Teaching and Learning With Body Mapping Online Using Digital Tools: Navigating Methodological Vulnerability and Insights for Future Development

Abstract

How can body mapping—traditionally practiced with physical materials in face-to-face settings—be effectively adapted for teaching and learning in online spaces using digital tools? This question drives our exploration of body mapping as an online method within arts-based research (ABR) and pedagogy. We emphasize directions for teaching about how to use and implement this approach with the aim of creating equitable, inclusive, and justice-centered practices. This article examines our experiences designing and facilitating an online workshop that introduced participants to body mapping using digital tools, drawing on diverse contexts, including our lived experiences teaching body mapping in Kazakhstan and the United States. Through embodied critical self-reflection and poetic inquiry, we navigate the vulnerabilities and “messiness” inherent in qualitative methods, uncovering a process for adapting body mapping for online environments with open access, collaborative, digital art tools. Our exploration highlighted the challenges of transitioning from a tactile and embodied method to a virtual platform. While our process of teaching others how to use body mapping online with digital tools was imperfect and uncomfortable at times, the process offers methodological potential for continued exploration and application. As such, we offer insights into embracing discomfort and provide tangible adaptations for teaching body mapping as a participatory and emancipatory research method.

Keywords

arts-based research teaching research methods critical self-reflection online methods emancipatory practice

Introduction

Through embodied critical self-reflection and poetic inquiry, we navigate the vulnerabilities and “messiness” inherent in qualitative methods, uncovering a process for adapting body mapping for online environments with open access, collaborative, digital art tools. Our exploration highlighted the challenges of transitioning from a tactile and embodied method to a virtual platform. While our process of teaching others how to use body mapping online with digital tools was imperfect and uncomfortable at times, the process offers methodological potential for continued exploration and application. As such, we offer insights into embracing discomfort and provide tangible adaptations for teaching body mapping as a participatory and emancipatory research method.

Act I: Body Mapping Goes Online

The potential. Is it really possible?

Excitement, enticement, opportunity.

The challenge. How can it work? What does it mean? How to get people involved?

The fear: How will they feel? How will we feel? What if it doesn’t work?

Adapting arts-based methods like body mapping to online platforms poses both technical and conceptual challenges. As researchers, we can consider digital accessibility, technological literacy, and maintaining the intimacy and engagement central to embodied methods (Ludlow, 2021; Campbell et al., 2018). If body mapping works within a classroom environment to nurture a feeling of togetherness, and even inclusiveness, we can critically self-reflect and consider the question: How can body mapping be used in an online space for training others about body mapping as a tool to promote justice-centered approaches, such as emancipatory and decolonial aims?

Body mapping, as an arts-based research (ABR) method, has been widely recognized for its capacity to explore complex and sensitive personal narratives through creative and embodied expression (Boydell, 2020; Gastaldo et al., 2018). It is a recognized arts-based participatory approach, offering a means to facilitate the voice of participants (de Jager et al., 2016). Like other forms of arts-based methods, body mapping offers a means to give voice to participants through a direction different than relying on verbal communication. For example, Angela Dew and colleagues (2018) showed how body mapping can be used to understand complex support needs for young people, and Lisa McCorquodale and Deluca (2020) highlighted a novel approach integrating body mapping and mindfulness research.

Within a participatory action research (PAR) framework, body mapping can enhance shared meaning-making by positioning participants as co-creators of knowledge (Minkler & Wallerstein, 2008; Reason & Bradbury, 2013). ABR aligns well with PAR principles as both can democratize research processes, working to ensure that the research “with” communities reflects their voices, rather than treating the communities as “subjects” of inquiry (Liebenberg et al., 2020). For researchers and practitioners seeking to develop and implement equitable, inclusive, and justice-centered research with communities, body mapping can offer immense, such as a decolonizing method in health research (see Gastaldo et al., 2012).

