My first step is to relate my research to the conference vision of braiding and two-eyed seeing. My research is interdisciplinary, and also involves a combination of methodologies (technology-enabled collaborative action research and grounded theory method (GTM). I facilitated and conceptualised a collaborative action research problem-solving process that connected the different types of practitioners involved in module design and delivery at the OU (like the module team, remote tutors and students). These people are traditionally geographically separated, but even more so since the pandemic.
So to start off, I’m attaching three pictures (diagrams) from my presentation to introduce some ideas. The first illustrates my ‘interdisciplinary flower’ to show how I combined different approaches.
The second shows my DNA analogy, which I think is another great analogy for braiding. The famous two strands in DNA are reliant on one another, and braided together via the DNA ‘bases’, which in my analogy are people, or project participants. I make the analogy between DNA and ‘organisational learning mechanisms’, which help us to learn and solve problems together.
The third shows a further analogy of a chemistry beaker, to illustrate how the disparate practitioners involved in a fragmented and complex problem situation, can ‘bind’ to an unfolding problem-solving process, if there is sufficient energy and ‘felt need’ to do so. Initially they are swimming around relatively unconnected in the beaker, and the unfolding action research process engages them to mutually reflect and learn about the issues and what might be done, then to take action and evaluate.
This may be quite a lot to take in, as I cannot lead you through it in person, and the connection to openness and ‘open theory building’ is not yet immediately obvious. However I’m experimenting with this approach as @cogdog has invited!! And hopefully breaking the ice for anyone else who wants to have a go. I could also try putting up some short explanatory videos if anyone is interested 
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My next stage could be to share the conceptual framework, which gives a way of thinking about unfolding collaborative problem-solving processes, connected by some sort of learning technology infrastructure. The research uses a Pragmatic ‘becoming’ understanding of reality (or ontology) which acknowledges the ever changing flow of reality and human experience, in contrast to a ‘static’ or ‘being’ ontology. I have prepared the framework as an OER. The idea is for it to be understood and implemented by practitioners without specialist research methodology expertise, who could then share in the theory building and verification in an open but rigorous manner.
Let’s see how this works out!! If you are interested, please do add your questions, ideas and comments. Look forward to talking together.
Interdisciplinary flower for OE Global 2023.pdf (119.4 KB)
OLM slide 1 for OE Global 2023.pdf (262.4 KB)
OLM slide 2 for OE Global 2023.pdf (255.8 KB)