Inviting Understanding

Inviting Understanding: A Portrait of Invitational Rhetoric is an authoritative reference work designed to provide a comprehensive overview of the theory of invitational rhetoric, developed twenty-five years ago by Sonja K. Foss and Cindy L. Griffin. This theory challenges the conventional conception of rhetoric as persuasion and defines rhetoric as an invitation to understanding as a means to create a relationship rooted in equality, immanent value, and self-determination. Rather than celebrating argumentation, division, and winning, invitational rhetoric encourages rhetors to listen across differences, to engage in dialogue, and to try to understand positions different from their own. Organized into the three categories of foundations, extensions, and applications, Inviting Understanding is a compilation of published articles and new essays that explore and expand the theory. The book provides readers with access to a wide range of resources about this revolutionary theory in areas such as community organizing, social justice activism, social media, film, graffiti, institutional and team decision making, communication and composition pedagogy, and interview protocols. Current cultural, social, and political divisions in the United States and across the world suggest that the principles and practices of invitational rhetoric are sorely needed, and a volume that demonstrates its application in various contexts may inspire readers to put it into practice in the contexts in which they work and live.

In this book we present a comprehensive view of a systemic approach to working with families, initiated by Karl Tomm more than two decades ago at the Calgary Family Therapy Centre in Canada. The contributors of this edited book articulate the IPscope framework as it was originally designed and its evolution over time. We invite you, experienced professionals and new family therapists, to join with us to explore some of the mysteries of human relationships. While the focus on our explorations revolves around clinical mental health problems and initiatives towards solutions, the concepts are applicable in many domains of daily life. They highlight the ways in which we, as persons, invite each other into recurrent patterns of interaction that generate and maintain some stability in our continuously changing relationships. The stabilities arise when our invitations become coupled and can be characterized as mutual; yet, they always remain transient. What is of major significance is that these transient relational stabilities can have major positive or negative effects in our lives. Consequently, we could all potentially benefit from greater awareness of the nature of these patterns, how particular patterns arise, and how we might be able to influence them.

The first comprehensive exploration of the nature and value of understanding, addressing burgeoning debates in epistemology and philosophy of science.

Your guide to becoming an explanation specialist. You've done the hard work. Your product or service works beautifully - but something is missing. People just don't see the big idea - and it's keeping you from being successful. Your idea has an explanation problem. The Art of Explanation is for business people, educators and influencers who want to improve their explanation skills and start solving explanation problems. Author Lee LeFever is the founder of Common Craft, a company known around the world for making complex ideas easy to understand through short animated videos. He is your guide to helping audiences fall in love with your ideas, products or services through better explanations in any medium. You will learn to: Plan: Learn explanation basics, what causes them to fail and how to diagnose explanation problems. Package: Using simple elements, create an explanation strategy that builds confidence and motivates your audience. Present: Produce remarkable explanations with visuals and media. The Art of Explanation is your invitation to become an explanation specialist and see why explanation is now a fundamental skill for professionals.

This book is a way of sharing insights empirically gathered, over decades of interactive media development, by the author and other children’s designers. Included is as much emerging theory as possible in order to provide background for practical and technical aspects of design while still keeping the information accessible. The author's intent for this book is not to create an academic treatise but to furnish an insightful and practical manual for the next generation of children’s interactive media and game designers. Key Features Provides practical detailing of how children's developmental needs and capabilities translate to specific design elements of a piece of media Serves as an invaluable reference for anyone who is designing interactive games for children (or adults) Detailed discussions of how children learn and how they play Provides lots of examples and design tips on how to design content that will be appealing and effective for various age ranges Accessible approach, based on years of successful creative business experience, covers basics across the gamut from developmental needs and learning theories to formats, colors, and sounds