In the following, we discuss our attempts at transitioning the arts-based method – body mapping – to an online teaching space using digital tools. Such an exploration connects the growing body of research that examines how participatory methods can adapt to evolving technological contexts, ensuring that knowledge production remains collaborative and inclusive (Boydell, 2020). Using the arts, we explore these ideas, as researchers engaging in poetic inquiry (Butler-Kisber, 2019; CohenMiller et al., 2024a; Onwuegbuzie et al., 2024). As such, we pause throughout the article to integrate poems that reflect deep critical self-reflection as a form of contemplative inquiry (see CohenMiller, 2024a; CohenMiller & Boivin, 2021; Janesick, 2015, 2016). As such, the following unfolds with a woven tapestry of methodological processes of material. Through weaving, we learn that ideas and processes in qualitative inquiry can unfold in intricate, beautiful ways, such as through dramaturgical inquiry (Saldaña, 2003) of research insights unfolding through acts (e.g., CohenMiller, 2024b; CohenMiller et al., 2024b).

As we navigate the intersection of technology and embodied expression, our findings offer valuable insights into the transformative possibilities of merging traditional practices with the evolving landscapes of online learning and research. We seek to extend the important work of researchers using body mapping in online spaces, such as Priya Vaughan and colleagues (2022), by contributing insights into our process and suggested directions for teaching and learning about body mapping online with the integration of digital tools.

Act II: Revealing Ourselves

Considering how our professional and personal perspectives overlap, our positionality becomes an important foundation. As Htong Kham (2024) notes of positionality, “How we position ourselves affects the research approach, the interpretation of the data and, therefore, the whole research process” (para 1). We move from a professional level to a deeper space. A consideration of our positionality, “Our background, the purpose of our research, and our agenda affect our research. Another way to say this is that our positionality influences inquiry and those we work with” (CohenMiller & Boivin, 2021, p. 17, emphasis in original). (These narrative descriptions of our positionality are later followed up with a visual representation as an example from the workshop.)

For Aigul, she explained of her positionality:

My positionality, shaped by personal, professional, and academic experiences, is a mosaic that unfolds with depth. Rooted in traditional Kazakh culture, my family’s roles as a mother, daughter, and wife are paramount. These ties fuel my commitment to addressing life’s challenges and improving people’s lives through education. My positionality is evidence of the interconnectedness of personal, professional, and academic facets, reinforcing the transformative potential of education and research in shaping a better future.

And for Anna, she explained:

My personal and professional passion and commitment are grounded in a heart of my life and work, a technical phrasing we’d call today – equity, inclusion and social justice. These lenses are deeply situated within me, without words, felt and embodied, as a Sephardic (Spanish-Jewish) woman growing up in the USA. A liminal space of borderlands, histories of forced displacement across generations resonate within me as being an outsider and not fitting in “right.” And yet these pasts and contemporary realities have offered me, complexities…perspectives…. insight to seeing others, in particular their struggles and ideas for coming together to find solutions; an insider-embodied link across time and communities in moving, towards a collective hopeful future.

Initially, our engagement with body mapping followed a “conventional” trajectory within physical spaces where participants became co-researchers and developed large-scale drawings with papers and colors. This work has spanned many years, across both teaching the method and also in researching with body mapping. In this article, we explore a workshop about body mapping we gave at an international qualitative conference, discuss the experience, and suggest steps for others interested in promoting the use of body mapping online using digital tools.

We have worked with body mapping in varied ways and contexts. For Anna, she has extensive experience in arts-based research (e.g., 2016, 2018, 2020a, 2020b, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024a, 2024b), and she taught the body mapping method in Kazakhstan to graduate students learning about innovative research methods. The idea for the class was to have students engaged in experiential learning and action research to explore and see the potential and challenges of different research methods. Through hands-on practice, the students got a chance to see what the method felt like as a researcher and as a participant. Students frequently mentioned feeling better connected with one another and more self-aware through using the arts-based methods in a supportive classroom setting. These insights align with research around the power of contemplative inquiry and critical self-reflection to increase awareness, vulnerability, and willingness to learn about others (see CohenMiller, 2022b, 2023, 2024a; CohenMiller & Boivin, 2021; Janesick, 2015, 2016). Furthermore, contemplative practices like body mapping align with participatory action research (PAR), emphasizing self-reflection and shared meaning-making among participants (Reason & Bradbury, 2013).

Through hands-on research in the course, Aigul learned about the method and practiced it, later teaching about it in Kazakhstan and later in the United States, where she began using online platforms and digital tools to teach undergraduate students. In our teaching the research, we saw how powerful body mapping was in generating personal insights into experiences and sharing meaningfully with communities.

