To host this workshop at your organization, community or conference, contact Lisa Heft at lisaheft@openingspace.net

Session / Workshop Description

Participatory learning educator-facilitators use carefully designed activities, presentations, discussions and room dynamics to involve participants' own insights and life experience for increased understanding and retention of information. Come to participate, laugh, share, learn and teach in a way that refreshes and stimulates both learner and facilitator.

Duration

1 day - if participants wish to use this workshop as a design clinic for their curriculum or presentations: 2 days

Target Audience

Participants on all levels are welcome - anyone who may enjoy learning and sharing how to teach others.

Learning Objectives

After completion of this workshop, participants will

• learn how to turn some of their didactic presentations into interactive sessions
• problem-solve and share their own challenges and solutions with their colleagues on how to make learning more participatory
• gain some familiarity with different interactive learning methods and theory
• have fresh ideas for interactive activities and approaches they might immediately use in their own work

Content Outline and Description

• Introduction, definition of interactive learning and theory and research on how participatory learning affects information retention
• Analysis of pre-workshop exercise (participants do upon entry)
• Warm-up activity and analysis, sharing ideas for warm-up or ice-breaker activities
• Facilitator tips
• Designing learning experiences and presentations, including writing lesson plans
• Rehearsing a presentation
• Using and distributing handouts
• Carrying notes or lesson plans in-hand during a workshop
• Examples of how to use, change and design room dynamics and participant interaction for optimal learning
• Changing participants' physical points of view, moving sources of sound, facilitator's movement patterns, and using activity, listening, response and reflection to stimulate learners
• Use of small groups
• Using participants' voices instead of the facilitator's
• Designing visuals which help learners remember concepts
• Use of role play
• Use of trios and peer feedback
• Simulating experiences
• Use of visualizations
• Working with the full group in ways that involve the individual and let others learn from each other
• Challenges + Solutions activity in small groups:
• Participants' own case studies - discuss possible solutions and present an interactive activity to full group
• Other ways to teach, such as rituals, songs, games, and other shared methods
• The importance of opening, ongoing summary and closure, including opening and closing do's and don'ts
• Experience sharing closure activities such as talking circles, one-word closure thoughts from each participant about what they bring back out into the community, the use of closing readings, group poem activity

Methodology and Process

See the above outline for content; this workshop is totally participatory. This type of facilitation is based on adult learning theory, creative drama as developed by Bryan Way, Peter Slade and Viola Spolin, Paolo Friere's and Agosto Boal's work, human behavior change theory, risk reduction theory and community education approaches. Ms. Heft will weave definitions and explanations and theory into this experiential workshop. Participants will learn via role-plays, group exercises and activities and by sharing their ideas for all of the other topics mentioned above. They will be asked not to tell us about things, but to help us learn by doing whatever they share as examples. Ms. Heft will often draw participants' attention to how she facilitates learning at the moment she does it or have participants think back on how she did something in class so that learners can have a window into the thoughts and choices a participatory learning facilitator makes to enhance learning and understanding.