Every teaching or meeting situation is unique and offers its own challenges. I work in rural Africa and have found the follow seven tools especially helpful for engaging community members. Use appreciative inquiry. In every community some things have worked well. It is therefore important for facilitators to appreciate and build on what is already […]
I first learned about Global Learning Partners (GLP) and Dialogue Education about ten years ago when I started working for them. Since then I have applied the principles and practices not only in my work life, but also in my personal life. Most recently, I started using it in my role as Student Council Advisor […]
“Training – that’s easy. We know the stuff. We just wing it.” Sound familiar? Those of us who adhere to principles of Dialogue Education™ and who respect and appreciate adult learners don’t buy that perspective. Whether we’re planning a workshop for personal growth, community education or workplace performance, we design carefully. We have our Steps […]
As I write these words, my 13-year-old daughter is sitting next to me, entranced by the iPhone in her hand and the world of images to which she has access. From showing me silly cat memes to sending her friends pictures on Instagram and Snapchat, images are a huge part of my daughter’s native digital […]
Since I received my Dialogue Education training with Global Learning Partners last Fall, I have developed at least five learning events. It’s been a game changer. The pre-event surveys allow me to develop a learning design based on the intersection between my expertise and the participants knowledge and learning goals. This alone provides me with […]
After completing the Foundations of Dialogue Educationourse in Vermont with Michael Culliton, Peter Perkins and Kate LaRose, Rev. Christine MacDowall kindly flew down to Raleigh to spend a week with me. Imagine! Christine had flown from Melbourne, Australia to Vermont to take the course, after having read a few of my books and realizing how […]
I was first introduced to Jane Vella’s steps of design and the world of Dialogue Education™ during my graduate studies at Fuller Theological Seminary. To say that my world was flipped upside-down would be an understatement. I found it extremely encouraging to know tools were available for teaching in an academic setting that helped to […]
Recently, a client emailed me a few questions, unrelated to the work we were doing together. She was on a human resources committee and was working to revamp their performance review process. She was wondering, “Does Global Learning Partners have any resources for conducting performance reviews using a learning-centered approach?” What a great question! Performance […]
Increasingly many Boards, committee, working groups, and organizations need to meet in a way that is mixed or hybrid. Often, we have a meeting and want or need to bring in participants from other branch offices, cities or countries. When we do this the people in the room hosting the call have an “advantage” […]
At the end of our graduate class “Community Development: The Art of Facilitation and Design” with Jeanette Romkema we reflected on how principles and practices of Dialogue Education could also help ensure more effective and efficient meetings. It was eye-opening! Most of us are involved in or will be involved in way too many meetings. […]