The Inclutrain methods are about experiencing the impulse to act and expressing this experience in order to gain new inspiration for working with people who need support. What one has experienced through perceiving while empathising – that is, the impulse to act – can be described using two verbs. Now you might say, in surprise: “But why verbs and not adjectives? Adjectives are ‘how’ words that can be used to characterise something!” And yes, we are used to describing actions with adjectives: he sweeps quickly, she cuts unevenly, he walks relaxed. However, adjectives are always evaluative and fixed in their judgement. The impulse to act, however, should be presented without judgement and as an activity. And even if it may seem unusual, this can be achieved using verbs.
Choose two verbs that spring to mind when doing something together. If (at first) only adjectives come to mind, you can also try to find verbs that match the adjectives. For example:
Adjectives | Verbs |
fast | hurrying, sprinting, rushing, racing, chasing, whizzing |
precise | specifying, defining, filleting, clarifying |
careful | reflecting, anticipating, planning, structuring |
The method involves turning the verbs into present participles, i.e. verbs ending in -ing that describe ongoing actions and adding ‘while’ between the two verbs. In Dorian’s example, the verbs used are ‘to look around’ and ‘to moderate’, so the impulse to act emerges as: ‘moderating while looking around’.
Is that the right impulse to act?
You may now be wondering how one can tell whether one has correctly identified and described the impulse to act. The answer to this question comes from practical experience. If the impulse to act helps you to work better with the other person and to better support them in their way of acting, you are on the right track. Then engaging with the impulse to act inspires you to find new, creative and inclusive forms of collaboration. So, with this method, there is no objective right or wrong. Far more important are the questions: Does it help me in my interactions with the other person? Am I becoming more creative? Am I expanding my repertoire of actions when dealing with other people?
A tool that opens up new perspectives
Accordingly, it should not be regarded as a mistake that different people use different verbs to describe a person’s impulse to act. This is inherent in the method. The description of the impulse to act should never be understood as a diagnosis, a fixed definition or an assessment, but rather as a tool that helps one to adopt new perspectives in educational work. It is not a matter of comparing the impulses to act side by side to assess which fits better. Rather, it is about the inspiration that engaging with the impulse to act personally provides.
In Dorian’s case, for example, I had described the impulse to act two years earlier as ‘structuring while involving’. These are not the same verbs as ‘moderating while looking around’, and yet the same movement becomes visible in them.
The method is therefore about fostering one’s own creativity in action. That is why it ultimately comes down to expressing one’s personal experience, rather than agreeing on ‘the one true impulse for action’. At the beginning, it can of course be helpful to explore the method together and discuss with other participants which words can be used to describe what has been experienced. Ultimately, however, creativity is rooted in one’s own experience. It is awakened so it can be put to use.
