General reflections on documenting and pathway
The
diploma changed in 2013/2014 so I had to refamiliarise myself with the
accrediation criteria. I got used the 'old' criteria such as 'community building',
'dissemination' and 'symmetry' and was quite fond of them. To me they
spelt out exactuly what I needed to do.
The new wording is looser and I find it hard to understand (what is it getting at?) (sorry!) (Because it is trying to allow for more flexibility and creativity ) I had to Creatively Use and Respond to change. I kept re-designing how I would finish the Diploma. and perhaps made more work for myself in the process.
The new wording is looser and I find it hard to understand (what is it getting at?) (sorry!) (Because it is trying to allow for more flexibility and creativity ) I had to Creatively Use and Respond to change. I kept re-designing how I would finish the Diploma. and perhaps made more work for myself in the process.
Integrating Documenting and Designing
It took 3 years to get round to write up Permaculture Kids Club (see extract below from Action learning Journal late 2013) as I was struggling with deciding on format. Also, it is harder to write up something you have been doing for years, likewise with the Plot 60a design and St Saviour's Edible Garden. I felt much more like a proper designer when I learnt to start the design and documentation simultaneously as I did with J's bird garden and Working in the Gift.
Documenting on weebly has been sometimes slow. It can take a whole day to get a design up, that's before proof-reading! I found it harder to remember what I'd written if I'd left a few days inbetween, so it works better for me to do a little everyday.
I found it difficult to evaluate myself and reflect on progress as a designer, so it was helpful to have feedback from peers, which I've included in the design appendices.
Accreditation
In December I started using a progress table to see if I was making any headway with documenting. It seems some designs are nearly finished so that was encouraging (Momentum). I decided I could possibly accredit at the July 2015 London Permaculture Festival if I can stay on track with documenting. It makes sense to me to accredit there, it's in London where I live, affordable and I'm familiar with the rooms and I've been every year for a few years now and enjoy the atmosphere.
What I learnt...
1. Timelines on paper aren't always realistic! when I broke tasks down into this much detail, I started to feel micromanaged by myself (chopping tasks up so finely was useful as a to do list but it sometimes felt large and unweildy) so preferred to keep the pathway broad and more organic looking! (See Action Learning Pathway.)
Though I have learnt to be more organised and to 'think before doing' a bit more (or else end up with unfinished work!)
2. Because I've been on the Diploma for over 7 years, what I wanted to design changed a few times so pathway needed to be flexible enough to update. (Again see Action Learning Pathway.)
3. I don't experience documenting as playful. I do it alone, on the computer usually. However I do enjoy writing and there is satisfaction when something feels completed. I often have to re-motivate myself to document and be creative about finding ways to integrate that into daily life. I've used Small and slow solutions to help me with this, recently doing about 2 hours a day, 3 or 4 times a week in Winter. December 2014: I 've had to be more disciplined that I have been with myself for a long time! I would definitely recommend documenting as you go to people embarking on a diploma. (Integrate rather than segregate). Having to write up what I did ages ago impacts on what I'm doing currently. (I had to keep Dec 2014/Jan and Feb 2015 free of new commitments to be able to focus on Diploma Portfolio, and that includes teaching opportunities).
April 2015: Having to prepare for Final Assessment in May 2015, I tried designating days as 'documenting retreat days' with a timetable of 90 min slots and 30 min breaks, plus hour for lunch. The breaks I kept simple, coffee, a bit of tidying or yoga, no emails or phone. No interruptions, no doing anything else till I'd finished around 4pm! Quite disciplined but very productive. I found my head cleared in the breaks sufficiently to go on with it!
4. Timeliness
I found that using small and slow solutions sometimes meant I missed the boat. I intended to create a cluster of designs under the umbrella of Urban Food, which include St Saviour's Edible Garden, a garden in Catford, a garden in Brockley, Plot 60a and Lamas Pyjamas backyard. However 2 of them were clients that either moved away or lost interest in having a gardener grow their food so what I didn't end the design cycle - I'd assumed I had all the time in the world and the designs didn't get written up. I've since learnt to document as I go.
5. Format
I resisted putting my portfolio online for quite some time! I enjoy handling books, sticking things in, sketching and generally compulsive note-taking if there’s anything interesting going on. (There usually is).
I experimented with different formats prior to Interim Assessment: a scrapbook for St Saviour's Edible Garden, folders of varying sizes (A2 for Plot 60a) and some early design on a wordpress blog. The feedback I received was that the work needed to be more coherent, cohesive and easy to navigate, so I had to re-think the formats. Maybe put it online eventually. I didn’t enjoy being on the computer in Summer and Autumn, I’d rather be outdoors doing stuff. My tutor advised me to write on paper then upload later, advice which I took - up to a point! I realised I was not OHIO-ing which felt like a bit of waste of time (OHIO = only handle it once) and decided to put some work straight on to blog. Then came Winter again (2014) and I was fine to knuckle down and sit at the screen for a few hours a day. As I've said in the PMI below, blogs are easy to go back and edit , so that’s another plus and they don’t involve reams of paper and ink usage.
