What can go wrong while discussing in intergenerational groups?

You have probably experienced it many times: There is an important topic to discuss in a group of people. The people invited are ‘experts’ in the topic – meaning that they all know a lot about the topic, but may have very different perspectives. There is a discussion moderator – the person who clarifies the topic and invites all to the discussion. The moderator probably underlines that all the opinions and voices are important and invites all to speak. Then the discussion begins.

You have probably experienced that there would always be people, who would talk more, and people who would talk less or will not talk at all. It may happen because we are different. Some of us are just more extravert than introvert. Some of us like to talk in public, and some are shy. An additional layer usually appears when we are discussing in intergenerational groups. Then the "older and more experienced" may be subconsciously given a wider space than the ‘young’. But what if the topic is equally important for all the generations present, all have some important, complementary bit of information/experience, and we would hear and consider everyone’s voice?

Some other disadvantages that may appear in “classic” group discussions are: Losing focus on the issue agreed upon, participants dominating dialogue/imposing their ideas, group-thinking, reporters making the notes from the discussions missing a few points and/or transcript of the ideas being filtered through the eyes of the reporter;  distorted ideas while the wording/meaning of the idea is modified while reporting… At the stage of taking the final decisions/making conclusions:  Popular vote = choice of the most popular ideas to implement. Instead of those having the maximal potential to achieve the desired change, distorted final recommendations, ”somebody” responsible for making the change/follow-up action…. Do you also have such experiences?

How to remedy the above-mentioned disadvantages to ensure all the voices would be equally heard in an intergenerational group discussion?

Is it possible to make sure all the voices would be equally heard and considered? Yes, it is. There is a methodology for that: Structured Dialogic Design Process (SDDP).

Structured Dialogic Design Process (SDDP) is a methodology that enables groups of stakeholders to discuss an issue in a structured democratic manner that enables them to achieve results. It is a deeply reasoned, scientific, psychosocial methodology that has evolved from over 37 years of development to its current implementation as a software-supported process for large-scale, collaborative design.

It is being called, in exchange, Structured Democratic Dialogue (SDD) methodology.

The SDDP has several stages, realized during a structured group workshop called co-laboratory:

1. Ideas generation: The participants are invited to answer the so-called “triggering question” formulated by a core group of people called the ‘Knowledge Management Team’ at a round-table session. All responses to the triggering question (one idea in one sentence) are recorded using specialized software, printed and posted (or projected) on the wall.

2. Clarification: The authors of the proposed ideas clarify and describe their ideas for better understanding and to avoid overlapping.

3. Clustering: The ideas are clustered (bottom-up) into categories based on similar attributes to discover the common dimensions.

4. Voting: All participants get five votes and are asked to choose their five favourite (most important to them) ideas. Only the ideas that received votes get to the next and most important phase.

5. Influence Map: Participants are asked to explore the influences of one idea on another. If the answer is ‘yes’ (great majority applied) an influence is recorded in the special software (CogniScope/ Concertina), which minimizes the number of queries by using a mathematical algorithm known as Interpretive Structural Modeling.

6. The relations recorded produce an ‘influence tree’ (also referred to as a ‘Wall of Obstacles,’ ‘Vision Map’, or ‘Action Map’). The ‘influence tree’ is presented to the participants, subject to discussion.

7. Report: Based on the whole process and the ‘influence tree’ developed, it is possible to formulate recommendations and an action plan, answering the triggering question.

The recommendations will be based on a good understanding and discussion of the subject matter by a group of participants with various profiles – thus – offering various perspectives. Moreover, the process is run based on scientific findings and knowledge about human brain functioning.

What about the challenges and disadvantages of the SDDP co-laboratories?

The Foundation of Alternative Educational Initiatives’ (FAIE) team's experience with co-running SDDP
co-laboratories clearly shows that staying focused for several hours is not easy to listen to what others say. It may become tiring. Some people are getting bored, saying the workshop is too static and too little dynamic. This is characteristic of the full-time SDDP co-laboratories.

For shorter workshops, while we were only inviting people to experience parts of the process – as at the E4All workshop – the group suggested we should have organised some ice-breaking activities first. This could facilitate the discussion at the workshop.

The FAIE Team experience also proves that whether we are implementing the whole, full SDD process or just making its shorter demonstration, the co–laboratory result makes up for all difficulties. It just brings the “wow!” effect. You discover you understand better now. You are ready to make a sound, evidence-based action plan. And you see and understand the interconnections and interdependencies.
 

