The Purpose of Structure

The purpose of structure is to support and enhance processes including

• bringing the parties together
• in a timely fashion
• distributing authority and matching responsibility
• utilising contributions from all concerned, and
• achieving some of the purposes of all parties

That is, the purpose of structure is to create ‘windows of opportunity' that will

• enable the process to proceed more easily and more successfully
• while meet the various needs of the parties involved

For many people, education cannot be treated as piece-work. It is rarely a simple mechanistic production task as if it was a matter of

• Input (teaching)  -> Process (learning v.) -> Output (learning n.)

BigPicture, action learning.... and similar mediated, iterative approaches incorporate the ongoing construction (and reconstruction) of generous, flexible,managed and negotiated “windows of opportunity”.