When I work with educators from all backgrounds I often find myself encouraging them to reflect on the idea of a “student centered ” or "participant centered" view of teaching and group facilitation. In this approach an educator/counselor/facilitator thinks of themselves as a "guide" in...
The experiential approach to education and group work is based on the idea that change and growth take place when people are actively (physically, socially, intellectually, emotionally) involved in their learning rather than just being receivers of information. The philosophy of experiential education was promoted...
When facilitating large groups in interactive activities it can be helpful to have some "attention-getters" so that you are not yelling at the group when leading an activity, facilitating a transition from one activity to the next or sharing directions...
This experience of facilitating through an interpreter stimulated reflection upon the words I choose to describe concepts in experiential education. When presenting with an interpreter I obviously had to slow down and think more deliberately about formulating my words to effectively share an idea and...
Jen Stanchfield offers a number of reflective activities to help your group's or students reflect on the New Year: Quotes, Keyboard Keys, Postcards...
Taking time for self-reflection is key to developing your skills and improving your effectiveness and personal satisfaction in your work as an educator/counselor/ trainer....
In this blog post Jennifer Stanchfield explores the importance of prioritizing time for self reflection to improve your practice as an teacher, trainer, counselor or group facilitator. Taking the time to reflect on our professional practice helps us find meaning in our work, develops insight...
Those of us who espouse the philosophy of experiential education understand the importance of reflection as the key to moving learning forward and creating lasting and meaningful lessons. We seek out new tools and ideas to facilitate reflective practice with our students or groups,...
As with cooking, facilitation is an art that involves a combination of practice, observation, knowledge of theory and creativity. Effective facilitators act as a good chef does, adding together the important elements in the right amounts at the right time to create a palatable and...
Today I am returning to the blog after a few weeks offline due to Tropical Storm Irene. Our little village of Brookside in South Newfane, Vermont and many neighboring towns were hit hard by flooding during Irene. Some of our neighbors lost their homes. Power,...
Jennifer Stanchfield's post on the important ingredients for teaching and group facilitation. Techniques for maximizing engagement, reflection and building a positive group or classroom environment....
The past few days have marked the end of the school year for a number of programs I work with here in New England. Over the last week I have worked with 5th graders "stepping up" to 6th grade, 8th graders "moving up" to high...
This time of year many summer recreation and camp programs are gearing up to begin the season. These programs offer great opportunities for youth to develop important social and emotional skills through a myriad of activities. Though many of these programs offer great structured activities...
My last two posts have focused on methods for positively influencing learning outcomes with groups through strong beginnings. I shared some of my favorite activities for starting off with style and creating a "hook" to engage participants from the moment they walk through the door,...
This is the second post in a series that offers ideas for actively involving learners from the first moment they enter the room for a workshop, training or classroom lesson. In my last post I shared information put forward by neuroscientists promoting the idea that...
“The beginning is the most important part of the work”. -Plato Starting Off with Style: The events or activities experienced the first time learners are exposed to information greatly impact their ability to retain the information. John Medina (2008), author of Brain Rules states: “If you are trying...
Promoting new ways to engage groups in reflective practice has been a personal passion and focus of my work as an educator. From the beginning of my career as an education and clinician in therapeutic and educational settings I noticed that both facilitators and participants...
In my last post I described how I have been re-purposing the well-known ice-breaker Have You Ever? into Anyone Who as a strategy to engage participants in reflecting on or reviewing content from a lesson. I recently had great success using this game in adult...