6. Frameworks - once my tutor had pointed out that I needed to use the framework to also document and 'show' the design, it became easier. She also suggested an introduction/background to designs which explicitly state the intentions behind doing it as well as a reflection section at the end.
I notice I have used SADIM or a variation of it an awful lot and as a do differently I would have used Looby's Web a bit more. ( I did use on my first attempt at writing up St Saviour's edible Garden in scrapbook form, which worked for me, though the scrapbook form didn't so well). I haven't used CEAP, except in the Pavilliion Triangle write-up in Supplementary Evidence, as I prefer SADIM and OBREDIM(et). However there don't seem to be many other frameworks so I tried making some up, see J's bird garden, and Design 4, The Mystery of Time. I noticed that the only framework with Vision explicit as a stage was Looby's web which I think is a bit of a shame as Vision is a hugely important part of the design process.
Though I have learnt to be more organised and to 'think before doing' a bit more (or else end up with unfinished work!)
2. Because I've been on the Diploma for over 7 years, what I wanted to design changed a few times so pathway needed to be flexible enough to update. (Again see Action Learning Pathway.)
3. I don't experience documenting as playful. I do it alone, on the computer usually. However I do enjoy writing and there is satisfaction when something feels completed. I often have to re-motivate myself to document and be creative about finding ways to integrate that into daily life. I've used Small and slow solutions to help me with this, recently doing about 2 hours a day, 3 or 4 times a week in Winter. December 2014: I 've had to be more disciplined that I have been with myself for a long time! I would definitely recommend documenting as you go to people embarking on a diploma. (Integrate rather than segregate). Having to write up what I did ages ago impacts on what I'm doing currently. (I had to keep Dec 2014/Jan and Feb 2015 free of new commitments to be able to focus on Diploma Portfolio, and that includes teaching opportunities).
April 2015: Having to prepare for Final Assessment in May 2015, I tried designating days as 'documenting retreat days' with a timetable of 90 min slots and 30 min breaks, plus hour for lunch. The breaks I kept simple, coffee, a bit of tidying or yoga, no emails or phone. No interruptions, no doing anything else till I'd finished around 4pm! Quite disciplined but very productive. I found my head cleared in the breaks sufficiently to go on with it!
4. Timeliness
I found that using small and slow solutions sometimes meant I missed the boat. I intended to create a cluster of designs under the umbrella of Urban Food, which include St Saviour's Edible Garden, a garden in Catford, a garden in Brockley, Plot 60a and Lamas Pyjamas backyard. However 2 of them were clients that either moved away or lost interest in having a gardener grow their food so what I didn't end the design cycle - I'd assumed I had all the time in the world and the designs didn't get written up. I've since learnt to document as I go.
5. Format
I resisted putting my portfolio online for quite some time! I enjoy handling books, sticking things in, sketching and generally compulsive note-taking if there’s anything interesting going on. (There usually is).
I experimented with different formats prior to Interim Assessment: a scrapbook for St Saviour's Edible Garden, folders of varying sizes (A2 for Plot 60a) and some early design on a wordpress blog. The feedback I received was that the work needed to be more coherent, cohesive and easy to navigate, so I had to re-think the formats. Maybe put it online eventually. I didn’t enjoy being on the computer in Summer and Autumn, I’d rather be outdoors doing stuff. My tutor advised me to write on paper then upload later, advice which I took - up to a point! I realised I was not OHIO-ing which felt like a bit of waste of time (OHIO = only handle it once) and decided to put some work straight on to blog. Then came Winter again (2014) and I was fine to knuckle down and sit at the screen for a few hours a day. As I've said in the PMI below, blogs are easy to go back and edit , so that’s another plus and they don’t involve reams of paper and ink usage.
6. Frameworks - once my tutor had pointed out that I needed to use the framework to also document and 'show' the design, it became easier. She also suggested an introduction/background to designs which explicitly state the intentions behind doing it as well as a reflection section at the end.
I notice I have used SADIM or a variation of it an awful lot and as a do differently I would have used Looby's Web a bit more. ( I did use on my first attempt at writing up St Saviour's edible Garden in scrapbook form, which worked for me, though the scrapbook form didn't so well). I haven't used CEAP, except in the Pavilliion Triangle write-up in Supplementary Evidence, as I prefer SADIM and OBREDIM(et). However there don't seem to be many other frameworks so I tried making some up, see J's bird garden, and Design 4, The Mystery of Time. I noticed that the only framework with Vision explicit as a stage was Looby's web which I think is a bit of a shame as Vision is a hugely important part of the design process.
PMI evaluation of documentation formats
I felt the need to evaluate two main ways of using PMI see table below so I could the advantages of both (even though my prevailing preference is for offline material, I have to be pragmatic!) (Apply self-regulation and accept feedback!)