To "invite a monkey to tea" is to befriend our own mind-which is often compared to a drunken monkey for all its mad twists and turns. A wild monkey is full of irrepressible desires, and thus chases its own tail in its search for happiness! This book is about learning to welcome the mind as ally without fear or resistance, thus relaxing that frantic search and resting in the joy of who we already are. As a psychotherapist, author Nancy Colier has accompanied hundreds of people in their "search for happiness" for nearly two decades. She has watched her clients try everything under the sun to be-and stay-happy. Witnessing and participating in this process, she has become an expert in happiness, or more specifically, in the monkey-mind's search and demand for it, and the unhappiness that all the striving ultimately creates. Along the way, the author has come to understand the workings of the mind-both from her clients and by her own diligent practice of meditation and self-observation. This book distills the wisdom and experience of her dedicated work, and offers readers a roadmap of the territory of mind, plus a toolbox of practical means for identifying and working gently with the unrealistic expectations that keep us from the enjoyment of who we are. Inviting a Monkey to Tea explains how to: * Identify addictive (and dead-end) approaches to happiness * Build a new relationship to self-caretaking, putting aside the tyranny of blame, fear, neglect and perfectionism * Befriend the mind, with gentleness and compassion * Enter and stay rooted in the present moment * Live with genuine wellbeing and lasting contentment This book takes the wisdom of Eastern philosophy and presents it in a way that people can feel safe to approach, understand, and ultimately apply within their lives. The book is a handshake between self-help and dharma (spiritual teaching). The author walks the reader, step by step, through the process of spiritual change toward and into a new identity-free from dependency on the idea of happiness as savior. Reading this book will generate its own profound metamorphosis. Readers will be softened, as they learn of others like themselves who have moved into this domain of self-acceptance. Nancy Colier is a brilliant guide who clearly marks this trail with her own presence, kindness and compassion. At this "tea party" the reader can relax, renew intention, self-examine, and choose a new road to lifelong contentment. "Nancy Colier reconsiders happiness in a way that dispels our illusions about it, bringing the joy we seek ever closer to us. Written from the perspective of someone who has walked the roads she takes us down." -- MARIANA CAPLAN, author Eyes Wide Open: Cultivating Discernment on the Spiritual Path. "An outstanding guidebook for journeying beyond futile and superficial searches for happiness to cultivating deep and abiding sources of well-being and grounded presence." -- DIANE BERKE, Founder & Spiritual Director, One Spirit Learning Alliance/One Spirit Interfaith Seminary. "An engaging and readable guide to the process of befriending ourselves, discovering our intrinsic well-being, and beyond that, grounding in open, wakeful presence free from the grip of thought and emotion. The book's straightforward, unpretentious style makes this journey accessible to everyone. Highly recommended." -- JOHN WELWOOD, author Toward a Psychology of Awakening.

In this book there is something for everyone. The theorist will have ample opportunity to test his or her current knowledge against this model, to find answers to questions and to stimulate more thinking. The person who needs to see and understand the value of committing time to learn something new will not be disappointed. You will certainly find a rich source of material that will add value when applied in the workplace. The person who likes to play with theory, tossing it around, testing it on friends and even applying it at work, will like this book, as there will be stimulation enough to satisfy. Those who care about people and want to know how to further improve on the quality of their relationships will love this book. People who need to grasp the nettle of tricky situations and apply what they know to get results quickly that make positive impact on their bottom line will grasp the power of this tool. Those who need to take time to turn things over and examine them by reflecting upon the learning points and seeing how to use the tools will find plenty to stimulate their imaginations. This book about coaching using PCM is overflowing with the complexity and at the same time the ordinariness of people in relationships. This model can help you develop skills in four areas: self-knowledge and self-awareness self-management knowledge and awareness of others relationship management Happy Coaching!

Language Building Blocks is an accessible resource that familiarizes early childhood professionals with linguistics, the scientific study of language. Knowledge of linguistics will enable early childhood educators to successfully teach young children core competencies, ranging from phonemic awareness, reading and math, to health literacy and intercultural awareness. The text includes numerous real-life examples for diverse age groups and learning styles. The online Resource Guide provides hands-on activities and contributions by top scholars in the field. This resource shows teachers how to systematically empower and include all children. This teacher-friendly book: Provides an enhanced understanding of language and language acquisition, minimizing misdiagnoses of special needs.Makes language come alive for children and educators preparing for the Praxis Test.Demonstrates that children develop key skills when they can (dis)assemble language.Highlights approaches Dr. Seuss used to make reading fun for young readers.Offers innovative language and literacy observation and enhancement strategies, including multilingual math and literacy, language exploration, and play.Illustrates the value of observation, collaboration, and inquiry in early learning. “The great value of this resource is that it offers numerous 'bridging' reflections, strategies, and specific instructional interventions. It is a must for any educator that must understand the significant link between language and achievement in schooling contexts.” —From the Foreword by Eugene García “An extraordinarily informative, useful, and highly accessible tool for educators of young children of all language backgrounds. An excellent resource for teacher preparation and professional development.” —Dorothy S. Strickland, Samuel DeWitt Proctor Professor of Education, Emerita, Distinguished Research Fellow, National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER), Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey “Informativo! Educators must know how to break down language, how discourse mirrors culture, and how Spanish and other languages promote success in core content areas.” —Rossana Ramirez Boyd, President, National Association for Bilingual Education “A truly necessary guide to understanding language for early childhood teachers in today’s multicultural and multilingual world. Pandey clearly explains the fullness and potential of linguistic knowledge in teaching, honoring the role of the reflective teacher, and celebrating the uniqueness of young children and their languages worldwide.” —Debora B. Wisneski, University of Nebraska at Omaha, President, Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) Anita Pandey is professor of linguistics and coordinator of Professional Communication in the Department of English and Language Arts at Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland.