Braided Lives: Multiple ways of knowing, flowing in and out of knowledge communities

Abstract

This collaborative self-study uses the metaphor of a braided river to both illustrate and interpret the interwoven, interconnected professional lives of members of the Portfolio Group, a 14-year professional relationship among educators (teachers, specialists, administrators, consultants, professors, researchers) in the southwestern USA. The research is grounded in self-study methodology. Employing a transformation framework, the inquiry identifies and explores shared experiences characterized as transformative for the group or for individuals. The study draws attention to how conversations around important, unsolvable and long-standing concerns are shaped by changing experiences and shifting landscapes. It also highlights the role of shared experience and language in developing cohesion between collaborating educators from disparate contexts and in generating more meaningful interaction. Furthermore, it illustrates the way in which reflection streams continuously throughout our work together.

Keywords:

• collaboration
• knowledge community
• portfolios
• teacher knowledge
• self-study
• reflection