These ideas continued to evolve between Anna and Aigul. When Aigul moved to the US, she continued to use body mapping within research methods and pedagogical practices, including showing students how to use body mapping with digital tools. Across these experiences, a fundamental underlying aspect centered on the emancipatory potential of body mapping. These insights showcase body mapping’s potential as both a research method and also as a pedagogical tool for promoting inclusivity and community-building (Minkler & Wallerstein, 2008).

This journey has seen us integrate body mapping as a pivotal method in arts-based research, recognizing its potential as an emancipatory practice for education and inquiry. Arts-based methods like body mapping, when paired with PAR, allow participants to become co-creators of knowledge, ensuring that research is conducted ‘with’ rather than ‘on’ communities (Minkler & Wallerstein, 2008; Reason & Bradbury, 2013). And while body mapping is known and used in some fields, we also learned that many new to the field of qualitative research are not always offered the chance to learn about the arts-based, emancipatory practice. Our interest, along with the added need in a COVID-19 research world, made it all more clear the space for exploring online application of body mapping. This inquiry spurred us to contemplate the translation of the arts-based approach to the digital realm. When the international qualitative conference showed interest in our workshop, we saw that as a clear sign of the need.

Act III: Questioning

To try to unpack our experiences in the teaching workshop, we debriefed with one another and critically self-reflected about the process. Critical self-reflection is a tool used within reflexive processes in qualitative research to enhance our awareness and understanding (CohenMiller & Boivin, 2021). It is also a form of contemplative inquiry. Valerie Janesick notes the potential enhancement of researcher reflective notes as a form of contemplative qualitative inquiry. Whether noting down a process of research unfolding or explaining challenges faced, Janesick (2016) encourages such reflective writing. We debriefed and took notes on our experience from the workshop together immediately following the workshop on Zoom. We then individually continued with our personal critical self-reflection on teaching about body mapping online, exploring our feelings, what we understood about the participants’ experience (e.g., feelings, confusions), and what we suggested for the future to improve the process of methodological learning. These discussions continued in short form via text messages over the course of multiple months for the development of this article. As a part of the analysis process and writing, poetic inquiry evolved, showing another way of understanding experiences (e.g., CohenMiller et al., 2024a; Onwuegbuzie et al., 2024) and embodied lives in and beyond the body mapping workshop.

Act IV: Seeing a Fit in the Conversation

When we think about body mapping, we can see the “fit” within arts-based research (ABR). And to understand ABR more, we can look into its application over the years and how it has increasingly been recognized for its capacity to merge creative expression with participatory action research (PAR) frameworks, amplifying participant voices and fostering collaborative knowledge creation (Minkler & Wallerstein, 2008; Reason & Bradbury, 2013). ABR and community-based research have a long history. Integrated across disciplines, ABR can be seen in anthropology since the late 1800s, later solidified in the 1960s through visual ethnographic methods (see Collier & Collier, 1986), in social sciences in the 1970s, and formally taking hold in education in the 1980s as an innovative pedagogical and methodological tool (see Barone & Eisner, 1997), and in medicine, art therapy offered important directions forward in the 1990s in particular (see McNiff, 2007).

Another direction for ABR aligns with its potential as “socially engaged research,” as Qinchung Wang and colleagues (2017) emphasize, of which body mapping is one such approach (Boydell, 2020). Within the scope of PAR, body mapping holds the potential to democratize research processes by placing participants at the center as co-researchers rather than subjects (Liebenberg et al., 2020). Yet, the acceptance of the arts is fairly new within traditional research paradigms and needs to continue to be recognized as an important practice (Leavy, 2020). These practices, however, also include some tension, which raises questions regarding quality and rigor of ABR methods, which Leavy (2020) suggests can be addressed by “embracing the messiness” of creative methodologies as part of the process.

