Where Restorative Practice and Dialogue Education Meet

“Remember that your authority over other human beings is an artificial construct.” [1]  I’ve been asking people about their core values and characteristics when they are at their best for over 20 years. I was introduced to this practice through the field of restorative justice. I witnessed mentors help groups identify their core values in […]

Read More

Breakout Rooms to Connect

Breakout groups – where small groups talk within the larger group – can help all learners participate more fully, engage with each other and connect to the content in a deeper way. In a virtual setting, breakout rooms help learners get that in-person feel, and can be used effectively to enable personal meaning-making.  When to […]

Read More

Celebrating a Life

In her recent book The Art of Gathering, Priya Parker impels us to prepare well for our gatherings. She reminds us to probe with questions such as: Who is this event for? What do they most want to get from it? Whether preparing for an executive leadership retreat, a 90th birthday party, or a virtual […]

Read More

Applying Core Principles to ‘Question Design’

Adults learn best when respect, safety, inclusion, relevance, immediacy and engagement are all present within the learning experience. A distillation of years of educational research, these six core principles are the building blocks of Dialogue Education™. Effective questions, so key to dialogue and learning, are designed with these same core principles in mind.   RESPECT: […]

Read More

Getting People Talking When Working in Rural Africa

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 […]

Read More