tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29282878165922489792024-03-19T00:39:04.786-07:00Rethinking Experiential LearningRoger Greenaway's thought-provoking blog challenges conventional approaches to experiential learning. It is also a search for better ways of generating and using experiences through which people can learn, develop and achieve.Roger Greenawayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04707521010521514667noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2928287816592248979.post-8720224941635338602017-02-03T06:54:00.002-08:002019-10-08T01:47:20.028-07:00Reflection is also an Experience<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This is an experience</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This is an experience</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This is an experience</span></div>
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<br />
Wingsuit flying is an experience.<br />
A conversation is an experience.<br />
Meditation is an experience. <br />
Private reflection is an experience.<br />
A reflective conversation with others is an experience.<br />
<br />
The nature and quality of an experience is influenced by the physical, social and cultural environment as well as by mood, intentions and expectations. It is also influenced by how <b>active </b>or <b>passive </b>you are within the experience: are you a <b>passive </b>log floating downstream, or are you an <b>active </b>kayaker paddling upstream and making your own route through the turbulent water?<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This brief meditation on "experience" readily leads to some serious questions about how experiential learning theory is understood and applied in practice.</span><br />
<br />
"Experiential Learning" is generally chosen because it is more <b><span style="background-color: #f9cb9c;">engaging</span>, <span style="background-color: #f9cb9c;">immersive</span>, <span style="background-color: #f9cb9c;">holistic</span>, <span style="background-color: #f9cb9c;">inclusive </span></b>and <span style="background-color: #f9cb9c;"><b>dynamic</b></span> compared to other (more passive) ways of learning. But in practice, it often happens that the reflective part of the process (in the review or debrief) is <u><i>anything but</i></u> engaging, immersive, holistic, inclusive and dynamic.<br />
<br />
It is as if once we start <i><u>thinking</u> </i>about experiences we need to shut down all other systems, or at least put them on standby or hibernation. I disagree...<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #f9cb9c;"><b>Engaged</b></span>? If we are not engaged, our thinking suffers.<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #f9cb9c;"><b>Immersed</b></span>? If we are not immersed, our thinking suffers.<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #f9cb9c;"><b>Holistic</b></span>? If we switch off our emotions, put creative thinking to one side, restrict visual communication, keep our hands and bodies still, and rely on analytical thinking - it is not only the quality of <i><u>experience</u> </i>that suffers, it is also the quality of <i><u>thinking</u> </i>that suffers.<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #f9cb9c;"><b>Inclusive</b></span>? If we just listen to others talking with each other, <u><i>they</i></u> might be learning from experience, <i>but <u>we</u> are probably not</i>.<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: #f9cb9c;"><b>Dynamic</b></span>? Not every kind of movement will aid reflection, but there are many kinds of movement that can readily support reflective processes. As a simple example, many people find that walking and talking or walking and thinking fit very well together.</blockquote>
<br />
So I do get a little impatient when after "the experience" the facilitator sits everyone down and fires out analytical questions for group discussion. And that's about all. This is the "classic debrief". And it falls into the "classic error" of separating experience and reflection into two different worlds.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We are always experiencing, and we are nearly always
reflecting. These two processes are so intertwined why try separating them? As far as I know we are not able to teleport into some kind of parallel universe where we are able to reflect without experiencing anything.</span><br />
<br />
David Kolb's Theory of Experiential Learning and Development appears to present experiential learning as a 4-stage step-by-step process. But Kolb himself states that these four processes "interact simultaneously" (p.61). As Malcolm Garbutt clarifies: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The difference may be subtle but it impacts on people who read only one
half of Kolb. This view considers each process as a single action seen
in isolation which goes against the very nature of what Kolb proposes... The four
processes are entwined and typically operate in conjunction rather than
individually." <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1HJQZMh9Q4&feature=youtu.be#t=236.097291" target="_blank">Malcolm Garbutt</a> </blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;">It should come as no surprise to those who base their practice on only <i>half a theory</i> that they are only <i>half as effective</i> as they could be.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">One way of paying attention to the <i>whole</i> theory (whichever one you "follow") is by paying attention to what participants are experiencing while they reflect and review. Are you, for example, facilitating the review in ways that allow people to experience a sense of belonging during the review itself and of feeling appreciated within the review process? Does your facilitation practice generate experiences of responsibility, ownership, creativity, exploration and achievement <i>within the reviewing process itself</i>?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">It is difficult to pay attention to what people experience unless you provide the means through which they can best reflect and communicate what they are experiencing. This usually means moving beyond questions and answers and being more imaginative with the processes and tools that you offer. </span><br />
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FOLLOW-UP<br />
For follow-up on Kolb's theory see <a href="http://reviewing.co.uk/research/experiential.learning.htm#2" target="_blank">my collection of critiques</a>. For follow-up on how you can apply the insights above to your practice see my <a href="http://reviewing.co.uk/index.htm" target="_blank">Guide to Active Reviewing</a>. And to follow up with your own thoughts, please add your comments below.</div>