While body mapping has a history connected to community health studies and advocacy, as we work with communities, especially those who are “vulnerable,” body mapping offers potential, and as Pateka Jama and colleagues (2024) explain, cautions as well. And moving the arts-based approach to digital spaces is a recent transition. According to a systematic review of body mapping conducted by Adèle de Jager et al. (2016), the first instance of body mapping was by Carol MacCormack and Alizon Draper in 1987. In creating an encouraging space of becoming online, we sought to align with principles of participatory action research (PAR), which emphasize fostering inclusivity, co-creation, and collaboration within research processes (Minkler & Wallerstein, 2008; Reason & Bradbury, 2013). In that process, we were also seeking to expand our individual awareness and become more willing and open to hearing others’ experiences. Our emphasis on centering ourselves with contemplative inquiry drew from our own work (see CohenMiller, 2022, 2024b; CohenMiller & Boivin, 2021) and from the work of Janesick (2015, 2016) and Bhattacharya (2022). Recognizing that digital spaces present unique challenges for creating safe, collaborative environments, we intentionally grounded the workshop in reflective and relational practices.

Some arts-based practices have also been shown as adaptable for online spaces, such as adapting photovoice for online use (Call-Cummings & Hauber-Özer, 2021; CohenMiller & Izekenova, 2022; Lichty et al., 2019). For example, asynchronous online photovoice suggests practical steps to address what can we referred to as “justice-centered” issues (social justice, environmental justice, economic justice) (see CohenMiller & Grace, forthcoming). Expanding the knowledge of researchers using body mapping online with digital tools presents significant potential. It allows for the development of methods that enhance equity, inclusion, and access. These approaches can help researchers broadly understand the lived experiences and needs of diverse communities. For example, body mapping online with digital tools could help to bridge gaps for individuals living in hard-to-reach areas or those with limited time and resources for travel. Such a flexibility in method and methodology in engaging “marginalized” communities aligns with PAR principles of accessibility and collective meaning-making (Reason & Bradbury, 2013).

Body mapping is still emerging in widespread online use, with novel directions, such as a platform for creating body maps online created by Bryn Ludlow (2021). As explained in the 2021 chapter, Ludlow notes that the platform was developed in 2011 and can offer accessibility, ease of use, and scalability compared to traditional pen-and-paper methods. At the time of writing this article, it is unclear how researchers could access the platform and engage with communities. As such, body mapping online, we suggest, still needs further expansion to address the use of accessible open-access spaces to conduct this important participatory research with communities.

Other discussions and applications of body mapping online include examining theory in online embodiment (Rudnicki, 2017), virtual reality (VR) technology, wearable technology, and using an online video platform for interactions but with hand-drawn imagery (Vaughan et al., 20,222). For example, Priya Vaughan and colleagues (2022) describe conducting multiple online body mapping workshops through videoconferencing with participants creating body maps on physical papers, which related to the participants’ lived experience of stigma and discrimination in facing disability, mental distress and/or refugee backgrounds. Notably, this article appears to be the first to document the implementation of web-based workshops for facilitating body mapping (Vaughan et al., 2022).

As related to virtual reality, beyond online workshops, integrating participatory methods with technology into body mapping research opens up new possibilities for exploring embodied experiences and democratizing research processes. For example, online applications, VR technology, and wearable devices offer innovative data collection and analysis approaches, enhancing the depth and richness of qualitative research. Such integration, while complex, has the potential to engage communities in co-creating narratives, aligning with the core values of participatory action research (Edwards, 2021).

Others have also looked into VR technology as a means of going deeper into self, a transformative experience of body mapping (Gitau et al., 2022). And Sarah Ticho (2021) explored the fusion of body mapping methodology with VR technology, highlighting the potential for immersive and interactive experiences. By creating virtual environments where participants can digitally represent their narratives, VR-based body mapping studies offer a novel approach to exploring embodied experiences, which is suggested as a means to offer depth and richness of data collected for complex situations (Ticho, 2021).

Another way of thinking about body mapping in a broad sense can be seen through integrating wearable technology, such as fitness trackers and smartwatches, with body mapping research. As Geoffrey Edwards (2021) discusses, utilizing wearable devices enhances participant involvement by offering real-time data on physiological responses and activity levels, complementing participants’ qualitative representations. Edwards (2021) states that this integration supports participatory research goals by allowing researchers and participants to interpret lived experiences collectively.

Yet, despite the increasing attention to technology in research, the literature concerning online body mapping remains limited. And the literature and insights around teaching and learning about online body mapping with open-access digital tools appear to be, as of yet, nonexistent. By integrating digital tools early, we aimed to build participants’ digital competence, aligning with PAR’s emphasis on capacity-building and shared learning (Minkler & Wallerstein, 2008).

