DMGT 732 Course Project: Knowledge Acquisition

Facilitating Creative Thinking Course Project: Knowledge Acquisition Discovering Career Path Options for Military Spouses at Fort Sill, Oklahoma Cheryl Edenfield // DMGT 732 Facilitating Creative Thinking // Fall 2015 // Prof. Tom Hardy

Contents Group Selection

Journal notes and research............................................................4 Entity, experience, challenges, participants...................................5 Participant profiles..................................................................... 6-7 Research.................................................................................... 8-9

Project Activity Plans

EFFECT Model............................................................................. 10 Peer feedback ........................................................................ 11-12 Warm-up activity plans................................................................. 13 Visual storytelling plans........................................................... 14-15

Warm-up Activity Documentation

In progress.............................................................................. 16-17 End products...........................................................................18-23 Overall experience (summary).................................................24-25

Visual Storytelling Activity

Creating career path illustrations (in progress)....................... 26-32 End products (finished illustrations)....................................... 33-40 Discussion on illustration results.................................................. 41 Six directions on lateral thinking results.......................................42 Wouldn’t it be nice if results.........................................................43 Problem statements and “How might we” results........................44 Overall experience (summary)................................................ 45-46

Results & Analysis

Overall experience (summary)...................................................... 47

Citations

Sources and credits.....................................................................48

Appendix

Warm-up activity questionnaire scans....................................51-58 Participant consent form scans.............................................. 59-65 Visual storytelling activity instruction scan...................................66 Feedback form scans.............................................................. 67-73 2

Materials for creative thinking activities

Cheryl Edenfield // DMGt 732 Facilitating Creative Thinking // Prof. Tom Hardy // Fall 2015

Fort Sill, Oklahoma

Tree lined Craig Road leading towards Upton Road, Fort Sill, Oklahoma

Pritchard Field at the intersection of Craig Road and Upton Road, Fort Sill, Oklahoma

Plantation duplex homes (my house on the left) on Upton Road, Fort Sill, Oklahoma

Course Project: Knowledge Acquisition // Discovering Career Path Options for Military Spouses at Fort Sill, Oklahoma

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(Top) photo of homes on Upton Road (my street) in 1920 Source: White, F. E., & Pouncey, A. (n.d.). War Untold [Fort Sill, Oklahoma - September 1920]. Retrieved November 7, 2015, from http://www.waruntold.com/ stories/frank_white.php

Journal notes for the course project

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Cheryl Edenfield // DMGt 732 Facilitating Creative Thinking // Prof. Tom Hardy // Fall 2015

Doodle poll to schedule meeting (Edenfield, 2015)

Group Selection Entity I started by selecting military spouses at Fort Sill. The most compelling reason for choosing them, besides proximity and being a member of the group, is the diversity within this group. Even though we share a common bond as military wives, there are also many differences among us.

Experience The overall experience of entity selection was easy. I started out by making a list starting with my neighbors then friends from the activities I participate in. I thought would be difficult getting people pinned down because they are all active volunteers in the community. So, I asked 12 spouses to volunteer for this project After I asked to confirm their initial yeses, I got 10 confirmations and one maybe.

It took a while to nail down the last one.

With everything that changes, and goes

on in military life (some our husbands often get called away on travel duty, or are drill sergeants who work long late hours) I expected to be able to meet the project requirement of 6-8 people in the group.

A few extra were asked to be alternates in case someone else dropped out at the last minute.

Challenges One of the challenges I encountered is that I could not find a male military spouse to participate in the group. The ones I know have a wife who is also serving, so availability is slim to none. Another challenge was hesitation from participants whether they would be able to find the time and/or child care to participate.

Everyone in this group is not employed, so the group activities were planned during the day when most of our kids are in school to accommodate everyone.

Participants In the end, I had eight total participants but had seven show up to each activity.* The participants were made up of women between the ages of 24 and 46, all with college degrees. All but one have children ranging from one to college age.

One spouse doesn’t have any children.

Everyone in the group has moved around from one duty station to the next at least once, and hail from different parts of the country. One person in the group, whose husband is in the British Army, is a citizen of the UK. This group is also made up of spouses whose husbands are all officers of varying ranks. * One of the participants (Ashley) from the warm-up activity was not able to participate in the visual storytelling activity, and one of the participants (Ralna) who participated in visual storytelling did not participate in the warm-up activity.

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Participant Profiles Alyssa

Edna

Age: 24 Originally from: Army brat; spent most of her time (4 years) in Harrisonburg, VA Married: 2 years with one child PCS (moved)*: 2 times Occupation: Alyssa is currently a stayat-home mom and volunteer. Prior to that, she was a college student. Her goal is to teach. She is not seeking employment because she is only here at Fort Sill for 6 months. More than likely, she will look for a teaching job for beginning with the fall 2016 school year.

