Using this Resource
This resource has been designed primarily to support two types of users: session organizers and session facilitators. The resource is not designed to be worked through by participants on their own. There may be some overlap in the content of the organizer and facilitator sections as they are designed as discrete sections for each type of user. Both sections include a range of insights gleaned from our experiences with running these sessions in a variety of contexts. You’ll also find additional insights and rationale for a range of parts of the guide set off in pink boxes.
The resource comprises four filmed scenes, each 7 to 10 minutes long: Zoom Fatigue, Contentious Authorship, No Other Choice and Disclosures. Each scene dramatizes significant relationships between one or more graduate students, their supervisors and in some cases, relevant staff persons, and provokes dialogue around specific challenges that can and do occur. These include supervisory communication, authorship of papers, competition between students, gender and racial discrimination, balancing personal and professional priorities, mental health and privacy.
The following part, Organizing a Workshop, is designed to support session organizers as they arrange a Rock the Boat session. The scenes can be used in any facilitated group context such as a graduate student or faculty orientation, an equity, diversity and inclusion workshop, a supervisory training session, or a departmental retreat. This part will aid in thinking through all steps for organizing a session, including the ideal type of session based on your goals, facilitator recruitment and other relevant considerations.
Part II, Facilitating a Workshop, is designed to train and support session facilitators before a session. This section includes general tips for facilitating, as well as suggestions for facilitating a Rock the Boat session specifically. Given the unique nature of facilitating a session that uses a theatre scene, we highly recommend that even seasoned facilitators read this section carefully. Guidance that is specific to each scene can be found in the following sections.
Beginning with Part III, each section focuses on one of the four scenes present in the resource. Each of these chapters will begin with a brief overview of the scene and the video, followed by a discussion guide for facilitators and finishing with a list of supplemental resources. These resources may be helpful to assign to participants before a session or as additional reading following a session. Each resource includes a brief overview of the contents.
The final parts include a compiled list of the previously mentioned additional resources, transcripts of each scene and a list of available support venues for participants. Please ensure that this list of support venues is tailored to your particular location and updated before providing it to participants.
