Taking Yourself Seriously
Processes of Research and Engagement
A field-book of tools and processes to help readers in all fields develop as researchers, writers, and agents of change
Comments on the influence of this book's approach
“I was able to get engaged in a project that I was able to actually use in work, which was extremely satisfying. The whole process encouraged me, and I felt very empowered as a change agent, which could be an exhilarating feeling.”
a healthcare professional and story-teller
“I really had not been used to thinking about my own thinking, so learning to do that also helped me to slow down and start to look away from the career path that I had been taking for granted.”
a biologist-turned-web designer
“I found that the experience helped me to accept feedback from other professionals. I am more comfortable with listening to why my own ideas might not work or need further evaluation. This even happens to the point where I find reasons now to seek out this kind of feedback.”
a teacher
“I had viewed research as a process of collecting information into a sort of database and reviewing it effectively. I have now revised my notions to include a more broad understanding of interconnectedness between people and ideas. An important part of research is to keep relationships going.”
an adult educator
“One of the most useful ideas was the use of dialogue, which helps to slow down the procedures used by the company. There's a tension between management's need to make quick decisions and desire to have real dialogue around proposed changes—changes to the internal company operational procedures as well as to evaluating the quality of what the company is doing with its publications.”
a teacher, currently working in publishing
“I was asked to pay attention to what I actually could do instead of what I could not. This enabled me to (1) step back and let go of a huge technical problem (that I really had no ability or interest to solve), and (2) identify where my actual interest rested and actual skills intersected with what needed to be done. I realized that I could unite my passion to advance visual thinking with my skills in communication and group facilitation.”
a college librarian
Peter Taylor and
Jeremy Szteiter are teachers and advisors in the Graduate Program in Critical and Creative Thinking at the University of Massachusetts at Boston,
http://www.cct.umb.edu
The Pumping Station
thepumpingstation.org
Arlington, MA
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