egardless of how many years you have been facilitating or leading groups, getting nervous is normal. In fact, it is helpful. Being a little nervous keeps us sharp and focused, has us check our assumptions, and ensures we don’t take too much for granted. However, there is such a thing as being too nervous – where our ability to perform well is hindered.
Episcopal Relief & Development has been using images to help teach and support communities for more than twelve years. Currently, it uses picture cards in fifteen countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America focusing on helping young children grow and learn, stopping and preventing violence against women and girls, improving nutrition and income sources, and preparing for climate-related and other disasters.
There is little more magnificent in a training than a wall full of contributions from participants. Ideas, drawings, photos, numbers, events, questions, data, and thoughts – it always warms my heart when I know a group collaborated to record, create, share, and discuss what is offered there.
Although there are many reasons for sharing collaborative thinking visually, the collective sharing of a timeline of events is one that intrigues me.
Facilitation is facilitation is facilitation. Right? Well, not quite.
In her interview Designing Engaging Remote Workshops with Gwyn Wansbrough, Nathy Ravez works to understand how online learning is different from in person learning, and how to facilitate in this unique space to maximize learning. Gwyn points out that virtual audiences don’t have the same non-verbal cues. They ask themselves, “Do I trust this facilitator? Do I belong? Do I have something to offer here?”
A great joy for me is knowing I will have access to a large blank wall in a training room during a multi-day training or gathering. What emerges from that blank wall is always surprising and often magical. With an intentional design in-hand, I walk a group back and forth from their tables to that space to add thoughts, move around ideas, build connections, and show interconnections and relationships with what is there. This common place to deconstruct and construct, play and illustrate, ques
Collecting evidence of learning, transfer and impact are challenging enough in the best of situations. When individuals take a training on-demand and on their own time, it may seem quite impossible. There may be no learning cohort, nobody tracking their progress or knowing when they are finished. So, how can we evaluate?
Most of us have a book or two full of energizers. I have many! They are full of page after page of short activities that are meant to be fun and funny. Sadly, in my experience they often make me feel silly and uncomfortable. Worse yet, they sometimes seem disrespectful. I’m left feeling, “Why are we doing this? When will the learning start.”
‘Take 15 minutes to walk with a partner outside to discuss this question…’ Those words can be music to learners’ ears when we have been sitting a lot or been in a multi-day event.
So, why don’t we see this technique used much? Why do we feel we need to stay in the training space and can only use other spaces during breaks and down time? Why do we keep people in their seats so much where we know they are getting tired and distracted?
‘Take 20 minutes to move around the room with a partner …’ Those words can be music to the ears of many learners when we have been sitting for a long-time training or they have been in a multi-day event.
So why don’t we see this technique used much? Why do we feel we need to stay in the training space and can only use other spaces during breaks and down time? Why do we keep people in their seats so much when we know they are getting tired and distracted?
Sometimes the best way to offer content is on-demand and asynchronous. Personally, I most enjoy designing in-person learning experience. However, sometimes it is actually best to design for an online learning experience, either synchronous or asynchronous.
Many of us feel overwhelmed by the thought of needing to learn new technology. Many of us struggle to learn these tools, especially when it is online. However, from time to time a new e-tool or system will increase efficiency and effectiveness and is needed.
How much is enough? How do we teach a new e-system or tool when staff is busy and technology-averse? How do we maximize learning of new technology?
As students, we do our best to learn and know that you as professors, do your best to teach. However, things need to change. Here are a few requests that will help students learn more easily and more deeply. Thanks for caring enough to read these nine tips!