Systems Learning & Leadership, Day 2: Mapping from Chaos to Big Ideas 

Some people go from parts to whole, and others vice-versa. Intrinsic to systems thinking...

This is all about finding ways for people to connect

"Uncovering THE knowledge about this object?" -- sometimes there may be some facts to research about an object -- but of course this is always presented as narrative

What kinds of stories are we looking for? Not fantastical stories? Only plausible or actual stories? (Need to be careful here when worknig with chldren who may assume fiction).

We would normally have started by clustering the postits first, with a Big Idea, then re-grouping them. Mentor's role is to scaffold that clustering/categorisation activity. (Mentor might introduce a higher order categorisation scheme, eg. all the scientific ones here, all the XYZ ones there...). The conversation around this is key.
Alternatives to clustering: other visual representations like Fishbone diagrams are handy (and fun for children), Venn Diagrams, etc

Often what emerges is an understanding of interdisciplinarity: the bones on the fish will have stickies (or icons in Compendium) of different colours, which tells you that different ways of knowing cohere around a common theme.

Look for dissonance as well: tensions and debates in your enquiry, which you will want to bring out. Are they resolved or not?

Is it personal or a group enquiry in school? On way to resolve what the focus of a group enquiry s is that everyone brings in an object/person, but then they argue for their object, an often connections are made, or others can relate to someone else's, eg. "My Granny"

If you're stuck and overwhelmed, Fritz writes about "The Path of Least Resistance": describe the future in the present tense, and talk about what I DID to get past the obstacle.