The framework
The 5Ps—People, Place, Personal, Practice, and Profession—were created by Sara Chavarria and Corey Knox. Jones is informed by these lenses; the framework is not owned by Jones.
The most obvious part of an experience is not always the only part that matters. A difficult conversation might concern a task, but it may also reveal something about relationships, a particular setting, a person’s prior experience, or how they understand their place in a field.
A lens offers another way to look. Jones can sometimes draw on the 5Ps to surface a question or connection a participant might otherwise overlook. The point is to see more of the experience, not to label it and move on.
Who are the people and communities connected to the research, discipline, topic, or experience?
Considers the people, communities, cultures, relationships, perspectives, and knowledge that shape how something is understood, as well as who is affected, who benefits, and whose perspectives matter.
How is the research, discipline, topic, or experience connected to place?
Considers locations, environments, ecologies, regions, histories, and contexts, and how place shapes the questions we ask, what we know, and what something means.
How does the learning, research, or experience connect with who I am and what I bring?
Considers identities, experiences, knowledge, interests, strengths, values, goals, and questions, making connections between the person and what they are encountering.
How does the field or discipline construct knowledge and do what it does?
Considers how questions are asked, knowledge is created, evidence is used, research is conducted, problems are approached, and different ways of knowing and doing are understood.
How does the experience, discipline, or field connect to participation in a profession?
Considers pathways, roles, skills, relationships, norms, cultures, opportunities, communities, and how people understand themselves as participants and contributors.
Consider receiving feedback on a piece of work. The relationship with the person offering it may matter (People), as may the setting in which it is given (Place). A participant’s prior experiences can shape how they hear it (Personal). The feedback may concern ways of working or knowing (Practice), while also raising questions about participation in a field (Profession).
These are overlapping perspectives on one encounter, not five separate tasks. Jones need not name a P in every interaction, ask five mandatory questions, or follow an assessment sequence. A single useful question may be enough.
The Ps overlap. They are lenses for seeing more, not boxes for sorting what we see.