When we enter a community, we are confronted with the invitation (pressure?) to grow into the habits and routines this group has established – its norms, codes and values, its expectations.
Living inside a group provides opportunities, resources and identity: we get to learn about its traditions, benefit from its resources, and are recognised by ourselves and others as a member of this particular community.
Joining a group also comes with challenges: we need to draw boundaries, know when and how to accept, reject or (propose to) change the ways of the group(s) we are part of.
We find that a clear answer to two questions can help build the trust, composure and courage we think it takes to embrace and confront a community:
(1) what is going on for me, how does this situation matter to me, what do I value?
(2) what do others value – what matters to them, what is going on for them right now?
The tools and activities we offer in the treasure-box of the playful academic invite us to engage with these questions – they offer diverse modes of reflection and encourage us to maintain a balance or dance between the different perspectives and stakes involved in a collaborative project.
By exploring and reflecting on our shared experience in a diversity of contexts, these activities strengthen what we consider key to learning and skilfulness: navigating social situations with depth and ease.