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 Dialogical moment Creating an overall view

Creating new understanding

Creating an overall view through dialogue means that people engaged in dialogue and knowledge creation pay careful attention to each other's thinking. Common understanding is created on the basis of various points of view that are woven together. The end result is new to all participants. Creating an overall view through dialogue can be consciously learned by applying certain methods. This means that while they are engaged in a dialogue, the participants monitor, observe, evaluate and regulate their behaviour and actions. The dialogical actions are

  • weaving a synthesis
  • revealing gaps in thinking and activities
  • opening new paths for the dialogue
  • formulating new questions

The learning situations and knowledge creation situations that are based on the methods can be designed and realised in various ways. Choose a method and plan how to use it to teach particular theoretical or practical skills and knowledge or how to use it in knowledge creation situations. Alternate between the methods to create dialogue-based situations. For a theme of dialogue and collaborative knowledge creation, choose a topic that furthers the participants' thinking or develops the target topic. You can also ask the participants to choose an appropriate theme. Display the method to the participants and give them the instructions. Listen to the dialogue scene of the web service that is mentioned in connection with each method, because it deepens the understanding of the method.

Method 1: Let's weave a synthesis
The goal is that the participants form a synthesis (an overall view of their understanding as it is at the moment) of some matter that they are aiming to learn. The objective is to weave a synthesis so that it includes every participant’s thinking and is therefore a result of the participants' common thinking.
Method 2: Weave a synthesis pearl
The goal is that the participants form a synthesis (an overall view of their understanding as it is at the moment) of some matter that they are aiming to learn. In addition, the objective is that every participant weaves a personal synthesis in their own unique way.
Method 3: Find the missing pieces
The goal is to learn to reveal gaps in one's understanding and knowledge regarding a certain matter, and in order to bridge these gaps to learn to reformulate learning goals into the form of questions. The objective is to learn to combine two methods: Weaving a synthesis and The art of inquiry – the power of questions.
Method 4: Ground-breaking inquiries
The goal is to learn how, while creating new understanding, to formulate questions that guide thinking and knowledge creation towards new directions. Thus, the objective is to learn to use the synthesis to open new paths for the collaborative knowledge creation. Examples of questions that guide the dialogue to new directions can be found in the method card ”The art of inquiry – the power of questions”.