learning communities

Tommi LaitioDemos HelsinkiIntroduction to Joint Master´s StudiesAalto University, Department of Design29/8/2012

you have 2 minutes.

list all the groups you belong to.

Residents of Helsinki

WomenMen

Children and young people

Working age

Retired

Residents of Suburbs

DowntownPeople

Rich

Middle Class

Poor

Straight

Gay

or?

Dog owners

Dog owners Cross-

countryskiers

Cross-countryskiers

Dog owners

Residents of Paloheinä

Cross-countryskiers

Dog owners

Residents of Paloheinä

SOK co-opmembers

Cross-countryskiers

Dog owners

Residents of Paloheinä

SOK co-opmembers

Cyclists

a bit of both.

increasing fragmentation into lifestyles and groups.

consumption tells more about shared lifestyles

than socio-economic differences.

peer revolution

• Finding peers and forming communities does not require the same structures as before

in order to be a group, it needs:

1) enterprise2) domain

3) repertoire4) engagement

Communities of practice (Wenger)

• The enterprise is joint not in that everybody believes the same thing or agrees with everything, but in that it is communally negotiated.

• A community of practice is neither a haven of togetherness nor an island of intimacy insulated from political and social relations.

• Ability to shape the practice of our communities is an important part of our experience of participation.

why are groups powerful

groups define what is considered normal

• Examples:

How we behave in a student building?

How much energy we use compared to our neighbours?

if the group is an essential part of our

identity, we are willing to adapt

dramatically to be accepted.

groups support us when engaging in something new

• Examples:

North Karelia Project

Restaurant Day

we deny the group´s impact because we wish to drive our

own lives.

groups improve our wellbeing: we feel useful, competent and needed

• Examples:

Koulu School

Volunteering

Elderly Care

groups enable us to get more with less

• Examples:

Mutual Insurance Companies

Time Banks

Airbnb

if the group´s wellbeing is

essential for us, we do not expect

immediate paybacks.

collaborative design(s)

lessons learned

• You still need a designer to interpret and lead• Build humanity into the system• Award for achievement and working for the common• Don´t force motivation• Make joining easy• Don´t underestimate people´s willingness to help• Thank, thank and thank again

characteristics of an intelligent group

• Social sensitivity“Did I understand you correctly?”

• EqualityEverybody talks

• Amount of womenthe more, the better

Evidence for a Collective Intelligence Factor in the Performance of Human Groups (Science)

Anita Williams Woolley, Christopher F. Chabris, Alex Pentland, Nada Hashmi and Thomas W. Malone.

How can you design with a group?

1) Go and interview people on groups they belong to.2) Based on the interviews, identify three different kind of groups.3) Describe their enterprise, domain, repertoire and engagement.4) Choose one.3) Tell how would you go about designing with one of them.

Researcher Tommi LaitioDemos Helsinki

twitter: tommilaitiotommi.laitio (a) demos.fi

www.demos.fislideshare.net/demoshelsinki