The Hungry Games: Tackling Wicked Food Problems at Black River Public Schools through a New Experiential Project Term Course

Join us in the fight against overly processed foods—may the odds be ever in your flavor! In the winter of 2014, a team of students from Lib 322 “Wicked Problems of Sustainability” identified the food system and its impact on children as a wicked problem, initiated a community partnership at Black River Public School, and posited the development of an interdisciplinary, experiential project term course then designed by students in Lib 342 “Food Matters.” This new Black River course, “The Hungry Games,” will be piloted this spring to engage middle school students in experiential learning in order to foster understanding and empower agency in response to our current food system

Community Building in the Classroom: Teaching Democratic Thinking through Practicing Democratic Thinking

Key to teaching democratic thinking is actively engaging in the practice; and this, the article contends, is best facilitated by an experiential learning model where students are actively using, testing, and transforming not only the materials of the course, but also their own theories and experiences. Educators hoping to inspire democratic virtues and actions should also create and foster opportunities for community-building within the classroom by having students take more ownership for the class. This experiential process of learning disrupts the hierarchical theory-to-practice model traditionally implemented, reinforcing the value of an experiential and iterative practice of reflective engagement. In addition, such classes cannot neglect critical reflection and discussion of issues of power and oppression since democratic deliberation is at its core about engaging with others. To the extent that the traditional philosophic model limits the ways in which we come to understand one another’s positionality, we must seek to open valuable spaces for not simply thinking democratically, but also feeling and acting through a democratic spirit

Restructuring Science, Reengaging Society

Much of Paul Rabinow’s work is centered on the need for restructuring science, but does not argue for the means by which we should do so. The following paper suggests various ways in which the sciences can be restructured so as to reengage society. Bryan Norton’s bridge concepts are suggested as a means to work past the narrow thinking which accompanies hyper-specialization and a lack of integration. Secondly, the need to acknowledge and examine the role of values in knowledge construction is highlighted. Next, I suggest the restructuring of our social systems needs to be accompanied by a restructuring of our habits of thought. This, in the end, necessitates local resistance and a greater focus on advocacy research as well as democratic deliberation

Jane Addams and Wicked Problems: Putting the Pragmatic Method to Use

Melioration of many social problems today requires a feminist pragmatist methodology since these problems are not only dynamically complex, but inherently wicked. That is, many of our social problems are characterized by intense disagreement, conflicting objectives, as well as high levels of uncertainty, variability and risk. Especially relevant to – but ignored by – current wicked problems scholars, early feminist-pragmatist Jane Addams illustrates how the pragmatic method is applicable to these wicked problems by employing this methodology on the ground in confronting the wicked problems of her time. In the end, I argue Addams ultimately provides valuable insights on how to go about tackling these problems in our own time

Working With: Expanding and Integrating the Pragmatic Method for a Wicked World

This dissertation argues the burgeoning scholarship on wicked problems is both highly compelling and applicable to many of the public problems we confront. It is compelling because it articulates strategies for realizing a more comprehensive understanding of many of the problems we face today as a public; it is highly applicable because it provides us with a fruitful means of addressing these problems. The scholarship – as it stands in 2014 however – needs to be broadened and deepened, especially given how many dangerous wicked problems we face. The wicked problems field can be deepened by reviewing and consolidating its recommendations and through this work delving more deeply into a methodology that best supports collaboratively meliorating such problems. For instance, the various processes most recommended for tackling these problems – processes like bottom-up participation, to transdisciplinarity, to situational and experiential learning – not only descend from the Pragmatic Method, but could also currently prosper from a more systematic engagement with Pragmatism, especially as conceptualized through a feminist lens where problems of power are systematically addressed. In the end, I argue effective responses to wicked problems require context-sensitive, dialogue-driven, action-based engagement models. Through a series of case studies the value of the recommendations within becomes apparent, suggesting there is a need to reimagine both the role of expertise and the boundary spaces between our institutions (as well as the structure of our institutions themselves). The potential for our collective future is quite exciting: potential to prepare future world citizens for engaging one another across their differences as well as the potential to encourage the re-envisioning of our institutions (and the creation of new) so they are more intentionally aimed at bridging our current, isolating gaps and thus fostering collective creativity and ingenuity

Tackling Wicked Food Issues: Applying the Wicked Problems Approach in Higher Education to Promote Healthy Eating Habits in American School Children