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Roger Greenawayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04707521010521514667noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2928287816592248979.post-343698847500331642015-10-05T11:12:00.000-07:002015-10-05T11:12:15.799-07:00Rethinking Experience Based Events<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I came across a thought-provoking diagram in a chapter entitled "Rethinking Experience Based Events" which I have reproduced here:</span><br />
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<a href="http://reviewing.co.uk/images/rethinking-experience-diagram.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://reviewing.co.uk/images/rethinking-experience-diagram.png" height="480" width="436" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The
authors described this as "exploratory" research in
which they compare the perspectives of trainers who 'run'
experience-based events with those of 'learners' who have been
involved in them as participants. Their findings (represented in a copy of their diagram above) suggested that learners' experiences may
not often correspond to the experiences which trainers attempt to
'design' through the use of 'structured experiences'. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The arrows that appear to come from nowhere represent the many other influences on what participants experience. These influences might include: prior similar experiences, what happened on the previous exercise (or in the last hour), their motivations and individual objectives, the nature and quality of their relationships with other participants, what roles or responsibilities they take on during the exercise, how they think they are regarded by others, how much they trust the trainers and the course design, how much they are engaged or distracted, their overall expectations of the event, etc.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">And the most important influence of all might be how responsible participants feel for their own learning. For example, do they make their own individual interpretations or do they they sit back during the review and let the trainer (or their fellow participants) steer their learning in a particular direction?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Whenever I have presented this diagram to trainers it lights up instant controversy. Some regard the boxed design to be the "correct" path ("the one we are paid to deliver") while others regard the "actual" or real pathways to be the only ones we can work with - because people learn from experiences they actually have rather than from experiences they were "supposed" to have had.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I love these discussions, but I do not take sides. This is because the "predicted" pathway is closer to the role of <b>trainer</b> and the "actual" pathway is closer to the role of the <b>facilitator </b>(who works with "real" experience). And most people I work with are trying to find an effective balance between these two roles.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">One useful conclusion is that an effective <b>trainer-facilitator</b> can work with people where they are (what they are really experiencing) to help them get to where they want to go. A practical and versatile set of reviewing tools can help with this task.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">An alternative conclusion is to consider the merits of involving participants in the choice and design of exercises. If participants have clear outcomes, they can work with the trainer to design exercises and processes that will help them reach their goals. John Heron has explored the merits of a co-operative approach to designing training exercises in "The Complete Facilitator" - which is surely the cue for another blog posting!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">From my thoughts expressed above it should be no surprise that I welcome your comments. Exploring together works better.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><u>References</u>:</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Boot R, and Reynolds M. (1984) "Rethinking Experience Based Events" in Cox, C. and Beck, J. (1984) Management Development: Advances in Practice and Theory, Wiley.<br /><br />Heron, J. (1999) <u>The Complete Facilitator's Handbook</u>. London: Kogan Page.</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
Roger Greenawayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04707521010521514667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2928287816592248979.post-26676051085960652952015-09-04T08:39:00.002-07:002015-10-22T14:49:50.631-07:00Powerful Learning Experiences<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">"So what is the
practical application of your research findings?"</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">This is a fair enough
challenge to any researcher.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">My own research into
Powerful Learning Experiences means I would now present experiential
learning courses differently.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">This speech below would need
adapting to context, purpose, age of participants etc. so without any
more researcherly ifs and buts, reservations or limitations, here is
my research-informed welcome speech near* the start of an
experiential learning programme.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">[* I say "near the
start" so that you can have a welcoming <i>activity</i> before a
welcoming speech.]</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">"Welcome! I'd like to
tell you something about the way this programme is designed so that
you can make the most of this opportunity for your learning and
development...</span></div>
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</span>
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</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://reviewing.co.uk/images/Roger-Greenaway-landscape.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://reviewing.co.uk/images/Roger-Greenaway-landscape.jpg" height="178" width="320" /></a></div>
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<li>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">This is one of the
very few occasions where you will be expected to sit and listen.
