Positionality Informed Practices
Positionality Informed Practices
Adapted from Educating for a Change by Rick Arnold, Bev Burke, Carl James, D’Arcy Martin, and Barb Thomas (Toronto: Doris Marshall Institute for Education and Action and Between the Lines Press, 1991). Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Adapted from Educating for a Change by Rick Arnold, Bev Burke, Carl James, D’Arcy Martin, and Barb Thomas (Toronto: Doris Marshall Institute for Education and Action and Between the Lines Press, 1991). Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Project
Overview
Project
Overview
Project Overview
What began as an academic exploration has evolved into an ongoing series of workshops helping designers, futurist, researchers, and students recognize and address their biases in professional practice. By adapting the “Power Flower” – a self-reflection tool originally developed by Canadian social change educators – we’ve created a structured approach to understanding how personal and collective biases influence design and research outcomes.
What began as an academic exploration has evolved into an ongoing series of workshops helping designers, futurist, researchers, and students recognize and address their biases in professional practice. By adapting the “Power Flower” – a self-reflection tool originally developed by Canadian social change educators – we’ve created a structured approach to understanding how personal and collective biases influence design and research outcomes.
What began as an academic exploration has evolved into an ongoing series of workshops helping designers, futurist, researchers, and students recognize and address their biases in professional practice. By adapting the “Power Flower” – a self-reflection tool originally developed by Canadian social change educators – we’ve created a structured approach to understanding how personal and collective biases influence design and research outcomes.
Phase 1: Academic Foundation
Phase 1: Academic Foundation
Team
Team
Morgan Bath
Muskaan Chandwani
Danny Ghantous
Beyza Ozmen
Nadia Tabassum
Morgan Bath
Muskaan Chandwani
Danny Ghantous
Beyza Ozmen
Nadia Tabassum
Morgan Bath
Muskaan Chandwani
Danny Ghantous
Beyza Ozmen
Nadia Tabassum
My Role
My Role
Working within a five-person team in the SFI program, I took on a crucial role as group synthesizer, leveraging my background in stakeholder engagement and brainstorming facilitation. As one of our first group assignments within a new cohort, I focused on bridging understanding between team members, connecting diverse ideas, and establishing throughlines in our academic work. I led the workshop development portion of the project, helping to translate our theoretical framework into practical facilitation methods while collaborating with the team on academic papers and initial workshop iterations.
Working within a five-person team in the SFI program, I took on a crucial role as group synthesizer, leveraging my background in stakeholder engagement and brainstorming facilitation. As one of our first group assignments within a new cohort, I focused on bridging understanding between team members, connecting diverse ideas, and establishing throughlines in our academic work. I led the workshop development portion of the project, helping to translate our theoretical framework into practical facilitation methods while collaborating with the team on academic papers and initial workshop iterations.
Working within a five-person team in the SFI program, I took on a crucial role as group synthesizer, leveraging my background in stakeholder engagement and brainstorming facilitation. As one of our first group assignments within a new cohort, I focused on bridging understanding between team members, connecting diverse ideas, and establishing throughlines in our academic work. I led the workshop development portion of the project, helping to translate our theoretical framework into practical facilitation methods while collaborating with the team on academic papers and initial workshop iterations.
Phase 2: Professional Implementation
Phase 2: Professional Implementation
Team
Team
Morgan Bath
Danny Ghantous
Morgan Bath
Danny Ghantous
Morgan Bath
Danny Ghantous
My Role
My Role
Working in partnership with Danny Ghantous, we developed a complementary dynamic where each of us focused on our strengths. While Danny led the academic grounding, I specialized in design work, and incorporating personal storytelling elements. Working collaboratively to develop a strong storytelling narrative and workshop. During our presentations, this partnership manifested in Danny leading the academic learning portion while I guided participants through the self-discovery workshop components, facilitating the hands-on experience with the Power Flower tool and managing group discussions.
Working in partnership with Danny Ghantous, we developed a complementary dynamic where each of us focused on our strengths. While Danny led the academic grounding, I specialized in design work, and incorporating personal storytelling elements. Working collaboratively to develop a strong storytelling narrative and workshop. During our presentations, this partnership manifested in Danny leading the academic learning portion while I guided participants through the self-discovery workshop components, facilitating the hands-on experience with the Power Flower tool and managing group discussions.
