Cutting-edge BEtreats
shape the future of social learning
Co-create your own and the collective learning
Unlike traditional workshops, each cutting-edge evolves organically from the collective wisdom and experience of those at the table. Every session directly addresses what matters most to those present and to pressing issues facing the field.
Themes we've explored in the past
AI & Communities of Practice
Exploring how artificial intelligence is reshaping social learning spaces and what it means for community leadership.
Developing Agency
Building new models for understanding and fostering individual and collective agency in learning partnerships.
Making Value Creation Visible
Discovering simple, practical ways to help groups recognize and talk about the value created through their learning together.
Lean Social Learning Spaces
Exploring the essential elements of social learning: what’s the minimum structure and support needed for a thriving learning space?
Future themes
These are just examples – each cutting-edge workshop creates its own unique journey based on the interests, challenges, and aspirations of who is there. The question is: what themes will emerge from your participation and how will we all use them in our work?
Who should join
Cutting-edge workshops are for people who are already familiar with existing models and practices in social learning and who want to catch a glimpse of where the field is going. These workshops are primarily for those who have participated in at least one state-of-the-art BEtreat (communities of practice, systems convening, or evaluating). For many, it is a chance to reconnect with previous BEtreaters and go deeper. Because the program is different each time, some people keep participating year after year. It is a form of professional development anchored in an ongoing, collective effort to push the field forward.
If you have not participated in a BEtreat before and would like to join a cutting-edge one, please contact us.
What we focus on
The overall theme of a cutting-edge BEtreat is the development of social learning capability and the personal experience of social learning leadership. In this frame, the exact themes of the workshop emerge from the issues we discuss. To a large extent, the focus depends on who is there and what challenges and opportunities everyone, including us, brings from their own practice and experience.
Cutting-edge BEtreat into your challenges and opportunities as they have been evolving, and next. In a cutting-edge BEtreat we:
- share cutting-edge work in progress
- consult on each other’s projects and unsettled challenges
- refine our understanding of frameworks in the field and our ability to put them into practice
- explore the trajectories of these frameworks and what improvement they need
- push the bounds of our thinking
The approach is exploratory, iterative, and playful. We work hard and have fun. The cohort is between 5 and 20 people.
How it unfolds
A cutting-edge BEtreat is less structured than a state-of-the-art one. It usually does not have an accompanying text, although we may share some writing in progress.