This is because the most significant learning for you does not come
from what we say – it comes from what you experience.</span></div>
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</li>
<li>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">We do not give you
experiences or make you experience anything. What you choose to do,
how you choose to do things and the attitudes you choose to take are
key factors that will influence what you experience. And the
attitudes you choose to take are influenced by many factors including
your previous experiences and any expectations you already have
about this programme.</span></div>
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</li>
<li>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The nature of your
learning group matters a lot. You are likely to get more value from
this programme if your immediate social climate is supportive,
encouraging and a source of honest feedback. But the greater the
individual differences within your learning group, the more you
stand to learn about others and about yourself – even if that
makes for a rougher ride at times compared to being with your best
friends all the time.</span></div>
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</li>
<li>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">For each of you, your
journey through this programme will have a unique starting point and
a unique finishing point. Your journey will also be unique. At times
it may feel as if it is a shared journey. At times you may feel
alone. In fact you will often be asked to take time out to reflect
on your own – to allow you to take time away from the group and
think for yourself.</span></div>
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</li>
<li>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Although your journey
will be unique to you, it is likely to follow one of these four
patterns: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">1. The whole course fires you up and brings out the
best in you and you want life and work to be more like this in
future. But everything is mixed together and you need time to
work out what to do for the best.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
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<td style="border: none; padding: 0cm;" valign="top" width="635"><div lang="zxx">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">2. You experience some personal low points during
the course. You choose to keep these to yourself and find your
own way through. You choose to have a more private learning
journey and you are selective about what you share in the group. </span></div>
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</td>
</tr>
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<td style="border: none; padding: 0cm;" valign="top" width="635"><div lang="zxx">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">3. You find connections between experiences in the
sense that similar insights and learning keep happening for you.
This learning helps you to continually make adjustments as you
face different situations.</span></div>
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<td style="border: none; padding: 0cm;" valign="top" width="635"><div lang="zxx">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">4. At some point you sense a breakthrough or
turning point. It feels as if you are "changing up a gear"
rather than making small adjustments. It might be a decision you
make to relax more, or try harder, or to change a "no"
to a "yes" (or even to change a "yes" to a
"no").</span></div>
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</tbody></table>
</li>
<li>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I have mentioned "the
programme" a few times. This is a bit misleading because there
are still lots of details to fill in and decisions to make. We
couldn't do this in advance because the details come from you and
the decisions are made with you or by you. The programme is a
structure which you bring to life and within which you will be
taking increasing responsibility. You are responsible for your own
learning within and after the course.</span></div>
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</li>
<li>
<div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">And finally we want
to help you remove anything that might get in the way of your
learning. We hope to achieve this during a contracting session in
your learning group where you will be encouraged to talk about (a)
experiences you don't want (b) experiences you do want and (c) goals
you want to achieve (which can be revised or refined later). We then
try to create a customised agreement between everyone in the group
including the facilitators. Try to include something in your
agreement that encourages your facilitators not to talk too much –
unless you ask them to do so.</span></div>
</li>
</ol>
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<div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">That is the end of my
welcome talk. Enjoy your unique experience and your unique learning journey and remember that by
supporting each other's learning goals everyone get's more value."</span></div>
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</span>
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<div lang="zxx" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">This welcome speech is a
creative intepretation of my research findings about Powerful
Learning Experiences. If you want to check the original source you
can find it summarised <a href="http://reviewing.co.uk/research/ple_abs.htm" target="_blank">here.</a></span></div>
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Roger Greenawayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04707521010521514667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2928287816592248979.post-8804626572131714912015-07-02T15:29:00.002-07:002015-07-09T15:28:08.461-07:00What learning happens when? <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px;">
This
