Inside the Actors’ Studio: Exploring Dietetics Education Practices Through Dialogical Inquiry

Two colleagues, Ann and Jacqui, came together, within the safety of an imagined actors’ studio, to explore the challenges that Ann faced in planning a new graduate program in public health nutrition. They met before, during, and after program implementation to discuss Ann’s experiences, and audio-taped and transcribed the discussions. When all three sessions had concluded, they reviewed the transcripts and discussed their insights further. In doing so, they drew upon the collaborative writing work of Wyatt, Gale, Gannon, and Davies, whose play featuring French theorist Gilles Deleuze, inspired Ann and Jacqui to consider what it meant to work together on this project. Of particular interest was the tension they encountered attempting to tell their stories in the first person narrative voice as well as their differing perspectives on the therapeutic sensibility of the discussions. Through this process, Ann and Jacqui gained insight into their educational practices and came to view dialogue as a valuable method of inquiry.