A dilemma is a puzzle, an issue that raises questions, an idea that seems to have conceptual gaps, something about process or product that you just can’t figure out. Sometimes it will include samples of student or adult work that illustrate the dilemma, but often it is a dilemma that crosses over many parts of the educational process.
1. Think about your dilemma. Dilemmas deal with issues with which you are struggling or that you are unsure about. Some criteria for a dilemma might include:
• Is it something that is bothering you enough that your thoughts regularly return to the dilemma?
• Is it an issue/dilemma that is not already on its way to being resolved?
• Is it an issue/ dilemma that does not depend on getting other people to change (in other words, can you affect the dilemma by changing your practice)?
• Is it something that is important to you, and is it something you are actually willing to work on?
2. Do some reflective writing about your dilemma. Some questions that might help are:
• Why is this a dilemma for you? Why is this dilemma important to you?
• If you could take a snapshot of this dilemma, what would you/we see?
• What have you done already to try to remedy or manage the dilemma?
• What have been the results of those attempts?
• Who do you hope changes? Who do you hope will take action to resolve this dilemma? If your answer is not you, you need to change your focus. You will want to present a dilemma that is about your practice, actions, behaviors, beliefs, and assumptions, and not someone else’s.
• What do you assume to be true about this dilemma, and how have these assumptions influenced your thinking about the dilemma?
• What is your focus question? A focus question summarizes your dilemma and helps focus the feedback (see the next step).
3. Frame a focus question for your Consultancy group: Put your dilemma into question format.
• Try to pose a question around the dilemma that seems to you to get to the heart of the matter.
• Remember that the question you pose will guide the Consultancy group in their discussion of the dilemma.
4. Critique your focus question.
• Is this question important to my practice?
• Is this question important to student learning?
• Is this question important to others in my profession?
Some Generic Examples of Dilemmas
• The teaching staff seems to love the idea of involving the students in meaningful learning that connects the students to real issues and an audience beyond school, but nothing seems to be happening in reality.
Question: What can I do to capitalize on teachers’ interest and to help them translate theory into practice?
• The community is participating in visioning work, but the work doesn’t seem to relate to the actual life of the school — it is just too utopian.
Question: How do I mesh dreams and reality?
• Teachers love doing projects with the students, but the projects never seem to connect to one another or have very coherent educational goals or focus; they are just fun.
Question: How do I work with teachers so they move to deep learning about important concepts while still staying connected to hands-on learning?
• We keep getting grants to do specific projects with students and the community, but when the money is gone, the work doesn’t continue.
Question: How does sustainability actually work? What needs to change for it to work?
• No matter how hard I try to be inclusive and ask for everyone’s ideas, about half of the people don’t want to do anything new — they think things were just fine before.
Question: How do I work with the people who don’t want to change without alienating them?
Preparing to Present a Dilemma in a Consultancy Protocol
Come to the session with a description of a dilemma related to your practice. Write your dilemma with as much contextual description as you feel you need for understanding. One page is generally sufficient; even a half page is often enough. If you prefer not to write it out, you can make notes for yourself and do an oral presentation, but please do some preparation ahead of time.
End your description with a specific question. Frame your question thoughtfully. What do you REALLY want to know? What is your real dilemma? This question will help your Consultancy group focus its feedback. Questions that can be answered with a “yes” or “no” generally provide less feedback for the person with the dilemma, so avoid those kinds of questions.