question follows on from my question "<a href="http://activereviewing.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/when-does-experiential-learning-happen.html">When Does Experiential Learning Happen?</a>". One of my answers was that learning happens through facilitated
reflection during the review.</div>
<div style="color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px;">
It
may come as a surprise to those skilled in the art of questioning that a
lot of reflective learning happens before you begin to enquire about
feelings or reasons.</div>
<div style="color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px;">
Eye-opening can be eye-opening!</div>
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For example, the whole area of mindfulness is based on
noticing and increased awareness. The question "What did you notice?" is
all I ask on an observation walk.This works
well for blind people too because you can notice with many different
senses. Ski instructors regularly encourage their students to notice how
their weight is distributed on their skis. Timothy Gallwey's "Inner
Game of Tennis", <span class="st"> Herrigel's </span>"Zen and the Art of
Archery" and many other "Inner Game" and "Zen and the Art" books show
how much can be gained from simply noticing - as does McDougall's "Born
to Run".</div>
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Of
course, "What did you notice?" can readily lead to more sophisticated
questions. But sometimes simply noticing leads to performance
improvement. In a group setting new learning can readily arise from each
person sharing what caught their attention. Watching a video of
yourself as a leader or presenter or facilitator helps you to see what
the camera sees. Performance improvement is not guaranteed, but I am
continually surprised by how the pathway from awareness to change can be
a short one that needs little extra reflection or assistance.</div>
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If
you prompt participants to express their feelings they may well develop
greater empathy or learn more about the impact of their behaviour on
others - for good or ill. This is the territory of sensitivity group
training, emotional intelligence, relationship counselling and sales
training. It is also the territory of experiential learning because we
have such an interest in what participants experience. We go on long
journeys or build elaborate outdoor gyms or visit awe-inspiring places
to generate certain kinds of experiences. If we know what participants
have really experienced we may be better able to take them further on
their learning journey. But simply sharing experiences develops
sensitivity, empathy, trust, relationships, respect, friendship and a
whole range of communication skills including story-telling.</div>
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All these learning benefits and we have only asked two questions:</div>
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1. "What did you notice?"</div>
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2. "What did you experience?"</div>
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We have yet to dig into our vast bank of facilitative questions but maybe we have already completed the most significant part of someone's learning journey?<br /></div>
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<div style="color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px;">Perhaps the most significant learning sometimes results from the most simple and basic questions?<br /></div>
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<div style="color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px;">This post by Roger Greenaway was first published in <a href="http://reviewing.co.uk/experiential-CPD-training-calendar.htm">Experiential-CPD</a> a monthly listing of UK CPD events.</div></div>
Roger Greenawayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04707521010521514667noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2928287816592248979.post-81428349988222295482015-07-02T15:15:00.000-07:002020-03-06T06:37:10.136-08:00 When does experiential learning happen? <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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When does learning happen
in experience-based
programmes?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX73LAvmmtLlF7yBVeYOJnS45ZyNLtXGuJ6PcwTf3B-nHpSCKGCilowc5gm0NP0RuVjGanT79mFMlloEawIrO8l70wzPAZuMwSNXlDGryt66qK0NNdpzE4R2nCpd_MI2sHRqlsKHE_gsI/s1600/P5010107.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX73LAvmmtLlF7yBVeYOJnS45ZyNLtXGuJ6PcwTf3B-nHpSCKGCilowc5gm0NP0RuVjGanT79mFMlloEawIrO8l70wzPAZuMwSNXlDGryt66qK0NNdpzE4R2nCpd_MI2sHRqlsKHE_gsI/s640/P5010107.JPG" /></a></div>
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Does it mostly happen
before, during or after the
activities?</div>
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Or does it mostly happen
during or after the
post-activity review – or later still?</div>
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I'd suggest that learning
can happen at any time such
as ...</div>
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<b>Before the
activity: learning before doing</b><br />
Learning
can happen before
the activity especially when the activity is being used as a means to
check, verify, rehearse or practise what has already been learned but
not yet put into practice. Doing the activity might lead to some
small refinements but the main purpose of doing the activity would be
for application and consolidation.</div>
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<b>During the
activity: learning through doing</b><br />
Any
reflection that happens
during the activity is a natural (or even essential) part of the
activity such as when working on a new challenge. During most
activities people will be thinking and talking, reflecting and
communicating even when their main focus is the activity itself.</div>
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<b>After
the
activity: learning through unfacilitated reflection</b><br />
If
there is a gap between the activity and the review, participants may
be reflecting about the activity on their own or they me be
informally sharing their stories, feelings or opinions with others.