Working in partnership with Danny Ghantous, we developed a complementary dynamic where each of us focused on our strengths. While Danny led the academic grounding, I specialized in design work, and incorporating personal storytelling elements. Working collaboratively to develop a strong storytelling narrative and workshop. During our presentations, this partnership manifested in Danny leading the academic learning portion while I guided participants through the self-discovery workshop components, facilitating the hands-on experience with the Power Flower tool and managing group discussions.
Project Evolution
Project Evolution
Phase 1: Academic Foundation
Phase 1: Academic Foundation
The Power Flower Workshop emerged from a collaborative project within the SFI program, where our five-person team identified a crucial gap in contemporary design practices: the lack of effective tools for recognizing and addressing biases within design teams. We adapted the “Power Flower,” a self-reflection tool originally developed by Canadian social change educators, to create a structured approach for enhancing empathy in design processes. Our innovative workshop structure combined individual reflection with collective analysis, using transparent overlays to visualize team-wide perspective gaps. The workshop framework included guided personal insight sessions, team sharing opportunities, and collaborative analysis, supported by a take-home workbook for ongoing reflection. This initial phase demonstrated the tool’s potential for helping participants understand their positioning within research and design processes, leading to more mindful and empathetic approaches to their work.
The Power Flower Workshop emerged from a collaborative project within the SFI program, where our five-person team identified a crucial gap in contemporary design practices: the lack of effective tools for recognizing and addressing biases within design teams. We adapted the “Power Flower,” a self-reflection tool originally developed by Canadian social change educators, to create a structured approach for enhancing empathy in design processes. Our innovative workshop structure combined individual reflection with collective analysis, using transparent overlays to visualize team-wide perspective gaps. The workshop framework included guided personal insight sessions, team sharing opportunities, and collaborative analysis, supported by a take-home workbook for ongoing reflection. This initial phase demonstrated the tool’s potential for helping participants understand their positioning within research and design processes, leading to more mindful and empathetic approaches to their work.
The Power Flower Workshop emerged from a collaborative project within the SFI program, where our five-person team identified a crucial gap in contemporary design practices: the lack of effective tools for recognizing and addressing biases within design teams. We adapted the “Power Flower,” a self-reflection tool originally developed by Canadian social change educators, to create a structured approach for enhancing empathy in design processes. Our innovative workshop structure combined individual reflection with collective analysis, using transparent overlays to visualize team-wide perspective gaps. The workshop framework included guided personal insight sessions, team sharing opportunities, and collaborative analysis, supported by a take-home workbook for ongoing reflection. This initial phase demonstrated the tool’s potential for helping participants understand their positioning within research and design processes, leading to more mindful and empathetic approaches to their work.
Phase 2: Professional Implementation
Phase 2: Professional Implementation
Building on the academic foundation, Danny Ghantous and I expanded the project’s scope and impact through a series of professional workshops. In preparation for our presentation at the Anticipation Conference 2024 at Lancaster University, we conducted an intensive series of four workshops over one week. These preparatory sessions provided valuable insights into workshop structure and participant engagement, allowing us to refine our approach for maximum impact. The theoretical foundation of our work draws from cognitive psychology research on biases (Korteling et al., 2018), intersectionality theory (Crenshaw, 1989), and the original Power Flower model (Arnold et al., 1991). Our adaptation specifically addresses the gap in existing intersectional research processes, where teams often struggle to recognize and address the impact of intersecting identities and potential biases on research outcomes (Erete et al., 2018; Olmos-Vega et al., 2022).
Building on the academic foundation, Danny Ghantous and I expanded the project’s scope and impact through a series of professional workshops. In preparation for our presentation at the Anticipation Conference 2024 at Lancaster University, we conducted an intensive series of four workshops over one week. These preparatory sessions provided valuable insights into workshop structure and participant engagement, allowing us to refine our approach for maximum impact. The theoretical foundation of our work draws from cognitive psychology research on biases (Korteling et al., 2018), intersectionality theory (Crenshaw, 1989), and the original Power Flower model (Arnold et al., 1991). Our adaptation specifically addresses the gap in existing intersectional research processes, where teams often struggle to recognize and address the impact of intersecting identities and potential biases on research outcomes (Erete et al., 2018; Olmos-Vega et al., 2022).