Life-long healthy eating habits linked with sustainable local agricultural practices, as “wicked problems” in the United States, are intractable, on-going, and high-stakes issues. An interdisciplinary university course was developed to engage students in participatory research and fieldwork on the inextricably linked dimensions of food, health, and sustainability. Students worked with community partners, stakeholders, and experts to address the specific interdisciplinary issues of diet and promotion of healthy eating habits in American school children. Using a “bottom-up” approach, students co-developed projects with stakeholders (including school children) to empower movement for change. This interactive research process created an iterative feedback loop which fostered more inclusive and creative projects to meliorate the wicked problem at hand. Project proposals ranged from the creation of an interactive website intended for school children, to field trips to local farming communities, to “how-to” workshops for gardening and meal planning, to local tastings. Projects were, in the end, shared with and vetted by community partners for future co-implementation. Using food as an interdisciplinary agent to bring collaboration to fruition, the results of this work indicate higher education could be more effective in preparing students for our 21st century food challenges by developing experiential learning courses in partnership with food communities

Catalyzing Change Through Engaged Department Cohorts: Overcoming the One-and-Done Model

This article examines the merits and challenges of catalyzing institution-wide community engagement through onboarding successive engaged department cohorts. Building upon previous findings, it tests the hypothesis that deep and integrated community engagement within departments can be leveraged into pervasive engagement across an institution, exploring critical challenges to fostering collaborative, scaffolded, and sustained community engagement and offering recommendations. Such initiatives have been designed and piloted across the United States as a possible starting point for shifting often temporary, fragmented, and isolated community engagement efforts to collaborative and sustainable engagement opportunities that span programs of study. This cross-institutional and multi-departmental case study analyzes these claims, documenting the lessons learned from two successive initiatives encompassing 10 engaged departments across three institutions of higher education in the Midwest. Research harnesses traditional surveys, faculty, community, and leadership interviews, initiative reporting documents, as well as systemic action research practices. Through a cross-departmental and institutional comparison analysis, the researchers highlight the most challenging barriers and promising interventions to overcome the one-and-done model of previous engagement efforts

Local Food Innovation in a World of Wicked Problems: The Pitfalls and the Potential

Food-oriented markets, such as food innovation districts (FIDs), have been touted as potential methods to address complex societal issues involving the environment, poverty, and health. On this front the Grand Rapids Downtown Market (DTM) was created in 2013, envisioned as a vibrant public space for local food, entrepreneurship, community health, and jobs. An innovative, collective response to the interconnected and urgent problems of poverty, access, health, diet, and environment, the DTM can serve as a case study through which the value and necessity of a wicked problems framework become apparent. Wicked problems literature demonstrates that collaborative and iterative processes are essential to effective and inclusive transformational change of food systems, while also emphasizing that there can be no final, ideal solution. On the other hand, as an FID intentionally located in a low-income neighborhood, the DTM has been subject to criticism about top-down, expensive, and exclusionary practices aimed at gentrification. In the end, this analysis suggests that while FIDs can address local problems resulting from dominant food systems and practices, they can also function as a gentrifying force. Efforts more directly aimed at bottom-up, participatory engagement are essential to making collectively systemic, equitable changes in current food systems and practices. Emphasizing the need for bridge institutions, we argue that it is essential to value actively a wider array of knowledge cultures

Design Thinking in Higher Education: Opportunities and Challenges for Decolonized Learning

This article builds upon current research to understand the value and limitations of teaching and learning design thinking (DT) in higher education. We implemented a mixed-methods study with faculty and students across 23 diverse courses in four higher education institutions in the United States. Findings showed that following structured learning processes, engaging in active listening, and focusing on others’ perspectives were the most valued DT practices across disciplines. In contrast, prototyping and experimentation were the least used DT practices, with widely varying understandings across disciplines. Additionally, we found consistent evidence that DT can support liberatory teaching and learning practices that decolonize students’ perceptions of power, encourage situated and action-oriented empathy, and provide opportunities for co-creation. This is particularly true when faculty intentionally encourage collaboration and project framing focused on critically analyzing dominant ways of knowing and power structures. Our analysis further revealed the challenges and importance of prototyping and conducting experiments with project partners. Ultimately, this approach can significantly enhance liberatory project outcomes and facilitate decolonized learning experiences. Given our findings, we point out limitations and challenges across current DT pedagogical practices and provide recommendations for integrating DT practices across disciplines in ways that center on issues of systemic oppression, social identity, and human-environmental relationships