Finally: How to make the change happen?

As you and the people discussing have understood and talked through the topic: Make an action plan based on the ‘influence tree’. Enrol an action team. Assign one responsible person to each identified task. And start working. You have a great chance to succeed.

Inspired by E4All workshop: About the E4All training.

This article is inspired by the short-term joint staff training event in Madrid, Spain, in November 2021. The participants were the intergenerational group of adult educators from six EU countries: Poland, Italy, Spain, Latvia, Greece and Austria.

The training was realized within the European project ”E4All. More attractive and inclusive education for all generations", co-financed by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.

The project focuses on supporting adult educators in joining various generations of adult learners in a common educational process that allows learning from each other, learning with each other and learning about each other.

The Partnership was built using two main criteria:
- To have experience in working both with young adults (18 – 35 years old) and with senior learners (60+) and
- to be an expert in one of the fields identified as a challenge and topic of interest for intergenerational learning.

The E4All Partners' areas of expertise are:
- Providing quality information about European educational mobilities - Erasmus+ opportunities for all generations. EU citizenship rights facilitate lifelong learning in the EU. The European identity (Foundation of Alternative Educational Initiatives, PL, www.fundacjaaie.eu)
- The role of foreign language learning in preparation for being mobile in the EU. Models, approaches, methods. Cultural and linguistic Mediation (Escuela Oficial de Idiomas Madrid-Villaverde, ES, www.eoivillaverde.com)
- Game-based solutions supporting adult education for all generations. Education and fun. Education and inclusiveness (Challedu, GR, www.challedu.com/ )
- Digital competencies, including media literacy and critical thinking; blended learning, distance learning, and flipped learning (European Initiative for Education, AT, www.advanced-training.net)
- Organising and running environmental education, promoting ecological lifestyle in everyday life (Ecological Future Education, LV,  www.efe.lv )
- Intergenerational learning, intergenerational courses, workshops and activities planning, organisation and leading (ASSOCIAZIONE CULTURALE EDUVITA E.T.S., IT,  www.eduvita.it

During the E4All project, two 3-days long European training sessions were organized, covering all six topics.

The course programmes were tailor-made to the needs expressed by the educators of the participating organisations. The assumption was that each project partner would run one of the workshops on the topic the organization is an expert at.

This article is inspired by the workshop presenting Structured Democratic Dialogue co-laboratory methodology, having three learning goals:

1. Learning the essentials of the Structured Democratic Dialogue (SDD) methodology; experiencing the elements of the SDD co-laboratory in practice.
2. Upgrading the knowledge concerning good planning practices, realising and evaluating adult education staff mobilities possible within the Erasmus+ programme, KA1.
3. Increasing awareness about Erasmus+ Programme for all generations and the opportunities it offers.

The triggering question agreed upon was: “What conditions need to be fulfilled to organize an ideal adult education mobility?”

The Foundation of Alternative Educational Initiatives (FAIE) team first experienced SDD co-laboratory in 2015. Afterwards, the team tested elements of the methodology on several occasions in Poland and 2017 and completed the dedicated training for SDD facilitators in Nicosia, delivered by the Future Worlds Center experts. After that, the team is still practising using the SDD process, among others – in intergenerational groups. The workshop run within the E4All project was the first for an international group.

If you wish to learn more about the SDDP, have a look here: https://www.futureworlds.eu/wiki/Dialogic_Design_Science
 

Related articles:

Practical experience in intergenerational training of digital competencies: https://epale.ec.europa.eu/en/blog/practical-experience-intergenerational-training-digital-competencies 

"InterMedia - Implementation of Interactivity & multimedia-based content with Multiple Devices": https://epale.ec.europa.eu/en/private/intermedia-implementation-interactivity-multimedia-based-content-multiple-devices/h5p

“How to make education be more attractive and inclusive for all generations?”: https://epale.ec.europa.eu/en/blog/how-make-education-more-attractive-and-inclusive-all-generations

“MEDIATING THE MEDIATION - EOI Madrid-Villaverde and El Espinillo. Contribution to the E4ALL KA204 ERASMUS+ PROJECT”: https://epale.ec.europa.eu/en/blog/mediating-mediation-eoi-madrid-villaverde-and-el-espinillo-contribution-e4all-ka204-erasmus