Using Social Learning Spaces to Think Beyond and Innovate Conventional Conferencing Formats

Across the academic landscape, scientific organizations host conferences that enable researchers to come together to foster learning, stimulate innovation, and promote change. Within the diverse field of kinesiology, conferences can help develop and disseminate knowledge on a range of issues such as athlete development and coach education. The purpose of the present article is to discuss the possibilities of thinking beyond conventional conferencing formats by creating dynamic social learning spaces that promote networking, critical thinking, and reflexivity. The theory underpinning social learning spaces is explained, followed by a narrative chronology of the three phases of evolution of the blue room group, an interdisciplinary collaboration of youth sport scholars who aim to foster innovation across subdisciplines of kinesiology. An interpretative summary of the blue room group as a social learning space is presented, in accordance with the principles of caring to make a difference, engaging uncertainty, and paying attention. The perceived benefits of kinesiology, as well as the challenges and limitations of the blue room, are discussed based on the authors’ experiences operating within a continuously evolving and shifting social learning space.