~ 1 ~
EDITORIAL: Newish look and feel
~ 2 ~ ARTICLE: Avoiding Common Traps
in Reviewing (part 2)
~ 3 ~ RESOURCES: Active Reviewing
articles in other languages
~ 4 ~ ACTIVE LEARNING BOOKSHOP and
SAVE THE CHILDREN
~ 5 ~ ARCHIVE: How Balanced are your
Questions?
~ 6 ~ EVENTS: Reviewing Skills
Training and other providers
~ 7 ~ PREVIOUS ISSUE and FUTURE
ISSUES
~ 8 ~ About Active Reviewing Tips
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ 1 ~ EDITORIAL: New look and
feel
I hope you like this new look for Active
Reviewing
Tips. You can now click as well as scroll
- as with the
archived copies which have always had the
convenience of a clickable index.
This email version will not usually be archived
until the next issue is published. This 'early peek'
also gives you an opportunity to contribute your own
ideas or feedback while a topic is still current.
I hope this new format will receive your continued
support and will even tempt you to read it more and
use it more - and even write in. You may also now
feel more inclined to recommend Active
Reviewing
Tips to others - see the 'forward'
link in the very last line of this issue.
And the best of luck with your trap avoidance in
2013!
Roger Greenaway
roger@reviewing.co.uk
http://reviewing.co.uk
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ 2 ~ ARTICLE: Avoiding Common
Traps in Reviewing (part 2)
by Roger
Greenaway, Reviewing Skills Training
In part two of this article I describe more of
the traps awaiting those who facilitate
learning in groups. And I provide you with some
ideas about how you can avoid these traps in the
first place.
1. Apologising for holding a review [For
1-5 see part
one in
ARTips 14.5]
2. Asking 'What did you learn?' at the start of a
review
3. Speeding: expecting instant thoughtful responses
4. Trivialising: expecting brief answers to big
questions
5. Controlling the whole review process, or trying
hard to do so
6. Keeping the whole group
together for every review process
7. Filling up flipcharts
8. Strongly favouring one learning
style
9. Assuming that everyone had much
the same experience
10. Welcoming certainty
11. Talking too much as a
facilitator
Each of these traps also conveys unintentional
messages that block learning. If you know enough
about these traps you can avoid them.
Trap 6. Keeping
the whole group together for every review process
Unintentional
message
"I do not
trust you (to review without me)."
This is closely related to the previous trap:
keeping everyone together helps the facilitator keep
control. Staying in the group for every review
process risks slipping into a suffocating sameness:
once a group pecking order is established it is
difficult for those lowest in the pecking order to
find their voice. When the same few people dominate
the conversation, the least heard voices lose
interest and lose confidence in their ability to
change the pattern. And even the more frequent
speakers may feel uncomfortable with such unequal
participation.
Avoid
Trap
6 Make it a higher priority to facilitate
inclusion and contribution.
- Mix in time for individual reflection,
learning buddy conversations and for small group
reflection so that participants are ready to
make a higher quality contribution to the whole
group process.
- If you are concerned that subgroups may not
use their time well, ensure that you give them
suitable review tasks - ideally with a process
that is visible and with an output that
demonstrates the quality of their independent
reviewing.
- For the design of such processes see my series
of articles about design indexed
here
Trap 7 Filling
up flipcharts
(or asking groups to do so)
Even on those rare occasions when you feel the need
to collect lots of information 'filling up
flipcharts' is unlikely to be the most inclusive,
efficient or dynamic way of doing so.
Unintentional
message
"Writing things
down is the main learning process here"
The number of flipcharts produced in a review is not
an indication of its quality! The subtle and
cumulative influences of the flipchart conspire to
shape a review into a process that no-one wants. If
a participant's words are recorded by the
facilitator they feel acknowledged. The corollary is
that participants whose words are not recorded are
likely to feel less valued. The facilitator senses
this (or is told so by the person whose words are
not recorded) and starts writing down a much higher
proportion of what is said. When the participants
sense what you are trying to do, everything slows
down so that you have time to do all the recording.
Avoid
Trap
7 If you are trying to kick the habit of
filling up flipcharts then plan to carry out some of
your reviews in a place where there are no
flipcharts, whiteboards, blackboards etc.
- 95% of the reviewing methods described in the
'Active Reviewing Guide' do not need a
flipchart.
- If you need to collect lots of information
then use a survey method in which small groups
construct the questions, carry out the survey
and report on results (without a flipchart!).
Trap 8 Strongly
favouring
one learning style
Unintentional
message
"You needed
all your senses, intelligences, resources and
learning styles during the activity, but you can
switch all but one of these off during the
review."
Yes - an invitation to switch off! For example: if
everyone sits in the same place doing nothing but
listening for most of the review, this favours
participants who prefer to learn by sitting and
listening for long periods (and occasionally
speaking up). But even such people will probably
learn more effectively if you encourage a broader
variety of learning opportunities during the review.
