Documentation:World Cafe/Background
Background
What is a World Café? A World Café is a creative approach to discussion based on clusters of people, sharing their thoughts around specific questions over a two-hour period.
World Café was developed in 1995 by Juanita Brown as a way to host conversations about questions that mattered:
"They provide a context for groups to discover powerful questions, foster conscious conversation, access deeper wisdom, build shared knowledge, expand organizational capacity, and create value. ... Whereas café conversations are specific learning events, "The World Café" is a metaphor that we use to describe the informal webs of conversations and social learning by which human beings discover shared meaning, access collective intelligence, and co-create the future at increasing levels of scale."[1].
Methodology
When hosting a World Café, set up tables (informal, cafe style) for up to four or five people. Tablecloths, flowers and snacks add to the ambience; poster paper and coloured pens and markers on each table support brainstorming.
Participants have progressive rounds of conversation lasting approximately 20-30 minutes each. The idea is to brainstorm and write, doodle and draw key ideas on the poster paper. Upon completing a round of conversation, one person remains at the table as the "host" while the others travel to a new table. The "travelers" carry key ideas, themes and questions and are encouraged to link and connect ideas from their previous conversations into their new conversations. After several rounds of deep conversation, the whole group gathers together to share their discussions and capture emerging themes and ideas so the whole room can reflect and explore their discoveries.
Café Design Principles
The seven design principles of World Café are:
- Set the context
- Create hospitable space
- Explore questions that matter
- Encourage everyone's contribution
- Connect diverse perspectives
- Listen together for insights
- Share collective discoveries
UBC's Questions
From October 5-6th, 2010, the Centre for Teaching and Learning Technology hosted four World Café sessions as a preparatory event to the UBC 10th Annual Learning Conference, held on October 28, 2010. The conference centered around the theme of "Exploring the Dimensions of an Exceptional Learning Environment." Two sessions were held for people who self-identified as learners and two for teachers. The aim of these sessions was to document a collection of ideas about the ideal learning environment and answer two fundamental questions:
- What is an ideal learning environment?
- What do we need in order to support it?
The outcomes and recommendations generated at the World Café sessions will be compiled and shared during the Learning Conference and distributed to various units around the campus with the intention of informing decision making about various aspects of teaching and learning at UBC.
More World Cafés
- UBC-O will be supporting World Cafés on the same general theme with their Faculty.
- Future dates for World Cafés on the same theme will be: November 15th, January 20th, February 17th, March 17th, March 28th (Wrap-Up).
References
- ↑ Brown, Isaacs, Margulies, & Warhaftig. (1999). p.2. The World Café: Catalyzing Large-Scale Collective Learning
External Links
- The World Café International
- Café to Go! This concise guide covers the basics of the World Café process