Felt, leaves and branches Teaching show case. Aims of the session Introduce Ketso Mini exercise to experience Ketso (engaging students in problem based

Felt, leaves and branches

Teaching show case

Aims of the session

• Introduce Ketso• Mini exercise to experience Ketso

(engaging students in problem based learning)

• Learn from each other – share ideas and practice

• Develop ideas for ‘our projects’ • Introduce how Ketso can be used

in teaching and in built environment and community planning contexts

Ketso is a hands-on kit for creative groupwork

‘Ketso’ means action in Lesotho, where it was invented in 1995

Women didn’t speak in mixed gender groups

Ketso was used in Southern Africa to help communities change this...

…to this: sustainable living

Developed in PhD research at UoM

… working to develop a vision for a sustainable North Manchester

Local enthusiasm from the plans developed moved a former landfill site from 30th ….

... to first on the list. The site received £1.7 million of Newlands funding.

Reaction from North Manchester Resident

• “Because a lot of people are like me and they are not good at speaking if there are more than two or three people around, but they have things to say.

• This is magnificent at getting people to participate, and very important”

Ketso has been used in contexts ranging from research with Tesco (over 200 staff)

… to engaging with stakeholders of all ages and backgrounds in health related issues

… to community development and engagement in Jordan, Rwanda, South Africa & Bangladesh

… to teaching and learning at all levels

Won Association of European Schools of Planning 2011 Excellence in Teaching Prize

Coloured leaves for different questions (write on the coloured side)

We will introduce each stage, passing around the new leaf colour and with the bell

You will have about 5 - 10 minutes for each stage in total (a bit of a speed exercise)

Bell to move to next stage – first ring person talking has a moment to finish what saying

Outcomes from this workshop

Engaging students in problem based learning

• What works well?

• Challenges and problems

• Solutions to challenges


• What works well? What in what we already do is effective?

Everyone take a pen and some leaves

Always use the ‘magic pens’ so we can wash the leaves clean after use!

Put 1 idea per leaf, write so others can read

First take a few moments on your OWN to develop your ideas…



Now unfold the felt

Take it in turns to read out your ideas – one person reads one idea at a time…

… going around the circle. Place leaves on the felt as you read them out

Discuss the ideas after they are all on the felt

Point leaves at branches

Branches provide themes, some blanks

Enhancing the student experience


• Table swap – what is important, & why? Any comments or questions?



• Challenges and problems – think of a KEY challenge

You can move ideas around



• Challenges and problems

• Solutions to challenges

You can think ‘outside of the box’

Cluster similar ideas

Ketso grid for action plan

Eight takeaways – creative engagement

• Stakeholders have the solutions – you never know where the creativity will come from

• Everyone has a voice - give everyone a way to make an input at the same time

• Individual and group time – think then share - give people time on their own to develop ideas before sharing

• Building a shared picture – encourage participants to make connections and patterns from their ideas

Eight takeaways – creative engagement

• Stakeholders have the solutions • Everyone has a voice• Individual and group time • Building a shared picture • Activity based – something to do for each stage• Start with the positive - ask what is going well?

what works? • End with solutions not problems - give some time

to develop solutions to problems• Lead into action - remember takeaway messages &

action points, what happens next?

How does Ketso help you do these?

• Stakeholders have the solutions • Everyone has a voice • Individual and group time• Building a shared picture• Activity based • Start with the positive• End with solutions not problems• Lead into action

Eight takeaways – how Ketso helps

• Stakeholders have the solutions - felt is there to capture ideas• Everyone has a voice – everyone has a pen and leaves• Individual and group time –giving out the leaves ‘re-sets’ the

process – different stages• Building a shared picture – you can move the leaves around and

use icons• Activity-led – leaves, icons – decide what you want to ask and assign

a bit of kit to that stage• Start with the positive – colours have an underlying metaphor –

what is the soil we have to grow ideas in?• End with solutions not problems – green shoots from the grey of

the clouds• Action – use icons and comments cards to note actions!• Making group meaning from individual ideas – leaves can move,

use branches to give (some) structure

Make productive use of people’s time

Give everyone a voice – commitment

Harness creativity of people all levels

Each bit of the kit helps lead you through running a workshop

Launched as a company in 2009

Social mission - Transform the way we communicate, collaborate and learn worldwide