(Exceptions do happen: a group can get so engaged in
a good review discussion that it could be intrusive
to introduce a different method simply because you
want them to be more 'active' or 'creative'.)
Avoid
Trap
8 Make reviewing a holistic process
that engages a variety of different senses,
intelligences and learning styles. For example:
- For talking about group dynamics, participants
choose, move and arrange objects into patterns
that show how the dynamics are changing.
- For sharing an emotional experience,
participants create a rope graph showing their
ups and downs. Their 'story-line' serves as
an aid for deeper reflection and communication.
- For examining a critical moment participants
re-experience the event by re-enacting it. This
typically brings out greater honesty and
understanding.
This rationale is described in more detail in a
foreword I wrote on 'Why
Active
and Creative Reviewing' (pdf) and draws on the
metaphor of 'broadband' representing enriched
multichannel thinking and communication.
Trap 9. Assuming
that
everyone had much the same experience
(and will all come out of the review with much the
same learning)
Unintentional
message
"Difference is
inconvenient. It would be so much more convenient
if individual views or minority views make way for
the emerging mainstream version of events."
Some useful learning can happen at a general level.
For example, a group might say: "We all experienced
the disappointment of running out of time to
complete the task, and we all learned that we must
manage our time better in future." But underneath
this headline could be a whole range of different
experiences that point to other factors that are far
more significant and critical for group learning,
for individual learning, and for better task
performance.
Avoid
Trap
9: Use methods that bring out the range of
experiences and that acknowledge diversity and
difference.
- Discourage generalisations rather than asking
for them! Look for exceptions.
- Use reviewing methods that give everyone a
voice.
- Discourage statements beginning "We think
...". Until everyone has spoken, speaking for
others is guesswork.
- Check that statements made on behalf of others
are based on facts, not assumptions.
- Check that statements about learning are based
on evidence.
- When the evidence for learning is
experience-based, check the connections (Are the
findings over-generalised? Are people jumping to
conclusions?).
- When 'checking' it is better to prompt others
to check ("How confident are you in your
conclusion that ...?") rather than making your
own direct assessment as the 'checker'.
Trap 10 Welcoming
certainty
Unintentional
message
"Learning is about
creating certainty and agreement. It is not about
casting doubt, or looking for holes in arguments,
or introducing evidence that does not fit, or
creating alternative explanations."
Your job is to generate learning. So whenever
learning makes an appearance your instinct is to
welcome it. But learning also comes in the form of
'unlearning' (finding flaws in previous learning).
And 'unlearning' can be more difficult and more
profound and more valuable than 'new learning'.
'Unlearning' is often accompanied by uncertainty. So
we should perhaps have an even bigger welcome for
uncertainty!
Avoid
Trap
10: Unless you are doing fire drill
training (or any other kind of training drill),
appreciate the value of uncertainty and ambiguity
and appreciate the value of mixed endings to a
review: there may be greater certainty in some areas
and greater uncertainty in others. To ensure the
quality of learning:
- Interrupt assumptions
- Bring out alternative interpretations
- Challenge confidence in conclusions
- Explore ambiguities and other possibilities
- Ask 'What else?'
- Consider re-examining the conclusions of a
previous review if they now seem unsound and/or
too tidy.
While writing this article I learned of the death of
Sir Patrick Moore the British astronomer who once
gave a lecture entitled "What we don't know". This
suggests an interesting strategy for avoiding the
certainty trap. I think that 'What don't we know?'
could become one of my favourite review questions.
Trap 11 Talking
too much as a facilitator
Unintentional
message
"I don't value
what you have to say."
The facilitator who talks too much may actually
prefer that participants speak up more. But this is
a situation in which setting a good example as a
role model (of someone who speaks a lot) is
counterproductive.
Avoid
Trap
11 Make it easier for participants to
speak up.
- Ask
questions
that you cannot possibly answer yourself.
- Sit out silences if it seems that participants
are still thinking about your question.
- Ask an easier version of the question for
which no response is forthcoming.
- Avoid Trap 6 (always keeping everyone
together) and have pairs or small groups prepare
their responses (written or verbal or active or
creative in any combination)
- Ask pairs or small groups to discuss what
would make it easier for them to speak up.
- Set up review tasks that enable participants
to generate the main stimulus for review
discussions - allowing the facilitator to take a
more responsive role.
A concluding note
Hopefully you have gained some fresh insights into
some of the traps awaiting facilitators of learning.
I hope you have also picked up some useful ideas
about how to avoid these traps, and how to avoid
giving out messages that are counterproductive. I
welcome ideas for additions, changes and
improvements. Your comments are welcome by
email
A quick private
review
If you prefer to reflect in private, go to the
list
of 11 traps and jot down the numbers in a rank
order that applies to the frequency with which you
(or your colleagues) stumble into these traps.