Age: 46 Originally from: Carlsbad, NM Married: 25 years with 3 children PCS (moved)*: 7 times Occupation: currently a homemaker, previously a WIC nutritionist. She wants to go into nursing, or interior decorating.

She is not currently seeking employment.

Ashley

Jennifer

Age: 30 Originally from: Yonkers, NY Married: 2 years with one child PCS (moved)*: 1 time Occupation: Ashley is currently a (volunteer) co-director at Birth Choice, Lawton. She is still exploring what she wants to do either in non-profit or writing.

She is currently seeking employment, or plans to do son in the next 6 months.

Age: 41 Originally from: Jones, OK Married: 10 years with 1 child PCS (moved)*: 10 times Occupation: currently a writer, previously a mortgage loan officer. What does she want to do (her goal)? To win the lottery.

She is not currently seeking employment, but maybe will after their next move in June 2016.

* PCS: Permanent Change of Duty Station. Number of moves the spouses have made since they have been married to a soldier.

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Cheryl Edenfield // DMGt 732 Facilitating Creative Thinking // Prof. Tom Hardy // Fall 2015

Mandy

Ralna

Age: 39 Originally from: Broadway, VA Married: 17 years with 2 children PCS (moved)*: 9 times Occupation: not currently employed (just moved here). She was previously a public works environmental contractor and substitute teacher. What does she want to do? It’s split between pursuing a teaching degree or environmental/net zero consultant for the Army. She is currently seeking employment.

Age: 39 Originally from: Koloa, Kaua`i, HI Married: 9.5 years with 2 children PCS (moved)*: 4 times Occupation: currently a stay-at-home mom. Her last job was as a family support worker (FSW) in the Healthy Start Program. She would like to do (one of) two things. One would be to teach budgeting classes. The other would to be an entrepreneur, to sell items that she makes.

She’s not currently seeking employment, but might start a business within the year.

Mary Clare

Sam

Age: 40 Originally from: Lawton, OK Married: 17 years with 2 children PCS (moved)*: 7 times (with 13 moves) Occupation: currently a homemaker, previously an elementary teacher (K-8 certified). She wants to go into speech pathology. She is currently seeking employment subbing/teaching.

Age: 40 Originally from: Yorkshire, England Married: 14 years with no children PCS (moved)*: 6 times Occupation: currently (semi) selfemployed, and was previously a police officer/occupational welfare. Her goal is to be self-sufficient, self-employed. She is not seeking employment, but looking to expand her current earning opportunities.

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Research Explanation of the problem From personal experience, I knew that military spouses face unemployment whenever their spouse receive orders to move to another duty station. They end up quitting a job they might not have held for very long, then have to look for another.

Many end up putting their careers on hold, due to the multiple moves required by their spouse’s military commitment. This can happen any time between 6 months and 3 years. Employers are reluctant to employ them knowing that they will have to refill a role after a few months, a year, or two. As a result, the spouses’ résumés have gaps in employment, varied experience, and/ or out of date skills. Many find themselves not knowing what to do, whether they should: find a temporary job, start a business, continue their education, or know what options are out there for them.

The career resources available on the base, or through MilitaryOneSource.com are either not helpful or not user friendly.

After speaking to the participants, I knew that this was a problem that we could explore through creative thinking activities.

Screenshot Blue Star Families Career Development page (Blue Star Families, n.d.)

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Cheryl Edenfield // DMGt 732 Facilitating Creative Thinking // Prof. Tom Hardy // Fall 2015

Secondary Research There is a lot of information available for military spouses from MilitaryOneSource. com to Military.com and Blue Star Families. Blue Star families conducts surveys that back up the primary research I found, so they’ve been my go to source.

On the opposite page is the “Career Development” page on their website. It states that in 2013, military affiliation had a negative impact on military spouse respondents ability to pursue a career.

(Blue Star Families, n.d.) Not long after I finished my activities, I received an email from Blue Star Families apprising me of their updated report. That statistic had risen from 68% in 2013 to 75% in 2015.

More than half of the spouse respondents who are not employed would like to be.

(Department of Research and Policy, Blue Star Families in collaboration with: The Institute of Veterans and Military Families, Syracuse University (IVMF), 2015) With this information, along with primary research, it’s clear to see that employment among military spouses as a whole (and not just the Army wives at Fort Sill) is an issue.

