Mapping steps along a pathway to evaluate an experiential transdisciplinary approach to professional learning for ecological researchers

Abstract

The workshop “Cammino di Feudozzo” is a step of a constant research of constructing new ways “to be a researcher” and communicating Ecology. The path of this experience focused on an experiential approach, fit to reinforce and develop plural, relational systemic perspectives, and on a participative observation good to bring out both a collective vision and personal experience. The workshop has been an opportunity for the participants to face different languages and narrations, ways of dialoguing; to welcome points of view of other people; to practice manifold glances. The workshop holistic approach invested also the participants’ attitudes towards social relationships. New perspectives, critical thoughts and visions about more participative processes were fostered by the exploration of physical and emotional experiences which revealed the limits of “being a scientist”. As a consequence the evaluation pathways and strategies required new objectives and a research approach, owing to the uniqueness of this workshop experiences. The fields of evaluation focused on the participants’ beliefs, posture towards the workshop experiences and mainly on the changes of ideas, attitudes, interests, ways of dialoguing and communicating. This paper refers about some general evaluation elements and comments, but also some remarkable evidences of self-evaluation by the participants. All the evaluation issues offer the chance to meditate about the doubts and perplexity of the “researchers under pressure” and their searching for innovative models, languages and narrations.