Charrette

Introduction

The charrette is a term used to describe a process for examining pieces of work and is commonly used by architects.  The idea behind this process is that when additional minds are tapped, a piece of work can be moved forward.  Therefore, the overall goal of a charrette is to improve a piece of work. 

The process we will be using is an adaptation of a traditional charrette.  For more information about charrettes and their use in architecture, see http://www.charretteinstitute.org/charrette.html

Roles

• Moderator  (may or may not be the group facilitator)
• Author
• Responding Team (everyone else)

Process

5 minutes: 

• Moderator
  • times
  • takes notes and understands, asking clarifying questions if necessary, what the author wants from the charrette
• Author
  • provides context for the piece or the work in general
  • summarizes the work or a section of the work
  • states a focusing question or statement about what s/he needs from the charrette for the responding team (e.g., How can I make this work better? What seems to be missing from this work?  What didn't make sense?)
• Responding Team
  • listens and takes notes

5 minutes:

• Moderator
  • times
  • re-states what the author is asking of the charrette
  • takes notes while the responding team discussed the work
  • asks clarifying questions of the responding team
  • summarizes the discussion if necessary
• Author
  • listens to the discussion of the responding team and takes notes
• Responding Team
• discusses (with each other and not the author) the work with a special focus on the author's needs (as stated in the first five minutes)

5 minutes:

• Moderator:
  • asks the author to summarize the discussion
  • asks the author to identify their next move with the piece
• Author
  • summarizes what they have gained from the discussion
  • identifies their next move.
• Responding Team
  • listens to the author

Debrief

Each charrette should be followed with an oral or written debriefing.  The questions below are simply suggestions for questions you might ask in a debriefing session. 

• How did this process work for you?
• What did you learn from this process with regard to your piece of work?
• What questions did the charrette surface for you?

Discuss