Excerpt (page 19) from the 2015 Military Family Lifestyle Survey (Department of Research and Policy, Blue Star Families in collaboration with: The Institute of Veterans and Military Families, Syracuse University (IVMF), 2015)

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Project Activity Plans EFFECT Model (Smith, 2013) Environment The activities will take place in the living room and dining room in my house on Fort Sill. The majority of the participants live on the base or neighborhood near the base. The purpose of using my home is to make the participants feel comfortable and relaxed with the space and with each other. I will provide a setting not unlike a typical military spouses’ coffee group with drinks, light hors d’oeuvres and a short social period prior to the start of the activities.

Focus The activities were focused on milspouse lives and careers. The warm-up was designed to get the participants thinking about military spouse life so they could learn about each other’s lives, and how they perceive military spouses. The warm up was also practice for the visual storytelling activity.

The visual storytelling activity was designed to explore each participants

individual career paths. The goal was to learn about themselves, their career goals, and how they’re similar or different from each other in each aspect. The expected outcome was for them to leave armed with ideas and next steps towards achieving those goals.

Feelings The activities were planned around how military spouses feel about military family life and how it affects their careers. In the warm up activity, this was done through the examination of military spouse life as it relates to color, cuisine, a cartoon, and a car (four Cs). The participants related how each of the four Cs were represented through the five senses and lateral thinking. This required feeling.

In the visual storytelling activity, feelings were considered when mapping out individual career paths. The participants were asked to illustrate the highs, lows, feelings of accomplishment, and/or highlights of their career. They discussed their feelings during the six directions of lateral thinking in the red phase – what emotions and

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feelings did some of the patterns and similarities found evoke? Which ideas or statements of fact were actually emotion driven versus matter of fact?

Changes The activities were planned to include how participant lives are currently viewed, how they have changed over time, and how they want them to change in the future.

Experiences The warm-up activity, exploring current and perceived military spouse experiences, was intentionally planned to lead into the second activity (visual storytelling). The visual storytelling in turn had a mix of brainstorming stages to stimulate further exploration and deeper learning.

Timings When and how project tasks (activity steps in order) were included in the project activity plans with estimated duration.

Feedback (on initial draft) [1] For the warm-up activity, Instead of creating literal visual interpretations of the life of a milspouse, the participants were asked to create an illustration of how military life is represented by a car, cuisine, cartoon, and color.

They were instructed to think about how milsouse life is perceived (how it’s seen), emotions evoked (how they feel), what they hear or say, and how they are touched or touch others.

[2] To incorporate more lateral thinking, the six directions of lateral thinking brainstorming exercise was added in-between the career path visualization presentation and wouldn’t it be nice if activities.

Both activities in your activity plan are very well thought out and planned carefully. I even appreciate the fact that you built in time for late arrivals.

I think both the warm up activity and visual storytelling activity seem very appropriate for the military spouses to share their professional experiences with each other and learn from them.

Both activities involve creative thinking skills by having them represent their lives in visual interpretations. This is a really great way to share their experiences with each other. For your second draft of the project activity plan I think you should [1] develop the activities further to incorporate lateral thinking.

Perhaps instead of having them create literal visual interpretations of the life of a military spouse and career path you can have them develop alternative representations of each. Sort of like what we did with the nursery rhymes...

Overall, I do feel that your activities utilize knowledge acquisition by reshaping the way the military spouses perceive their current

employment situation. You are also doing a great job at helping them to conceive solutions for their problems.

[2] The WIBNI exercise will be really helpful for the military spouses to dig deep into their long lost desires and goals. Then by walking them through the creation of problem statements and actions you are really helping them to visualize possible solutions and/or directions to take to help alleviate this situation.

Cool plans, C. I think you have a great set of ideas to help visualize and get the ladies thinking creatively.

I’m with V, though, that [2] they do seem to lack some lateral thinking.

You could also consider challenging them to think of a path that could be able to be consistent (or at least more so) despite the moves. This could involve some lateral thinking.

I think for me it should boil down to the goals: is the problem that the ladies feel a bit lost amidst all the change? If so, do they need encouragement and community?

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Do they need to find something consistent to focus on? How can the activity focus on these specific things.

I hope this is helpful... I think you’ve got a fantastic idea to work with this group, and I imagine its something you care about a lot :) I really appreciate how detailed your plans are for each activity! You have gone into great depth about timelines and for preparations, so I’m sure you’ll have all your bases covered in the case of unexpected circumstances.

As for your warm-up activity, I really think this is going to generate some interesting results. Each military family has different experiences, which I think is very much determined by duty station, chain of command, morale, family resources, etc. It sounds like you’re involved with a great

group, which is good. I’m looking forward to seeing these results.