Roger Greenaway
roger@reviewing.co.uk
http://reviewing.co.uk
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ 3 ~ RESOURCES: Active Reviewing
articles in other languages
If you or your colleagues prefer to read about
active reviewing in another language, help is at
hand. Here are your choices:
DIRECT TRANSLATIONS
- Chinese
(simplified): What do Facilitators Do? (2013)
- Russian:
Dynamic Debriefing, Doing Reviewing and The Art
of Reviewing (2010)
BOOKS THAT DRAW ON
MY WRITINGS ABOUT EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
- Afrikaans:
Ervaringsleer Kook (2008) since translated into
English as 'Reviewing Really Rocks' (2011)
- Chinese:
The Power of Reflection (2010)
- Chinese:
Debriefing: Making Sense of Experiences (2006)
- Danish:
Anerkendende Procesøvelser (2010)
- Dutch:
Reviewingtechnieken (2009)
- Hungarian:
Tanitani a Tanithatatlant (2008)
You will find more details of these publications on
this
webpage
GOOGLE TRANSLATE
The quality of this service is continually
improving. You can test it out by viewing my home
page in another language of your choice. The
easiest method is to select your language from the
'SELECT LANGUAGE' box you will easily spot near the
top left corner.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ 4 ~ ACTIVE LEARNING BOOKSHOP
and SAVE THE CHILDREN
Thanks to your purchases, Roger's Active
Learning
Bookshop has now raised £2,550 for Save the
Children. Do all your Amazon shopping (not just
books) via Roger's Active Learning Bookshop and not
only do YOU get a good deal, so do CHILDREN around
the world who need our help.
Thank you :-)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ 5 ~ ARCHIVE: How Balanced
are your Questions?
[From ARTips issue 1.1 when the text-only format did
not allow tables.]
However active or creative your reviewing style, the
chances are that you will be asking a lot of
questions. And that the chances are also that most
of your questions will be 'looking for trouble'
rather than 'looking for success'.
Here is a list of some commonly used questions
paired with some success-focused alternatives.
| Negative/neutral question |
Success-focused alternative |
| What went wrong? |
What went right? |
| What are your needs? |
What are your strengths? |
| What did you learn? |
What did you learn to do better? |
| What issues shall we put on the
agenda? |
What issues can we now take off the
agenda? |
| How can you improve? |
What strengths could you make more use of? |
| What's missing from this group? |
What are the assets of this group? |
| What would you do differently next
time? |
What would you do the same next time? |
| What do you want to achieve? |
What is your recipe for success?
And what will you now apply that to? |
For
more
questions, for more background and for several
pages on the subject of reviewing success, start
at the Questions
For
Success page from where you can readily find
several more pages on the subject.
Success
is
that important!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ 6 ~ EVENTS: Reviewing Skills
Training and other providers
The
Calendar of Reviewing Skills Training Workshops
This calendar provides details of training workshops
I am providing this year in the USA, Taiwan, China,
Hong Kong, Germany and Malaysia. I have some spaces
in my calendar between now and the end of March.
Please send
me an email if you want to fill a space!
If you ever wondered about the value of these
workshops, I have just added a quotation on my home
page from a client who informed me that: "At a
guess the training of 8-10 people that day has
lead to the use of your tools to at least 500
people plus!"
The
Experiential-CPD
Calendar
This calendar lists 'trainer-training' and
'educator-training' events from several
UK providers. The events listed here are of
interest to facilitators who work indoors or
outdoors. This monthly calendar regularly features a
'Thought for the Month' about experiential learning
from the editors or from readers. This sister
publication has also had a makeover to make it more
user-friendly.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ 7 ~ PREVIOUS ISSUE and FUTURE
ISSUES
The last issue ARTips
14.5 featured the first part of this month's
article about Avoiding
Common
Reviewing Traps.
Topics in Future Issues will be influenced by
questions raised during my training workshops and by
questions/suggestions from readers. Most of my
writing arises from issues and questions raised by
facilitators who are excited by the possibilities
and benefits of experiential approaches to learning
and development.
One challenge that some facilitators struggle with
is trying to convince 'others' that reviewing is a
valuable process. Sometimes these 'others' are
colleagues whose programme design includes little or
no time for reviewing. Sometimes these 'others' are
the people you are working with. So a future issue
of Active Reviewing Tips (possibly the next one)
will offer tips about productive ways in which you
can respond when faced with people who lack your own
enthusiasm for reviewing.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ 8 ~ About Active Reviewing Tips
TITLE: Active Reviewing Tips for Dynamic
Experiential Learning
ISSN: 1465-8046
EDITOR: Dr. Roger Greenaway, Reviewing Skills
Training
EMAIL: roger@reviewing.co.uk
Feedback welcome - especially about this new
format.
ARCHIVES: Index
of
back issues
HOME PAGE: Active
Reviewing
"I like the way
you look at everything and then return to what is
simple, effective and memorable."
"You always have material I don't want to miss."
- Guestbook comments
|
![[reviewing.co.uk]](../../images/suncloud.gif){kind=small}
![[SITE SEARCH HELP]](../../images/runner.gif){kind=small}