Act V: Action!

“Welcome to the workshop for body mapping online!”

Oh my goodness, it’s really starting. Who will show up? Will Zoom work throughout? Will people be able to access the whiteboard? Can they hear us? Are they engaged? Confused? Curious?

Planning for the Workshop

In January 2024, we offered an online workshop of 1.5 hours as an opportunity to engage participants in exploring and playing with using digital tools for body mapping online. We described the workshop as a means to engage in thoughtful discussion and practice about theory, rigor, ethics, and practicalities of body mapping online with digital tools. The workshop included collaborative online space to delve into hands-on practice for exploring the innovation of the justice-centered arts-based approach for online spaces.

Through the interactive online experience, we hoped and explained in the description for the workshop that we aimed to collaboratively develop an outcome to share with others through our collective insights discovered could offer a means toward a future coproduced publication addressing the suggested steps and challenges for implementing online body mapping as a creative methodological approach speaking to social, economic, and environmental justice-centered research.

Participants

Having participated in the conference in the past as a keynote speaker (CohenMiller, 2022a) and workshop leader, we knew that many attend with a wide array of experience in qualitative research, from complete novices to well-established scholars. As such, the following section is intended to articulate a process for those interested in translating the workshop to other contexts and for expanding it to further enhance learning.

During the workshop, the two of us led the session, with two people from the conference coming in and out for technical support and to offer encouragement on the sessions. Eleven other people joined via Zoom from different disciplinary backgrounds and regions of the world, including North America, Europe, and Africa. Having only used body mapping as a method in the physical classroom, Anna knew this workshop would be a new process for her. And for Aigul, although she had taught students about the method, this was the first time having a set of participants (“students”) with varied backgrounds and knowledge of arts-based methods, as well as online tools.

Teaching Online Body Mapping with Digital Tools

We opened our session with contemplative inquiry, positionality, and developing some common competence in digital tools, situating our work in arts-based research. In welcoming people to the Zoom online space, we worked to create an environment encouraging a sense of being together, where people felt safe and encouraged to ask questions, discuss and explore ideas together.

We asked: “So, what then is body mapping?” Then, we offered a brief description of body mapping, describing its foundation as an arts-based community-based participatory approach, offering a means to facilitate the voice of participants. We explained how it could be used as a research and pedagogical approach to promote discussion of sensitive topics relating to diverse cultural contexts. As such, the method reflects a participatory action research ethos by promoting empowerment and shared ownership of narratives (Minkler & Wallerstein, 2008). Thus, we can think about body mapping as a participatory research and arts to elicit deeper learning and understanding (Liebenberg et al., 2020). Through self-representation, body mapping includes narrative exploration, empowerment and agency, incorporates cultural and contextual knowledge, and often involves therapeutic applications.

We then asked participants to consider the following question as we moved to bridge ABR, body mapping and online research: “And what about body mapping online?” This question remained as a backdrop to consider as we moved forward. Then we proposed the question, “Who are you at a professional and personal level? For those new to understanding positionality, we offered a brief explanation and a short positionality statement. In showing who we were, we sought to highlight our own vulnerability, recognizing it is not an easy process (Jacobson & Mustafa, 2019). This explicit discussion of positionality helped to situate us as facilitators, showing our experiences and beliefs within the research context. Through that process, we hoped that it could further promote and nurture trust and rapport among participants. We encouraged participants to consider and critically self-reflect upon their own positionality. To guide that process, we displayed the following questions:

• What has informed my work and life?

• How do I connect with others?

• Why am I doing the work I’m doing?

These reflective prompts served as an entry point for exploring identity and were directly tied to the body mapping method, which we explained as a process of self-representation and embodied experiences.

With the basis of understanding what body mapping is and seeing ourselves in the process as part of participatory research, the next step was to integrate digital tools. Thus, to practice using digital tools – the same ones we planned to use for exploring body mapping itself – we invited everyone to click on a link for an online collaborative whiteboard. We used Google Jamboard and Miro in the past to teach research methods and decided to use Jamboard as a simple way for new users to access the tools and collaborate quickly. For those looking to integrate digital tools today, we explained to participants about other free and accessible options, such as Sketchpad, Microsoft Whiteboard, FigJam and Lucidspark. (These other options are particularly important considering that as of December 2024, Jamboard is no longer available.)

