Human Dynamics
The following entry was previously posted on June 19, 2004. It is being republished here with additional links by request. A video (The Children's Park Design) based on the Human Dynamics theory was used in a recent presentation at the MCC Carnegie retreat and a link to this resource has been added.
Human Dynamics Home Page: http://www.humandynamics.com/index.html
"Children's Park Design" video site: http://www.humandynamics.com/pages/parkdesign.html
Human Dynamics: A New Framework for Understanding People and Realizing the Potential in Our Organizations by Sandra Seagal & David Horne (1997, Pegasus) proposes a model of personality styles with a focus on their interplay in group experiences. The ideas are relevant to our work as communities of practice, and apply to other group experiences such as committee work, and the classroom.
The basic theory focuses on what kinds of information we take in, and how we then process that information. The channels and processing revolve around the mental, emotional, and physical domains. There are implications for how we interact with others, solve problems, and can offer unique contributions to enhance the functioning of a group.
While examples are taken primarily from the corporate world, the ideas presented here are relevant to education, and any human endeavor involving group interaction.