Business model – helping people run good workshops by selling & renting kits…

…. & providing free open source resources: workshop plans, slideshows, training videos

Create job opportunities for disadvantaged people in manufacture

The kits are assembled in a sheltered workshop in the UK

Customers include:

• Public Sector:• Merseycare NHS• National School of Government• Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Environment Agency• Cumbria County Council, South Lakes District Council

• Voluntary Sector: • The Equality Network• GroundWork• Schumacher Institute• The IONA Community• The Big Life Company

• Private Sector: • Tesco• United Utilities

University customers include:

• Cambridge • Durham • Edinburgh • Glasgow • Hull Business School• Lancaster • Leeds Metropolitan• Liverpool • Manchester • Newcastle• Portsmouth • Pretoria • Salford • Sheffield • Sussex• Worcester

Student Feedback

Students engage with each other

Ideas being heard

• In past experiences of group work, I have often taken a backseat in group discussion as other more outspoken characters tend to hold the discussion...

• I enjoyed Ketso as I felt it gave everyone a higher sense of equality.

Undergraduate first year student

Students learn from each other

Developing ideas

• One of the things I was amazed at was that we had so many ideas, as a group we were bouncing ideas off each other taking one member’s idea and developing it.

• This made me very optimistic about the future of the module and strengthened my positive attitude, which has continued throughout the module.

Undergraduate second year student

See ideas develop

Time management

• I knew we were pushed for time but actually stopping and reviewing the situation by analysing what we had to do and by when really made myself and the group a lot more effective and efficient in our decisions.


Supports effective groupwork

• Problems, issues, and solutions arose which potentially wouldn’t have entered my mind, whilst experiencing our group connect and energise each other.

• I have to say, I was impressed.


Allows you to give feedback

Allows peers to give feedback

• One area of the workshop I found extremely beneficial was moving around to view the other groups’ emerging Ketsos.

• • It provided independent observations with regard to

our Ketso maps, providing comments.

• Viewing the development of others’ ideas enabled me to change my perceptions.

Postgraduate student

International students can engage

• The Ketso is particularly useful for me to communicate with members. My English level is low… It makes me difficult to actively participate group projects.

• Last semester I could not insist my opinion…• However, with the great tool covering many

different kinds of group meetings I was able to clearly suggest my thought on a meeting.

Used at many different stages – expectations, project planning, review & revision

Embedded inclusive education

Supports students with dyslexia

• “ I like the fact it is so visual, you can really see your ideas and the links between them and other people’s ideas…

• I like the way you can move the ideas around, it makes it practical and is more inviting than a list.”

International students can engage

• The Ketso is particularly useful for me to communicate with members. My English level is low… It makes me difficult to actively participate group projects.

• Last semester I could not insist my opinion…• However, with the great tool covering many

different kinds of group meetings I was able to clearly suggest my thought on a meeting.

Widening participation and access

Skills development (e.g. enterprise education - Durham, Cambridge,

Birmingham, Sussex, Newcastle, Liverpool, Manchester, Surrey, Manchester)

Data gathering – e.g. focus groups

Ideas can be captured and typed up

…for later analysis.

Enterprising Midlands - Types of Ideas Developed

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Total

Existing assets

Future possibilities

Problems

Goals

Group No (All)

Count of Meaning

Drop Category Fields Here

Meaning

Healthy London Types of Ideas

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

Total

Existing assets


Problems

Goals

(blank)

Group No (All)

Count of Meaning


Meaning

Sustainable Port - Types of Ideas

0

50

100

150

200

250

Total

Existing assets


Problems

Goals

Group No (All)

Count of Meaning


Meaning

A Sustainable Port in Portsmouth - Ideas by Branch Type

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Activities Ecology Economics Environment Environment (built) Landscapes Society StakeholderEngagement

Goals

Problems


Existing assets

Group No (All)

Count of Theme on Branch

Theme on Branch

Meaning

Public engagement with research

BASICS of planning a workshop – what do you think this acronym might stand for?

