Introducing myself, professionally: I trained (1963-1967) for and was inducted into teaching high school (7-12) science (1966, 1968-1972, 1973). My major was chemistry, and my delights were 'qualitative analysis', colour of elements and compounds and spectrographical analysis (a rather new field in 1963-5), and photography. My minors included biology, geology and anthropology (especially social anthropology writings of Malinowski). My middles covered physics and pure and applied mathematics. I retrained for librarianship (1971-2, 5) and practised in cataloguing (1974-5) and public library management (1976-1992). I studied town planning (1974-6) and operated as research officer in local government (1975-6), developing into local government organisational development interests and practice in a variety of roles (1985-1999). I studied Dispute Resolution (MDR Hons) at UTS (1996-1998), and engaged in further studies to develop a practical understanding of reflective research of practice (1999-present) by a mixture of course work and thesis development. My current professional interests: facilitating team development facilitating corporate strategic planning facilitating professional development by reflective research of practice, either individually, or in peer support groups

The joy of signing off on a thesis for submission, January 2005

Scholarly sources I have found particularly helpful, by challenging and stimulating and helping me clarify my practice thinking: Kenneth Kressel Chris Argyris Argyris and Schon Gregory Bateson Edward deBono John Heron Jack Mezirow Donald Schon Stephen Toulmin

Resources I use in the design of my professional development activity: Self- and other- Awareness tools, for personal and interpersonal interactions: MBTI Various publicly available screens from Whetten and Cameron and other sources Developing understanding of group processes (for effective peer group engagement in cooperative inquiry) Johari window Argyris and Schon's Model II Developing the thinking-action complex Ideas for structured reflective work DeBono's Six Hats

What do the colours represent? In my conceptualising of what is involved in learning to change, I associate the three coloured circles as intersecting aspects of learning, inquiry and evaluation. To learn to change, a professional practitioner (indeed any person) is involved in learning about their learning. One of those learning processes involves the process of inquiry. Further, to learn to change may involve inquiring into inquiry, and evaluating learning and inquiry, and indeed evaluating evaluation itself. Learning to change may involve exploring the embedded assumptions applied in-action, in-practice. There is learning (say the red) that involves inquiry (say blue), it is the learning represented by the mix: purple. There is learning that involves evaluation (say yellow): deciding what you want to learn, and whether what you have learned you are able to enact. This is the learning represented by the mix: orange. There is inquiry which involves evaluation, and evaluation which involves inquiry, it is represented by the mix: green. There is the complex that is learning to change: it is represented by the muddy middle: learning-inquiry-evaluation inextricably connected and dynamically interactive. It is what Donald Schon (1995) calls the 'swampy' territory of 'practice'.

In my conceptualising of what is involved in reflective research of practice, there are likewise three dynamically interactive components. Practice is the arena of red - where the hot buttons live, where there is red (deBono, 1985) emotional thinking that is likely to impede effectiveness in-practice. The arena of Research is designated by blue - systematically undertaking a variety of thinking approaches (deBono's blue hat). The arena that is Reflection is designated by the yellow (which includes deBono's 'speculative thinking' mode). The intersection of reflection on practice, the orange area, for me, represents the activity of reflecting on practice and in that process identifying theory-in-use: the more we understand the theory-in-use (Argyris and Schon's concept), in practice, the greater our potential for congruent activity. The intersection of research on practice has the potential to deliver expertise (the purple of kingship/mastery? - my associations). The intersection of reflection on research delivers a green colour: the green of deBono's creative thinking? The intersection of all three: reflective research of practice is, again, a muddy tertiary brown. For a child 'muddy' can be associated with 'icky'. For me I/C = the integrity of congruence: as we research, by reflection, our practice, we identify our theories-in-use and expose them to the kind of critical scrutiny which might provide us with the creative space to make change to move towards greater expertise by delivering on integrity and congruence in our practice, in our interactions with others.

My colourful hat for my last role as Project Manager in a local government setting

Are you interested in joining me, and other peer practitioners, in exploring current practice concerns by undertaking computer mediated communications with a virtually convened community of practice. If so, join me at Moderated site for peer interactions around current practice concerns

Thesis study 1999-2005: My first focus tested the efficacy of a professional development activity. The design for the activity was based on my conception of reflective research of practice, developed from the work of Kenneth Kressel, and what would be involved in developing such an approach to learning about practice, in-practice. My testing involved two processes: (1) exploring whether the professional development activity, when used with two different groups of professionals, encouraged them to engage in such an approach in their own practice; (2) engaging with my own practitioner experience and comparing my theorising about the experience with that reported in the literature. Findings From this study I have at least two stories to tell. And I share these stories on the basis of one of my findings: sharing reflective stories prompts reciprocal sharing, and shared reflective thinking may challenge perspectives and perceptions, triggering additional learning. Practitioners, by engaging with these stories and using their own active compare-and-contrast, and their own values, may be stimulated to undertake further thinking about their own practice, and its rationale. From such a process may come ideas for change which they are prepared to try in-practice; or a deeper, firmer understanding of why they value their own approach over this other. Either result tends to revitalise intentional action in-practice. The Stories The first story concerns the outcome of conducting the professional development activity design with two groups of professionals: the outcomes of the activity, while not reaching my intended target, indicate the design's merit. The second story concerns the change wrought in myself by the conduct of the inquiry: the first focus on testing the efficacy of a professional development activity shifted to the progressive deepening of my understanding of the theories and practice of learning to change, for an adult learner inquiry, especially inquiry into practice issues, in-practice evaluation, by beginning to enunciate how, and on what basis I was evaluating, and the nature of the relationship between learning, inquiry, and evaluation that constitutes much of intentional action in-practice: its intricate interactivity. In developing my understanding of theory and practice, I draw on the work of scholar-practitioners who have a longstanding engagement with the field, including Argyris, Bateson, Heron, Mezirow and Schon. My conclusions I conclude that learning to change is difficult, complex, and takes time, and it is all of these because, at its most transformative level, it involves learning about learning which may take the professional into inquiring into inquiry and evaluating learning and inquiry, and indeed evaluating evaluation itself. I also conclude that reflective research of practice, or self-study of practice for improvement of practice, can be enhanced. Tools that enhance it include: (1) developing self-awareness; (2) developing reflective work to move progressively into the subtle and the contextual elements of practice; and where possible (3) engaging in this enterprise with a group of peers in a collaborative or cooperative context (4) where participants are focused on taking intentional action developed from inquiry into the thinking-action complex of in-practice activities. To facilitate learning to change involves being aware of its difficulty, complexity and what is required in terms of time. Such an understanding allows the facilitator to affirm this experience for learners so that they are encouraged to persevere.