping others to follow their needs, explore distributive knowledge |
Norms for conduct |
-listen quietly, ask questions at the end of the session | -encourage everyone to participate giving time for unexplored views to emerge; energetic but respectful exchanges |
Cocktail hour |
-actively try to meet and connect with researchers in your area | -enjoy the company of people with whom you now have a shared experience and perhaps even an authentic connection |
Conference take away |
-meet a couple of interesting researchers and find out about some new research articles to explore | -a network of research relationships; perhaps lay the ground work for a future special session or even a collaboration |
(Developed and inspired by Bjorn Gustavsen (2001) "Theory and Practice: The Mediating Discourse" in The Handbook of Action Research, ed. Peter Reason and Hilary Bradbury)
