experiential education and community building
TRANSCRIPT
Experiential Education in Classrooms,Skillfest 2016
Nisha AdityaWith the help of a lot of others!
Play For PeaceCore Values:1. Inclusion2. No Competition3. Emotional and Physical Safety (rules, no
correct way)4. Role Model5. Fun!Khel Se Mel – Documentary on YouTube -23 minutes (English Subtitles)
Why?
Skill fest
Workshop
Self- Verificat
ion
Experiential Learning CycleDo
Reflect
Learn
Apply
Experiential
Learning
Intentionality
Experiential
Education
Safe Learning Environment &
Group developmentClassroom
Management
Designing Experiences Processing
Agenda / Objectives
What are some of the challenges we, as teachers,
face in our classes?
Challenges a teacher faces in a classDifferent types of learners Differentiated teaching, diverse
learning experiencesAcceptance of special needs and gifted children
Belongingness, IEPs, differential learning, expertise
Handling the naughty ones Everyone is meaningfully engaged
Balance between conflicts and academics
Collaboration, both becoming the curriculum
Time to give experiences and covering the contentNo time to follow the children’s lead
Should be a norm, should be a part of the school culture
Not expressing in writing, in spite of knowing – how do I assess and justify a ‘C’
Assessing in multiple ways – diverse methods, Writing wonderful answers, changing the exam pattern
Attention span Focused studentsChildren refusing to do things, some keep doing – we are too cool for this!
Children participating – 100%
How to assess skills, knowledge is easy!Not knowing everything
Create a rubric
Safe Learning Environments P hysical SafetyI ntellectual SafetyE motional SafetyS ocial Safety= Community
In genuine community there are no sides. It is not always easy but by
the time they reach community, the members have learned how to give up cliques and factions. They have learned how to listen to each other and how to not reject each other.
Sometimes consensus in community is reached with miraculous rapidity.
But at other times it is arrived at only after lengthy struggle. Just
because it is a safe place does not mean community is a place without
conflict. It is, however, a place where conflict can be resolved without physical or emotional
bloodshed and with wisdom as well as grace. A community is a group that can fight gracefully – Laurie
Frank
Role of a
Teacher
Cooperation Stage – Leader• Put ups/put downs, Hidden agendas, Active Listening,
Mixing, Perspective Taking• Takes care of confusion, along with anxiety.• Students try to make sense of their environment. Anyone
walking by the classroom would see the teacher directing the activities.
• Active leadership role. Leadership is welcome. First Day• The students are seen making sure what they are
‘supposed to do’. • At this point, the teacher is seen as the expert.• Playing, Getting to know each other, Challenge by Choice,
(Today’s PfP)
Scenario 1Two benchmates are often getting into fights and it’s disturbing the entire class.
Scenario 2• Let’s all decide a topic and see what the
teacher actions looks like in this stage.• In your lesson plan, how will the
following elements look?- Group Work- Instructions- Assessment
Trust Building Stage - Guide- Making mistakes, trustworthiness, Empathy, Risk
Taking, Physical and emotional- Power shift begins.- Still in charge of PIES safety. Taking help of the
Contract.- Expression and class vocabulary – Nexta Hungra- Opportunities to students to make decisions - walks- Processing is important during this phase - reflection
journal- Spotlight activities, Blindfold activities, Risk Taking
Problem Solving stage - Mentor- Decision making, Group Goals, Taking Turns,
Leadership, Conflict Resolution- Process observer.- Sometimes a well-placed time-out for an observation
from you is all your students need in order to refocus. (Rule of Loud Example)
- Sharing observations- Helps make students aware of strategies they may
not have known about before. (new stuff)- Academic Content (Energy Audit), Problem Solving
Initiatives
Challenge Stage - Consultant• Individual goals, Stating needs, Support, getting over
fears, Success / failure• An equal part of the community – approval of leave• No longer the sole expert• Can offer connection to the larger picture and offer
suggestions• Students can choose to take your advice or not. • Encourage independence. Challenge by Choice.• Handle the meta-data.• Community work, Outdoor experiences, Presentations
and projects
Program DesignDiagnose
Design
Deliver
Debrief
Detach
DiagnoseIntentionali
ty
Why?
Academic / Life skills /
Specific
With Who?
Needs of the Group
When / for how long?
Year / Week / Month / One time
Where?
Space constraints
Design• Experiential Learning Cycle• Brain Body Elements
Bodybrain Compatibl
eElements
Movement
Collaboration
Meaningful Content
Adequate Time
Mastery with Application
Absence of Threat
Enriched Environment
ChoicesImmediate Feedback
© 2010 Susan Kovalik, the Highly Effective Teaching (HET) Model • www.theCenter4Learning.com
Deliver• Invitational Education Theory (Purky
and Novak, 1989)• As designed
I want my happiness.
I want happiness for the other.
The other wants his / her happiness.
The other wants my happiness.
I am always able to make myself happy.
I am always able to make the other happy.
The other is always able to make himself / herself happy.
The other is always able to make me happy.
Intention vs
Competence
Assumes that:
- People are always motivated.
- People choose their behaviour, and that they do the best and safest things they can from their perspective at the moment of acting.
Invitational Education TheoryInvitation Education Principles
TRUST
- An invitation is an opportunity to build trust.- To be inviting it is necessary to trust the process.- Trust is based on the memory of invitations sent, received and acted upon successfully.- As trust develops, so do the nature of invitations.INTENTIONALITY
- An invitation is never an accident. It’s a choice made; a choice someone took.- Some people Wish, others Want, successful people Invite- Good intentions are not always good Invitations.- When the opportunity is ripe, Invite; there may never be another chance.
Invitation Education Principles
OPTIMISM
- Human potential is always there, waiting to be discovered and invited forth.- To be INVITING in a disinviting environment is to change the environment.- Challenges, problems, ‘impossibilities’ may be invitations in disguise.RESPECT
- The price of any invitation is respect for the other person’s right to say NO
Invitation Education Principles
Debrief (Processing)• Intentionality• Experiential Learning Cycle• Processing
Processing
Debrief
Fa
Fe
Fi
Fu
DetachLeader
Guide
Mentor
Consultant
3 personal keywords
1. Trust the process
2. Self-facilitation3. Relationships
References:• Journey Toward The Caring Classroom,
By Laurie Frank• Article ‘Creating Safe Environments’ –
Trimiti Newsletter on Mental Health – Aditya and Nisha (2014)
• Content from Diploma in Experiential Education and Practice by Vishwas Parchure (www.vishwasparchure.com)
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