Or they may be anticipating the review and even preparing for it in
some way (such as the leader who feels they have let the team down)..</div>
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<b>During
the
review: learning through facilitated reflection</b><br />
Some
of this reflection may
be on what has already been learned, but reviewing is far more than a
recap of learning. The main function of a review is to bring out new
learning by facilitating reflection on activities and experiences
during the reviewing process.</div>
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<b>After
the
review: learning through informal reflection</b><br />
A
review may not be a tidy
wrapping up process in which the learning is neatly packaged and
labelled with no loose ends to tie up and no unfinished business. In
fact a review can stir things up and leave people full of curiosity,
perhaps puzzled about the feedback they received, or still inspired
by an 'aha' moment of insight. This might lead to further
conversations outside the review session or some thinking time alone.</div>
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<b>After
the </b><b>programme:
learning back in the real world</b><br />
This
is often the stage
when classroom (or off-the-job) learning is tried out for real. If
there is little need for new learning when applying what was learned,
the situation is similar to the first point above ('Before the Activity'). But if the application is more
of an exploration or experiment then it can be a significant
continuation of the learning process.</div>
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But
if you are under the spell of almost any theory of experiential
learning you could be forgiven for being under the misapprehension that
learning happens at just one stage of a multi-stage cycle.</div>
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Let's
wake up to the many different opportunities for learning that
experience offers - before, during, after and even long after the most
intense part of the experience.</div>
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This post by Roger Greenaway was first published in <a href="http://reviewing.co.uk/experiential-CPD-training-calendar.htm">Experiential-CPD</a> a monthly listing of UK CPD events.</div>
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Roger Greenawayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04707521010521514667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2928287816592248979.post-39294751619077052642015-07-02T09:41:00.002-07:002018-09-11T12:27:08.611-07:00Moving, Thinking and Learning<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="Moving_and_Thinking"></a></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCYcZJ3kHPofu0agnFnYJJC3Y1KCdA10l0WvfI-ESsdZvEyZ5AtgBeAc_2qxrvC84zehKNR0ZH9E8tZNVvI2Yn6zq0SpMggVKoSPGFuDKv6fqRjuk2VRzE0RsL_iUtCp_ZNROHEp-DMMk/s1600/Rodin-thinker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCYcZJ3kHPofu0agnFnYJJC3Y1KCdA10l0WvfI-ESsdZvEyZ5AtgBeAc_2qxrvC84zehKNR0ZH9E8tZNVvI2Yn6zq0SpMggVKoSPGFuDKv6fqRjuk2VRzE0RsL_iUtCp_ZNROHEp-DMMk/s640/Rodin-thinker.jpg" /></a></div>
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Rodin's thinker sits with his head bowed, chin resting on his clenched fist. This is the classic static thinking pose. But other poses are also available: for example, lying on the grass and looking up at the sky can work quite well. So can going out for a walk – alone or with someone to help you think things through. Some famous thinkers (Charles Darwin and Charles Dickens, for example) have done their best thinking while walking. Other people find it easier to think if they have something in their hands – pen and paper for writing or sketching, or play objects, or models. Some people find that performing an activity needing little mental effort somehow enhances their conscious thinking: Sherlock Holmes famously played his violin to help him solve crimes. In Minority Report or Silent Witness you see investigators moving objects around on a screen: by physically rearranging the data they discover new patterns and possibilities that can create breakthroughs in thinking. Perhaps real world example are more convincing? Such as Google's playrooms that encourage movement and playing with objects in order help employees find the next breakthrough. And the same is true for young children the world over: our most rapid period of learning involves exploratory movement and manipulation of objects. Movement and thinking are great playmates at all ages.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">So when you want people to think deeply about past, present or future, consider using physical movement and physical objects to help them think more deeply or creatively.</span></div>
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You will find more on this subject in <a href="http://reviewing.co.uk/articles/how-movement-can-help-thinking-and-learning.htm">How movement can help thinking and learning</a> in the <a href="http://reviewing.co.uk/">Guide to Active Reviewing</a></div>
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Roger Greenawayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04707521010521514667noreply@blogger.com2