The same goes for your main activity.

I like that you have linked the two activities in terms of “this is the current life” and the “wouldn’t it be nice if...” ideas. Again, your plan for this activity is very thorough and detailed. I think your pre-planning and thorough prep will yield great results!

I’m looking forward to seeing the outcome!

Excellent ‘Project Activity Plan’. My only [3] suggestion is that during the ‘visual storytelling’ activity analysis, the participants could also look for common elements and patterns between their respective aspirational career paths. This discussion regarding similar interests could lead to insights and potential alternate ideas.

[3] Prior to the six directions of lateral thinking brainstorming exercise, pointing out any common elements or patterns among the group’s illustrations was added to the project planning tasks.

Problem statement: How might we, as military spouses, overcome frequent moves, deployments, and family separations to complete a degree program or progress in our careers?

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Project Activity Plans Warm-up Activity Plan (final) The warm-up activity will be set up into groups of 3-4 participants. Together, each group will illustrate the life of a military spouse with a cartoon, a color, a car, and cuisine (four ‘Cs’) with any combination symbols, photos, or drawings (not with words). Guidelines: do not literally draw/ collage what they do, but to use each of the 4 Cs to visually interpret what they hear, see, feel about the behaviors, actions, lifestyles, everyday goings on of military spouse life. Then each group will present their explanations.

Schedule – Wednesday, Oct. 14 from 10-11 a.m.

Facilitate and document activity by Sunday, Oct. 18. Post warm-up activity documentation to the Course Project blog on/by Thursday, Oct. 22.

• Social (10 minute participant arrival period; I expect a few to be a little late) • Introduction to the project, activities planned, rules and best practices (10 minutes) • Activity (15 minutes) • Activity results (6-12 minutes) • Next meeting assignment instructions (1-2 minutes) this is due by the next meeting date Location My living and dining room (home at Fort Sill) Supplies • Card stock/paper, colored paper scraps, magazines,

• • • •

scissors, and glue Markers, crayons, pencils, pens Bulletin board or backdrop to post illustrations Camera - video and still Timer

Project-planning Tasks • Warm-up activity instructions • Divide participants into groups by counting 1, 2, 3 (all 1s, 2s, and 3s together) • Have groups pick up materials and supplies • Start and time activity with timer (15 minutes) • Have each group present their illustrations (2-4 minutes each) To-do items • Confirm participation of each participant one week prior to warm-up activity • Contact alternates if 6-8 participants cannot attend; give them the visual storytelling assignment if a warm-up activity attendee cannot make the visual storytelling activity • Collect magazines and materials needed for activity (may have to print out photos of cars, cartoons, etc. if not enough magazines) • Contact participants who have not participated in the Doodle (meeting schedule) poll to select which date and time will work for them • Confirm visual storytelling activity date with participants at warm-activity

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Project Activity Plans Visual Storytelling Activity Plan (final) Each participant will construct a simple visual career path based on the résumé they brought. Guidelines: does not have to be an exact representation of each step or experience, but can be a timeline or free form picture of their accomplishments, goals, skills, and/or feelings/emotions about any part of their résumé that they feel represents their career to date. Then they will post the visuals and discuss what they’ve each learned, problems they’ve come across, look for common elements and patterns, and write “wouldn’t it be nice if” statements. Then they will narrow down similar ideas into categories, develop a problem statement for each category, and finish with actionable steps.

Schedule – Thursday, Oct. 22 from 10 a.m.-noon) Facilitate and document activity by Sunday, Nov. 1. Post visual storytelling activity documentation to the Course Project blog on/

by Thursday, Nov. 5.

• Make sure participants bring a copy of their résumé (upon arrival) • Explain the problem, discuss activity, rules and best practices (5 minutes) • Activity (1.5 hours) • Closing remarks, participant feedback/survey on results, and thank you (10-15 minutes) Location My living and dining room (home at Fort Sill)

Supplies • Drawing media - markers, colored pencils, crayons, pens • Collage media - glue, scissors, tape • Paper, Sharpie markers, Post-its, and post-it tape • Backdrops – separate ones for illustrations and for post-its • White board and dry erase markers • Camera - video and still • Timer Project-planning Tasks • Have each participant create a career path illustration of their résumé using any combination of pictures and drawings (30 minutes). Post each participant’s visual on bulletin board • As a group, discuss what they learned about their careers, problems they came across during the visual activity, and point out any common elements or patterns among the group’s illustrations; guide them through discussion using the six directions of lateral thinking to provoke further questions and thoughts (managing-blue, information-white, emotions-red, discernment-black, optimistic response-yellow, creativity-green), and to help spark conversation; write it out on white board (10-15 minutes) • Using post-its, categorize the key learnings, goals, and what they learned into WIBNI statements – give each person a post-it to contribute at least one idea (10-15 minutes)

