A New Axiom: Dialogue Education Creates Friendships

Blog Author Dan Haase with his friend Jim Wilhoit.

This afternoon I was working on revisions for a syllabus of an upcoming fall course. The course was designed using the principles and practices of Dialogue Education. A large part of this design was honed through the feedback of a dear colleague, Jim Wilhoit. Jim and I had the privilege of taking the Advanced Learning Design course together last summer in Raleigh (here we are with Jane Vella and Karen Ridout).

Over the course of this year Jim and I have gathered almost weekly and had countless phone calls to share our learning and designs. Recently, I received a call from Jim after he had given a keynote address using the 8 steps of design and facilitated learning through Dialogue Education.

“Dan,” he said simply, “it works.”

He went on to share the level of engagement and transfer he witnessed during the experience. We had a good laugh together about this past year of growth and what we have seen change in our teaching, as well as the change we have experienced in becoming learners among learners.

At the end of the day, I have come to this conclusion:  Dialogue Education creates friendships.

In the hard work of preparation and design for a course or a workshop there emerges the fruit of more deeply connected learners. People can enter a room full of strangers and leave having shared a lived experience of education. Dialogue invites interaction and the sharing of a narrative. Dialogue Education offers a design for human relationships to flourish. I know that Jim and I are grateful for the friendship that has grown in our lives out of the applied principles and practices of DE.

Name an experience in the comments section below where you found a friendship develop through Dialogue Education.

*****

Check out the blossoming friendships in the Learning & Change Online Community – get an advanced taste of what's in store for us at the Learning & Change International Dialogue Education Institute (start the learning before you arrive or determine whether you'd like to attend). All are welcome! 

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE