Chatterbox is what teachers dubbed me from a young age. During class and on progress reports, I’d often be called out for jabbering to my comrades out of turn. In fact, for whispering while the directions were being given for a standardized test in 6th grade, I served...
Pick a Spot and Invite some Truth Telling
There are countless helpful ways to engage learners during a workshop or meeting. I get great joy designing ways to ensure purposeful and productive uses of solo and group activity.
What Jane is Reading: Parker Palmer’s Newest Book
by Jane Vella with Valerie Uccellani On the Brink of Everything: Grace, Gravity & Getting Old by Parker Palmer, 2019 From Jane: I found this a delightful, informative, funny, inspiring and honest book. Parker is a contemporary of mine (I’m his older sister!) so...
Put Yourself in Someone Else’s Shoes
A while ago, my colleagues and I invited the people in our training to imagine they were someone they were not. For a while they had to “be” this person and experience the joys and challenges of this role. They had to put themselves in someone else’s shoes and look from a different perspective.
Courage and Bravery in Addition to Safety and Respect
During the first day of the Foundations of Dialogue Education course and many other Global Learning Partners learning events, we ask participants to identify guidelines that will support each other’s learning. The generated lists usually include expectations about...
Designing for People
At GLP we use the word “design” to describe what we do when we create learning events. I’ve always loved that term (Thank you, Jane). It has to do not only with how a learning process “looks” on the outside – but how it FEELS on the inside. I think of it like this…...
3 Tips to Invite Engagement during a Webinar
So … you’ve scheduled your webinar, sent out the invitations and marked your calendar with a reminder to log onto your selected platform 15-20 minutes early to make sure everything is ready to go. You’ll be ready to start on time – which will please your online crowd....
Moving My University Class Online – Where do I start?
In our new reality, this is a very challenging time in higher education with information changing hourly. Suddenly, many colleges and universities have been thrust into teaching online whether they are prepared or not. Here are few tips to survive this semester and...
Digital Learning and Powerful Questions
We all face the situation of COVID-19 just now and for many of us, it means that our only chance to see friends and family is through online interaction. We miss face-to-face contact and await the time when it is again an option for us. But one result of this time...
Proper Planning Delivers Success
In the past few weeks, organizations around the world have faced the challenge of converting their in-person meetings to virtual ones. Our organization, the International Budget Partnership (IBP) is no exception. Every month, IBP holds an all-staff meeting via Zoom, a...
Help Me, I’m an Extrovert
Ever since Susan Cain’s Ted talk and book, Quiet: Being an Introvert in a World that Just Can’t Stop Talking, I have become more attentive to introverts in my meetings, learning events, and other gatherings.
Expecting the Unexpected
When my kids were very young, I would take them with me to run errands. They’d say, “Momma, what’s our plan today?” with excitement in their voices. They wondered what our adventure to town would include! I would list things such as stopping at the post office, the...