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•

•

Narrow down (combine similar) WIBNI statements then, write out a problem statement for each starting with “how might we…” on a sheet of paper large enough for everyone to read (10-15 minutes) and tack it up on the board Using post-its, have everyone write an action for at least three of the problems (10-15 minutes)

To-do items • Contact alternates one week prior to voted upon activity date if 6-8 participants cannot attend; ask them to bring their résumé • Confirm participation of each participant the day prior to voted upon activity date, and remind them to bring a copy of their résumé • Collect magazines and materials needed for activity (may have to print out random photos and images, and ask participants to bring more magazines) • Create an instruction sheet with timeline for the participants to follow along with the activity and take notes • Create a feedback form/survey to have participants fill out at the end of the activity

Pictured above and below: materials for activities

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Warm-up Activity In Progress

Filling out questionnaire, and socializing

Group 1 creating their product

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Introduction to the project and instructions

Group 1 product in progress

Group 2 creating their product

Group 2 product in progress

Group 3 product in progress; handwritten notes

Group 3 creating their product

Group 3 product in progress

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Warm-up Activity Final Product Group 1 Cartoon: (Top left) The Tasmanian Devil represents the crazy moving military family. (Bottom right) Josie and the Pussycats represents deployment and girls night out.

Car: (Bottom left) SUVs represent space, packing and traveling.

Military families need the space to pack, and are always on the go.

Cuisine: (Top middle) pizza and chicken. Military spouses eat a lot of pizza and chicken.

Color: (Top right) salmon for soft, feminine, with strength like fish; red, white, and blue patriotic; blue and green to represent comfort on post (on the base).

Opposite page (9): Group 1 final product

Group 1 final product presentation

Group 1 final product with post-it note explanations

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Warm-up Activity Final Product Group 2 Cartoon: (Bottom left/middle) images to represent cartoon characteristics. Military spouses are used to kissing goodbye but being strong and ready. They take on hard work, get their hands and feet dirty which builds character.

Car: (Middle top) utility car to get up and go, and pick up others.

Taxi represents travel, on-the-go and rentals.

Cuisine: (Across middle to the right) colorful food, we’re all different but mix together nicely like a salad. Sprinkles on the donuts represent fun, and this military souse likes to search for a good donut shop at each duty station!

Group 2 final product presentation

Color: (Top left and middle) gold for gold star families; multicolor represents mood, shades of ups, downs, brights, and cools.

Bonus (color and cuisine): (Left middle ) resiliency is a key phrase that represents health, wellness, and choices.

Opposite page (11): Group 2 final product

Group 2 final product with post-it note explanations

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Warm-up Activity Final Product Group 3 Cartoon: (Top right) Illustration of the commissary (grocery store) with paved yellow brick road and a “chicken sold out” sign out front because they’re always out of chicken.

Car: (Left) SUVs represent versatility, adaptability, and space.

Cuisine: (Top middle) crock pot represents time saving, running about, and events.

Color: (Bottom right) green is for go because military spouses are always on the go. It also represents the outdoors, where military families spend a lot of time.

Group 3 final product presentation

Opposite page (13): Group 3 final product

Group 3 final product with post-it note explanations

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Warm-up Activity Overall experience Facilitator perspective Overall, I felt that the activity went well.

We had one no show, so instead of eight participants, there were seven. This worked out for the better because we ended up with three final products versus four. This cut down on the time spent on the activity, which ran more than five minutes longer than planned. Each group took longer to create the final product because they were so chatty with each other, sharing experiences, and making decisions as to what images to use or draw.

I thought that some groups were more organized about their tasks than others. I advised that they could use the drawing paper laid out on the tables to take notes, write things down. Others were more chatty, and had to be steered back on track to complete the assigned activity.

Participant experience highlights, written on the table at the end of our activity.

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The woman who brought her baby, had a baby older than I expected. The baby was turning one over the upcoming weekend One other woman’s babysitter/child care fell through so she brought her toddler

(Top to bottom) participant activity, selecting images for final product.

My 11 year old son is homeschooled, so he was able to help watch the kids and entertain them somewhat. He also acted as my video camera guy while I gave the intros. I felt the documentation could have gone a bit smoother, but it worked out fine.

Participant perspective Across the board, the participants had fun. It was a nice way to spend an hour away from their usual day-to-day, to help out a friend/neighbor, and to also learn something about their lives while also having fun. It didn’t feel like work since it was set up like a spouses’ coffee group meeting where each person could get to know one another while also participating in an activity.