Building on the academic foundation, Danny Ghantous and I expanded the project’s scope and impact through a series of professional workshops. In preparation for our presentation at the Anticipation Conference 2024 at Lancaster University, we conducted an intensive series of four workshops over one week. These preparatory sessions provided valuable insights into workshop structure and participant engagement, allowing us to refine our approach for maximum impact. The theoretical foundation of our work draws from cognitive psychology research on biases (Korteling et al., 2018), intersectionality theory (Crenshaw, 1989), and the original Power Flower model (Arnold et al., 1991). Our adaptation specifically addresses the gap in existing intersectional research processes, where teams often struggle to recognize and address the impact of intersecting identities and potential biases on research outcomes (Erete et al., 2018; Olmos-Vega et al., 2022).
The workshop at the Anticipation Conference marked a significant milestone, focusing specifically on how foresight researchers can better understand and account for their positionality in futures planning. Building on this success, we’ve been invited to deliver specialized workshops at Georgian College, targeting students and faculty interested in positionality-informed research. Furthermore, we’re developing additional workshops for various professional contexts, aiming to foster positive changes by delivering impactful insights across different capacities within the research ecosystem. Our approach emphasizes the importance of early bias recognition and provides accessible tools for researchers to make intentional choices in their work, whether through seeking diverse inputs or transparently acknowledging their perspectives throughout the research process.
The workshop at the Anticipation Conference marked a significant milestone, focusing specifically on how foresight researchers can better understand and account for their positionality in futures planning. Building on this success, we’ve been invited to deliver specialized workshops at Georgian College, targeting students and faculty interested in positionality-informed research. Furthermore, we’re developing additional workshops for various professional contexts, aiming to foster positive changes by delivering impactful insights across different capacities within the research ecosystem. Our approach emphasizes the importance of early bias recognition and provides accessible tools for researchers to make intentional choices in their work, whether through seeking diverse inputs or transparently acknowledging their perspectives throughout the research process.
The workshop at the Anticipation Conference marked a significant milestone, focusing specifically on how foresight researchers can better understand and account for their positionality in futures planning. Building on this success, we’ve been invited to deliver specialized workshops at Georgian College, targeting students and faculty interested in positionality-informed research. Furthermore, we’re developing additional workshops for various professional contexts, aiming to foster positive changes by delivering impactful insights across different capacities within the research ecosystem. Our approach emphasizes the importance of early bias recognition and provides accessible tools for researchers to make intentional choices in their work, whether through seeking diverse inputs or transparently acknowledging their perspectives throughout the research process.
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References
References
Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory, and antiracist politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum, 1989(1).
Korteling, J. E., Brouwer, A.-M., & Toet, A. (2018). A neural network framework for cognitive bias. Frontiers in Psychology, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01561
Olmos-Vega, F. M., Stalmeijer, R. E., Varpio, L., & Kahlke, R. (2022). A practical guide to reflexivity in Qualitative Research: Amee guide no. 149. Medical Teacher, 45(3), 241–251. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159x.2022.2057287
Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory, and antiracist politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum, 1989(1).
Korteling, J. E., Brouwer, A.-M., & Toet, A. (2018). A neural network framework for cognitive bias. Frontiers in Psychology, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01561
Olmos-Vega, F. M., Stalmeijer, R. E., Varpio, L., & Kahlke, R. (2022). A practical guide to reflexivity in Qualitative Research: Amee guide no. 149. Medical Teacher, 45(3), 241–251. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159x.2022.2057287
Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory, and antiracist politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum, 1989(1).
Korteling, J. E., Brouwer, A.-M., & Toet, A. (2018). A neural network framework for cognitive bias. Frontiers in Psychology, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01561
Olmos-Vega, F. M., Stalmeijer, R. E., Varpio, L., & Kahlke, R. (2022). A practical guide to reflexivity in Qualitative Research: Amee guide no. 149. Medical Teacher, 45(3), 241–251. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159x.2022.2057287