Usually we’re talking about workshops or courses or change initiatives when we talk about Dialogue Education, and the fact is, for as much as Dialogue Education is about learning, its roots in Paulo Freire’s theories of “liberation education” mean it’s also about managing our power in the world. Will we make decisions based on fear […]
When designing any learning event, the Dialogue Education method demands that you develop in advance a deep understanding of who will participate, taking into account their individual experience and needs so that you can tailor the design specifically for them; any learning event that makes too many assumptions about the participants is bound to disappoint. […]
When you’re designing any kind of learning event – a workshop, seminar, class, meeting – one of the most important components of your design is your learning tasks, those elements of the event in which the learners do something with the content they’ve set out to learn. For learning that lasts, use the 4-A Model, a foolproof […]
Too much information (TMI), or information overload, is a spot many curriculum designers find themselves in when preparing for a new workshop or course; even the most experienced person can hit TMI when he or she is taking on a new teaching topic. Sometimes before we are ready and able to narrow down the content we’re using […]
I find that sometimes Learning Needs and Resource Assessment (LNRA) work can be limited to sending some questions to the people coming to a course/learning event. In my experience, it’s helpful to see LNRA work in phases. How does this strike you? Here is a chart that depicts my thoughts on this topic. What would […]
It seems to me that DE offers a systems-approach to adult learning. This is different than a system for adult learning, although I think DE provides that too, to a point. But you decide! Often when we think of a system, we think of linked items, perhaps we might even imagine dominoes, or a one-step […]
For Trekies and casual viewers of Star Trek, the command "Engage!" brings memories of that point where the engine-power was unleashed, propelling the Enterprize into light-flash. As teachers we too hope to engage, to engage students most fully, that they too can take their learning wherever they choose to travel at "light-speed". Like many films, […]
Distance learning ranges from totally self-directed to totally instructor-centered. From specific attention to dialogue amongst the participants to little or no dialogue of any type. From synchronous to asynchronous to a combination of both. And from no interaction outside of the computer screen to hybrids (face to face class[es] in combination with online work). And, […]
Geoff Petty has a lovely accent and offers a wealth of information and resources on his website www.geoffpetty.com and through the website called Teachers Toolbox: http://www.teacherstoolbox.co.uk (Cambridge Regional College, UK). While most of the research he refers to and teaches about is focused upon young persons, most is also appropriate for adult-learning. I especially enjoyed […]
Teasing-Out Why teasing-out, because research indicates that we aim towards our values, but we may behave differently, and, we may behave differently from one circumstance to another*. So to “tease” or sift, allows us to gently observe, apprehend and reflect upon our practices and the thoughts and influences that produce them. From here, we can […]