• B• A• S• I• C• S

BASICS of planning a workshop

• Beginnings

• Activities

• Sequencing

• Inputs

• Conclusions

• Skippables, squashables and supplements

BASICS

• Beginnings• Activities

Feedback during a conference from delegates

BASICS

• Beginnings• Activities• Sequencing

BASICS

• Beginnings• Activities• Sequencing

Enhancing the student experience

Total Ideas by colour

128

121

100

63

- 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

What works well


Challenges

Opportunities

BASICS

• Beginnings

• Activities

• Sequencing

• Inputs

Creative Futures - Moston ValeExisting Assets ordered by E.A.S.E.L.

37

9

57

29

15

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Category of E.A.S.E.L.

Nu

mb

er

of

Ide

as

Economics

Activities

Social Capital

Elements andSettlements

Landscapes

Big Society and the Environment

Number of Ideas by Branch

0 50 100 150 200

Political

Environment

Affects All

Environment (built)

Landscape and Ecology

Blank

Activities

Social

Economics

Barriers

Opportunities

Solutions

Big Society and the Environment

Total Ideas by colour

-

190

241

180

- 50 100 150 200 250 300

Solutions

Barriers

Opportunities

Surprising emergent themesNumber of Ideas by Cross-Cutting Theme

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Planning system

Assets and ownership

Business

New business models

Volunteering opportunities

Use of natural resources

Creativity and design

Outdoor activities

Bureaucracy

Time

Learning from each other

Accountability and gaps

Perceptions

Democracy

Levels of scale

Motivation

Partnerships and sharing

Capacity building

Support and facilitation

Inequality and power

Sustainability and integration

Finance

Barriers

Opportunities

Solutions

Emergent themes – researchers search for themes from ideas

Speed exercise using colours to ask different questions only, some clustering

Emergent themes

Methods@Manchester Fair - Your Research

0 50 100 150

Real world problems

Develop knowledge

Inspiration

Impact

Personal motivation and pressures

Networking

Professional development

Methodology skills

Em

erg

en

t th

em

es

Number of ideas

What do you hope to get fromresearch training?

What inspired you do to yourresearch?

Student Feedback – Manchester Methods Fair

Student Feedback

Feedback on Fair

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Food

Posters

Logistics and the Space

Ketso

Overall

Make Contacts and Networking

Workshops

Research Talks

Em

erg

ent

Th

eme

Number of ideas

Best aspects ofthe fairWhat could beimproved

Emergent themes around expectations

What do you hope to get from the fair?

0 20 40 60 80

Ketso

Later Stage Research Concerns

Specific Research Skills Attainment

Research Perspective

Ideas and Inspiration

General Knowledge Improvement

Make Contacts and Networking

Em

erg

ent

them

e

Number of ideas

What do youhope to get fromthe fair?

Iterative process – first pass at themes for discussion in EU funded research meeting

42 ideas – just those with ticks by them (done during the workshop)

Iterative process – all ideas shown against the research themes EU FP7 SMARTest research

159 ideas – type up finished later

Number of Ideas by Branch

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Blank

Research andDevelopment

Implementationand Maintenance

Promotion andAcceptance

Strengths

Opportunities

Problems and Challenges

Iterative process – all ideas shown against the workpackage teams (one team per felt)

Number of Ideas by Team

0 10 20 30 40 50

4

1

2

3

TeamNumber

Strengths

Opportunities

Problems and Challenges

BASICS

• Beginnings

• Activities

• Sequencing

• Inputs

• Conclusions

Health and wellbeing example



BASICS

• Beginnings

• Activities

• Sequencing

• Inputs

• Conclusions

• Skippables, squashables and supplements

Documents

Felt, leaves and branches Teaching show case. Aims of the session Introduce Ketso Mini exercise to experience Ketso (engaging students in problem based