One of the participants was sorry she had to cut out early (about 15 minutes before we were done) for an appointment.

All the participants were excited about this opportunity to work on their career goals and aspirations. One in particular expressed interest in continuing this project to bring it to the Army’s attention to help spouses gain military spouse preference for local jobs, not just the ones available on usajobs.gov.

When we compared everyone’s final products, they were surprised to see the similarities and differences each group came up with. One was particularly surprised by the majority selection of the color green. They said, “we see green every day, whether it’s time spent outdoors, or our husbands uniforms.”

They were equally articulate and excited to talk about the military life’s blended community. They didn’t seem to think that it was unusual to find a similar pattern of thinking and doing. “Animaniacs – that’s exactly military life, a whole blend of life,” is what one participant said. They commented on how they knew that the families are diverse, coming from different countries, cultures, a melting pot of influences from cuisine to wardrobe to way of life.

The two mothers were sorry about having to bring their children, and that the toddlers were a little disruptive. I assured them it was okay, since the most concentration was needed for the 20 minute activity. All the participants were thankful for the experience, and are looking forward to mapping out their résumés in a similar fashion at our next meeting for the virtual storytelling activity.

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Warm-up Activity Summary Suggestions for improvement Parameters

Timing

Location

The activity took longer than planned because 1) it takes time to hunt down images and 2) the participants were chatty. I don’t recommend that the participants already know each other to avoid the chattiness, because it was a good thing. The image gathering could have been more prepared in advance. I provided magazines, and Google image printouts of cartoons and cars to help them get the ball rolling. Having more, larger images, to choose from would help make the activity move faster.

The groups could be given more time (20 minutes versus 15), or else advise them during facilitation of the activity how much time should be spent where. I.e. take 5 minutes to decide what each object represents, then divide and conquer the last 10 minutes hunting for the image and gluing it to the paper. I did give a half way point, 5 minute, and 1 minute warning to let them know how much time they had left to complete the product.

Documentation-wise, it was hard to get all the participants in one photo/video because they were spread out between my living room and dining room. If you want to be able to document all the participants together, in one place, I would suggest a set up with a longer table/space for all of them to gather.

Number of participants per group

This activity doesn’t necessarily have to be done by cutting magazines and gluing them to make a collage. Providing markers, crayons, and colored pencils would do the job just as well.

Group the participants with 3-4 per group versus 2-3, each group would have been able to complete the tasks faster had I divided them this way. The facilitator can suggest the groups divide up the search for objects then come to a decision for what is picked.

Materials

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No distractions Not allowing any children would guarantee each participant’s undivided attention. In this case, all (but one of) )the participants were moms so they were understanding and are used to the interruptions that little ones tend to make. It will depend on the group.

Visual Storytelling Activity Schedule •

•

• •

Make sure participants bring a copy of their résumé (upon arrival) Explain the problem, discuss activity, rules and best practices (5 minutes) Activity (1.5 hours) Closing remarks, participant feedback/survey on results, and thank you (10-15 minutes)

Supplies •

• • • • •

• • •

•

•

Then we posted each participant’s visual on the bulletin board.

As a group, we discussed what they learned about their careers, problems they came across during the visual activity, and pointed out any common elements or patterns among the group’s illustrations.

These were written on a white board.

Next, they were guided through discussion about the white board

•

results using the six directions of lateral thinking to provoke further questions and thoughts. These were done using post-it notes with at least one per participant. (10-15 minutes) Using post-its, we categorized what they learned, and patterns, into WIBNI statements. Then problem statements with actionable (how might we) ideas were shared.

Drawing media - markers, colored pencils, crayons, pens Collage media - glue, scissors, tape Paper Sharpie markers Post-its and post-it tape Backdrops – separate ones for illustrations and for post-its White board and dry erase markers Camera - video and still Timer

Activity Steps •

Each participant created a career path illustration of their résumé using any combination of pictures and drawings (30 minutes).

Environment/room set up: (left) bulletin board area and (right) synthesizing boards for post-its

Course Project: Knowledge Acquisition // Discovering Career Path Options for Military Spouses at Fort Sill, Oklahoma 27

Managing = blue, Information = white

WIBNI

Emotions = red Discernment = black

Problem statements and “How might we” ideas

Optimistic response = yellow Creativity = green

Warm-up activity reminder

Six directions of lateral thinking by color set up

Release form, survey, and instructions for participants

Participants getting settled; (circled) anatomy of a résumé list

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WIBNI, problem statements, and how might we ideas

Visual Storytelling Activity Creating Career Path Illustrations Activity in progress Participants working on their career path illustrations. They were all instructed to bring in a copy of their rĂŠsumĂŠ to help with this portion of the activity. Instructions were to make a visually creative timeline of the highs and lows in their careers.

