Helping facilitators and educators view reflection differently and find ways to make it meaningful and engaging has been a focus of my professional work over the past two decades. Although educators and facilitators agree that reflection is a fundamental aspect of learning, teaching, and group...
Reflection brings learning to life. It is the essential ingredient in education, training, therapy, and team-building, that promotes growth and change in learners. It is the catalyst for creating meaningful and lasting lessons from experiences. A quote often attributed to John Dewey—and a summary of his philosophy—states, “We do...
This group questionnaire has multiple purposes: rapport building, reflection, data gathering, brainstorming, context setting, and academic or training content review/assessment. The playful, informal, small-group sharing and friendly competition engage and motivate participants to join in. Because it is so participant- directed it is ideal...
This is an effective activity for building rapport in groups of all kinds. It is also a useful method to reflect on academic or training material while at the same time learning about peers or colleagues and exploring common and differing perspectives on a topic....
August is a month of new beginnings for educators and group facilitators. These last weeks of summer are filled with back to school meetings, training, student community building, and fall program kick-off events. Many educators ask me for ideas for making the most of this...
It's that time of year again. The school year is just beginning as is the start of fall programming for educational agencies and training organizations. Here is a collection of twelve posts from the archives of The Inspired Educator Blog that offer strategies and activities to...
When people feel like they own their learning experience and have a sense of control and ownership from the start, buy-in, and participation increases. Simple but intentional actions on the part of the facilitator establish this kind of trusting environment where participants feel empowered as...
This time of year as I work with school programs to wrap up the year and facilitate final faculty professional development days, the idea of celebrating success and honoring the contributions of others seems especially important. Below is an excerpt from Tips & Tools for...
Upcycling is also known as creative reuse. With upcycling, an item that is no longer being used for its intended purpose but is repurposed— given a new purpose—and given added value. In my previous post, I mentioned improvisational facilitating. Don’t be afraid to repeat, re-use,...
One of the aspects of facilitation I most appreciate is the ongoing creative energy and adaptation that it both requires and inspires. I enjoy experiencing live music, of all genres, for the same reasons. Musical improvisation fascinates and inspires me—that moment when a musician departs from...
Almost ten years ago, out of the desire to share my passion for experiential education and the art and science of group facilitation, I completed the first edition of Tips & Tools for the Art of Experiential Group Facilitation. Now, a decade later, I'm offering...
The basic tenet of experiential education is the idea of facilitators (e.g., teachers, leaders) approaching their work as guides in the process of discovery, rather than as all-knowing teachers and centers of knowledge and direction. When I work with educators and group leaders, I often...
Excerpt from Tips & Tools for the Art of Experiential Group Facilitation Second Edition: In chapter one, I emphasized how important it is to carefully assess your group, and be aware of putting individuals in the spotlight too early in the group process. Putting learners...
This is an updated version of a previous post entitled "Optimal Ingredients for Effective Group Facilitation" rewritten for the new edition of Tips & Tools for the Art of Experiential Group Facilitation to be released in October. A fundamental aspect of effective group programming is taking...
Excerpt from the Inspired Educator, Inspired Learner by Jen Stanchfield. Learners respond—even subconsciously—to a facilitator’s attitudes, demeanor, and expectations. We often communicate more than we realize with our body language and tone. A positive attitude is contagious. If you truly believe in the methods and...
Last week's post, "Embracing the Quiet and Taking Time to Reflect," focused on the importance of prioritizing time for self-reflection to improve your practice as a teacher, trainer, counselor, or group facilitator. Taking the time to reflect on our professional practice helps us find meaning in...
In honor of the start of the new year I am re-posting this series of articles from the Inspired Educator Blog Archives on the importance of practitioner reflection. From the Archives, The Reflective Practitioner Part One, December 30th, 2011: Here in Vermont, December is the darkest...
In past articles, I have compared group facilitation to cooking. As in cooking, group facilitation allows for a great deal of room for adaptation, experimentation and adjustment of ingredients to fit different groups and different learning situations. Though there is opportunity for creativity and innovation, it...