Page 196 - Mike Ratner CC - WISR Complete Dissertation - v6

The nature of a question, whatever it would be, ought to be designed to encourage

maximum input, differing viewpoints and rich dialogue interaction. Additionally, the physical set-

up of the space ought to be designed to foster dialogue with participants sitting in a semi-circle

configuration and for WISR’s space envisions using back rooms or added rows. To spark

conversation, a host facilitator or a ‘expert’ panel of individuals can be asked to briefly share their

answer to the question at the beginning of each Community Conversation. This is one proposed

format and an idea for consideration that I am proposing for future experimentation that graduate

students consider implementing group dialogues as part of their research and outreach efforts.

How does the community create new leaders who figure in the promotion and

implementation of political freedom and the expansion of personal civil liberties and rights? Local

empowerment groups ought to seek to ensure the ability of all members of society are directly

invited to participate in the civil and political life of the state including exercising freedom of

speech, freedom of assembly, freedom to question, protection of civil liberties, the right to vote,

and the right to freely share ideas and opinions through all forms of communication and media.

Conceptually, Community Conversations (CC) positions participatory action learning and

action research (PALAR) as a creative, innovative, group collaborative and self-developed way to

achieve this purpose, in the sense that I have encouraged other students at WISR to adopt the CC

approach to conducting their research and as a means to promote WISR’s greater scope of purpose.

Community Conversations provide an educational, theoretical, and methodological

framework for using a special kind of action research, namely PALAR (participatory action

learning and action research). This is a newly integrated methodology I found that incorporates

lifelong action learning (AL) and participatory action research (PAR) which has been an

interesting innovation that has been developing over the past 25 years.

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