Image by Ethan Honeywell

The Group Works deck is a snapshot in time of an evolving language. As you use these cards to deepen your understanding and practice of group life, you will undoubtedly discover new patterns.  In service of this, we’ve included a few blank cards so that as you identify more patterns you can add them to your deck.  Here are some other ways you can contribute to the further growth of this language.

1. Become an Editor: Contribute Your Knowledge and Wisdom

In the process of developing this deck, we acquired much more information on these patterns than can fit on the cards, including instructions for how to apply them, things to watch out for, resources (books, workshops, etc.), examples, and more.  The more knowledge that is contributed by you and others, the more useful the pattern language for group process is. 

A. Fill out pattern descriptions:  We will shortly be "wikifying" (opening up for general editing) the page on the site for each pattern, where you can contribute what you know and have learned about facilitation and group process.

• Help fill out instructions for how each pattern might be applied. 
• Add Resources to patterns:  You probably know of websites, books, or other resources that have helped you to manifest these patterns, and which may be helpful to others. 
• Add new patterns.
• For existing patterns, suggest new images, alternate heart description wording and other related patterns.

B. The Activities page lists ways we have used the cards that are worth sharing.  We hope that as you discover new activities you will add to it.  As more accumulate, we envision categorizing the uses by type and application.

C. One future endeavor will be to start mapping which patterns are used in which facilitation methods. 

2. Join The Group Works Learning Community and Mailing List

We envision this website serving as virtual home base for a learning community that connects members both via email and face-to-face.  You can join our email list to share your discoveries and hear what others are up to, get together with people in your area to share the cards, create new activities, and connect more deeply.

You may join our mailing list (pattern-hi) using the following form:

Archives for the mailing list can be visited here.

As soon as the pattern database, email list, and community forum have been set up, we will open the site for registration.