The goal of the online whiteboards was to create a space for the participants to collectively and in real-time share, comment, and expand upon one another’s written and drawn items and also edit and delete their own or one another’s work. The activity thus served two interconnected purposes. First, it familiarized participants with the tools necessary for the online body mapping process, reducing potential technological barriers. Second, it facilitated an initial reflective exercise that mirrored the self-representational focus of body mapping, helping participants connect to their identities and lived experiences. As a prompt, we encouraged participants with the following: “Take a moment and write down as many things as you can think of that relates to who you are.” We then showed them how to use the sticky-note feature and provided approximately 5 minutes for writing and creating a board together. In Figure 1, we created a sticky note board similar to the type used during the workshop. The two of us brainstormed words we might use to refer to our positionality, a visual snapshot of our positionality as a narrative.

Figure 1.

Collaborative positionality sticky-notes.

The second half of the workshop focused on applying the digital tools to body mapping through Zoom and the collaborative whiteboard: “Now that we’ve had some practice with the online whiteboard, let’s try it out with body mapping.” Our emphasis was on thinking about social justice through a PAR lens, using body mapping to encourage collaborative problem-solving and shared ownership of the process. Through this approach, we sought to align the teaching and research process with PAR’s emphasis on empowering participants as co-researchers (Minkler & Wallerstein, 2008).

As an example, we explained our emphasis on equity, inclusion and social justice. We asked participants to design body maps focusing on these topics, including showing an outline of a person that they would later use in their collaborative break-out spaces. We explained how the various parts of the body and approaches could be considered (see Figure 2 for a PowerPoint slide with these instructions). For example, drawings and words related to our visions, hopes and aspirations regarding a just and equitable society could be placed around the top of the body by the head. Our feelings and emotional connections would link to the area of the body near the heart, and the actions we want to engage in could be represented near the hands.

Figure 2.

Instructions for body mapping online with digital tools.

The specifics of developing the body mapping process included the following for participants to consider, explore, and integrate as part of their collaborative research process. We identified the following, which could be considered and integrated:

• Digital tools - including drawing, symbols and text to convey personal feelings, empathy and emotion as connected to the topic.

• Visual flow - using connecting lines or elements to show the interrelated nature of visions, emotions, and actions

• Preparation for sharing - preparing oneself to describe and engage with others in discussion

Through this process and structure, we embedded PAR principles of collaborative problem-solving and participant ownership, fostering deeper engagement with social justice issues (Minkler & Wallerstein, 2008; Reason & Bradbury, 2013).

While initially all together in one online Zoom space, after providing examples of what to consider, participants were invited to join breakout groups in Zoom to talk through their thoughts and create an image together. By creating breakout rooms, participants worked together to produce shared imagery, fostering collaboration and mutual reflection—central PAR principles. The use of small groups mirrors PAR’s focus on creating collaborative and reflexive spaces where participants feel empowered to share their perspectives and co-create meaning. While the three groups created imagery, what we found from the process itself was what was particularly eye-opening.

Act VI: And the Result?

“Where do we start with thinking this through?”

It’s done…yay! Right? But it didn’t all flow.

There were hiccups, stalls, concerns.

Are we ready to face those? What does it mean about the process?

What does it mean about us? What does it mean about those present, about research methods in general?

In the 1.5 hour qualitative research workshop, we sought to engage participants online through Zoom in guiding them through understanding ABR, body mapping, and collaboratively working to generate data through body mapping online with digital tools. A foundational aspect was aiming to create an online space -- through audio, text, and imagery -- where everyone feels equally included, heard, valued and able to contribute. A goal of the workshop had also been to create a collective analysis of the experience to write and share about to enhance research and teaching around body mapping. However, the plan did not unfold as initially intended.

Through our reflection on the teaching and learning process of body mapping online, we saw that there were too many components involved for the amount of time. After debriefing, we were both exhilarated to have worked with others and to have shared such a meaningful research process. And also, many questions showed up as we talked together, Anna and Aigul, and then in individual research notes, and through texts over the months. Many what-if’s emerged:

• What if only we hadn’t broken into separate breakout rooms but all worked collectively in one space?