Sample timeline shown to the group while in progress (not before starting)

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Visual Storytelling Activity Career Path Illustrations (End Products)

Finished career path illustrations

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Completed timeline by Jennifer

34 Cheryl Edenfield // DMGt 732 Facilitating Creative Thinking // Prof. Tom Hardy // Fall 2015

Completed timeline by Sam

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Completed timeline by Ralna

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Completed timeline by Edna

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Completed timeline by Mary Clare

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Completed timeline by Mandy

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Completed timeline by Alyssa

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Visual Storytelling Activity Discussing career path illustrations (Synthesis) Each participant talked about what they learned, and problems they ran across, while I listed out common elements and patterns on a white board.

White board notes

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Visual Storytelling Activity Six directions of lateral thinking As a group, we went through each step from blue to green while referring to the elements and patterns written out on the white board from the career path illustration discussion. Each participant was given a post-it to ensure they each contributed at least one idea to the board. By the time we got down to the end, creativity, the contributions were either repetitive and sparse.

Six directions of lateral thinking

42 Cheryl Edenfield // DMGt 732 Facilitating Creative Thinking // Prof. Tom Hardy // Fall 2015

Final Outcomes WIBNI (Wouldn’t It Be Nice If) From the six directions of lateral thinking, we further synthesized the issues military spouses face in their careers down to “wouldn’t it be nice if...” statements. Each participant was given a post-it note and asked to contribute at least one idea to finish the statement.

Wouldn’t it be nice if...

• • • • •

• • • • • • •

I won the lottery?

I had a crystal ball?

I could plan my career for the next ten years? it was okay to be a professional volunteer or part time worker? the welcome briefing had temporary positions listed out for the MUCH TALENTED, EDUCATED, SKILLED, spouse set? we wouldn’t have to say good-bye to friends every few years? we had owned a home for the last 18 years? to have a home business?

I had lived near family for the last ten years? everyone uses the available resources? we know what we need before it’s available? we could prioritize our careers?

Wouldn’t it be nice if... ideas

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“How might we...” problem statements and solution ideas Combining the WIBNI statements, we came up with 3 problem statements (white index cards posted on the right).

• In order for military spouses to plan for the future, how might we plan for a back up?

• In order for military spouses to find work, even if temporary, how might we make resources available known to them?

• In order for military spouses to start a business, how might we make resources available known to them?

“How might we...” ideas were posted beneath groupings of index cards. Since many of the actions are similar and overlap all the problems, they’re listed singularly. We can solve these problems by...

• gaining resilience by supporting each other emotionally, financially, being less competitive, and focus on positive?

• reward/incentive for efforts; through community recognition and support or by making “milspouse” a job (spouse also on orders) to pay the spouse?

• using community outreach to establish jobs or start a business (SBA and/or legal start up advice)?

• using mentors; active chaplain corps mentors (family visits)?

• making family counseling mandatory every 2-3 years via command, AWC (Army Wellness Center), or in processing?

• provide accumulation training at each base?

Problem statements (white index cards) and action items (post-its)

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Visual Storytelling Activity Overall experience

five (most helpful) was 3.93. The average rating as to how likely they are to follow through with the “how might we...” actions we came up with today was 4.17.

Facilitator perspective Overall, the activity went well. It ran a little more than hour over the intended total time of two hours because everyone had so much to say and contribute. I didn’t expect everyone to spend more than a few minutes on their visual career path illustrations. One participant spent 12 minutes presenting, but to credit her she’s been bouncing around in her career as a military spouse for about 17 years.

What I ended up doing was try to speed everyone along and save solutions to their problems for the next steps. That’s where much of the speaking length went – how to solve their individual problems.

So steering them towards the highlights and acknowledging that we would get to the ideas soon after helped move it along faster.

Participant perspective Across the board, the participants said that the activity was helpful to them and their personal career goals. The average rating, on a scale of one (least helpful) to

Five out of seven participants knew what they wanted to do, career-wise, before coming in to this activity. One did not, and one did somewhat. Some things they learned about themselves and military spouses: •

•

•

•

To revisit my CV regularly to make sure it is current.

That my résumé is terribly out of date. It’s okay to take time for family.

The general consensus that we can still be effective and successful pursuing goals mid-life.

By learning ways to look at things in different ways; building connection.

The most important takeaways from this activity were: •

•

To hear that I’m not the only one who questions my choice to be a stay-at-home-mom at this point.