• What if we had asked for everyone to have some sort of baseline knowledge of arts-based research prior to arriving?

• What if the workshop was given for those already familiar with body mapping, how would it have unfolded differently?

• What does this mean for teaching body mapping online with digital tools for others?

We found it was too much, to both learn body mapping and practice it and digest the process. Our workshop became so full of content and processes that there was not enough time for…breath. Little room for general questions and lessons learned. We missed the chance for what Jasmine Ulmer (2016) refers to as a Slow Ontology, or a Slow Ontology 2.0 (CohenMiller & Dresscher-Lambertus, 2024). For instance, we did not build in general conversation flexible time or a chance to discuss potential overlaps and interests regarding sharing contact information for follow up. This meant that when the session ended, the Zoom room automatically closed.

Act VII: Moving Forward with Imperfection

Overall, the workshop to teach body mapping online with digital tools showed great potential. We saw the clear interest and need to expand upon participatory methods like body mapping to online settings. Technology can facilitate connection with hard-to-reach populations, providing opportunities to engage participants who may otherwise be excluded. However, it also presents risks. If not handled reflexively, digital methods can inadvertently reinforce deficit thinking or create inequities in participation. More research and praxis are needed to make the process of learning for facilitators and researchers smoother, so as to facilitate all of our community work. Such an emphasis aligns with broader calls within participatory research to view such challenges not as failures but as opportunities for reflection, learning, and growth (Clark & Sousa, 2020; CohenMiller et al., 2020).

Ultimately, for others interested in continuing to evolve and adapt teaching and learning body mapping online with digital tools, we suggest the following three points to frame future research and teaching:

Promote & Nurture Safe and Inclusive Spaces

We questioned ourselves and the processes we engaged in: Were we able to create a safe and supportive space for participants? From feedback from participants in the Zoom session, we discussed the process of learning about body mapping with online tools and our process. Participants shared about appreciating learning the new method, even though some struggled with the idea of being creative themselves. For some people, body mapping was a completely new method, while others were more challenged by its digital adaptation. By fostering a safe and collaborative environment, participants gradually appeared to feel comfortable sharing their feelings and experiences, which reflects the importance of building trust in PAR and ABR contexts (Liebenberg et al., 2020).

Dedicate Time for Technical Learning and Challenges

We also explored: How did participants feel about learning the technical aspects of digital tools? The participants responded positively when they were first introduced to positionality through collaborative whiteboards, such as Google Jamboard. This was encouraging and helped build confidence when transitioning to body mapping tasks. However, the simplicity of the tools also presented challenges. Participants could easily add, erase, or even delete entire boards—sometimes accidentally. While features to “redo” erased items existed, they were limited to the person who had deleted the item. This technical issue highlighted the importance of thorough preparation and clear instructions, particularly when introducing digital tools in participatory workshops.

Provide Comprehensive, Multimodal Instructions

Finally, we reflected: Did participants understand the process of body mapping online? We found that many participants did indeed understand the body mapping process using digital tools online, but others struggled until the end. For example, some breakout groups required additional explanations during the activity, and in another case, additional instructions were needed to be explicitly added to the digital collaborative boards to support participants in real-time. To that end, if available, the addition of facilitators, accessible during both group and breakout sessions could address both these challenges.

The workshop, debriefing, and critical self-reflection reinforced key insights about the importance of balancing guidance with participant agency, a principle central to participatory methods such as PAR. By refining pedagogical strategies, we see a clear direction for researchers to enhance participant learning in co-creating knowledge and engaging meaningfully with body mapping online with digital tools. And thus, through integrating an iterative approach of creating space, time, and encouragement aligns with broader calls for participatory methods to embrace challenges as opportunities for reflection, innovation, and growth. Ultimately then, we hope that other justice-centered researchers and educators will be inspired to critically reflect upon potential directions for expanding body mapping online with digital tools, creating empowering spaces for learning and collaboration.

Footnotes

Acknowledgements

Thank you to Dr Magda Faria and Dr Linda Liebenberg, and the reviewers at IJQM, for the meaningful suggestions and guidance in the revision of this article. We would also like to thank Mina Naji for her noteworthy insights around body mapping, which helped us to emphasize the link to participatory action research.

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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