I love to color, draw, write.

•

•

•

A reminder that in all things, health, employment, etc. to be your own best advocate.

So important to draw out/write out/map out goals and re-visit goals (evaluate successes and set-backs); mandatory family counseling day 1.

My story can have a great impact and unique to help me move forward and for others.

One participant said that she learned some people do not like her opinion. She did not think that the outcomes (ideas) we came up with will help her prepare to reach her goals. She suggested that the participants should have been separated into like minded groups (based on the warm-up activity). She also thought that some questions should have been kept private in case others disagree. This was suggested to prevent the results from being guided towards a fixed opinion because others fear not being able to speak their true opinion, but only the atmospheric opinion (to concur with everyone else).

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Most thought this would be a great workshop to offer to others. The most common response was that it allowed them to re-evaluate themselves, their skills, their goals, and to start moving forward with positive thoughts and goals.

Suggestions for improvement Parameters, number of participants per group, and timing The activity took longer than planned because the participants had a lot to say during every step except the time it took them to make their visual career path timelines. Because searching for images, cutting, and gluing took so long in the warm-up activity, everyone shied away from adding them to their products.

I think it worked for each individual to create a timeline for herself because it gave them time to reflect on a personal level. If I tried to group them in 3-4, they

would have had to choose one rĂŠsumĂŠ or combine experiences to create a timeline.

I agree with a participant suggestion to break them down in groups after the illustration portion, then have them share within the group their stories. I would have each group come up with their ideas within the six lateral directions.

By breaking up the participants into groups, the time to get through individual presentations would have been cut shorter. This would have helped keep the activity of synthesizing information down without us going over the two hour limit.

In the future, I would have each group work on all the synthesizing and outcomes together. Then have each group do a short presentation of the final outcomes with some highlights on how they got there.

I think that part of the reason why everyone got so much out of this activity was because they had time to personally reflect. That should stay true to the visual storytelling portion of the activity.

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Documentation Everyone was in one room for this activity, unlike the warm up. The issues I came across were using the tripod and not being able to photograph myself as I facilitated each of the synthesizing steps and outcomes at the end. It would be great to have an extra set of reliable hands to take video clips and photographs throughout the session to get multiple points of view and some of the conversations that went on between participants who sat next to each other.

Results & Analysis Overall experience summary

specific to each individual, each of them were confident that they could follow the process to start mapping out their careers.

Obstacles The top obstacle towards military spouse career goals is making resources available and known. A secondary problem is motivation towards seeking out these resources (and utilize them). I believe this would be another avenue to explore, but is more a part of the bigger picture – how to market available resources available to milspouses.

Expected Outcomes The participants left armed with ideas and next steps towards achieving personal career goals. While the problems and solution ideas may not have been

Experience Each of the participants were interviewed after their feedback surveys (see appendix) were filled out. Overall, the activities were well received. Some were not previously motivated to pursue their careers, but after participating in these activities, they were invigorated with determination to take the next steps towards once abandoned plans.

Instruction could be given on how/ what to summarize for the group.

However,breaking particpants up into small groups could also help this and timing issues. Small groups with presentations within the group would also allow shy participants to contribute more as a whole.

Improvements More attention should be paid to time spent on each step, most importantly during presentation of information.

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Citations Blue Star Families. (n.d). Career Development. Retrieved September 22, 2015, from http://www.bluestarfam.org/resources/ career-development

Credits

Department of Research and Policy, Blue Star Families in collaboration with: The Institute of Veterans and Military Families, Syracuse University (IVMF). (2015, October 30). 2015 Military Family Lifestyle Survey. Retrieved October 30, 2015, from http:// www.bluestarfam.org/resources/military-family-lifestyle-survey

Photography and video was done by (me) Cheryl Edenfield unless otherwise referenced in the captions.

Collages, drawings, and artwork created by activity participants.

Video for warm-up activities was captured by Colin Edenfield.

Edenfield, C. (2015, October 15). Creative Thinking Session 2 Doodle: Easy scheduling. Retrieved November 12, 2015, from http://doodle.com/poll/fmuddcc6744pec56 Smith, M. K. (2013, April 28). Facilitating learning and change in groups and group sessions [Editorial]. The Encyclopaedia of Informal Education. Retrieved November 12, 2015, from http:// infed.org/mobi/facilitating-learning-and-change-in-groups-andgroup-sessions/ White, F. E., & Pouncey, A. (n.d.). War Untold [Fort Sill, Oklahoma - September 1920]. Retrieved November 7, 2015, from http:// www.waruntold.com/stories/frank_white.php

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Appendix

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