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Roger Greenaway's Active Reviewing Tips ~ ISSN 1465-8046
is no longer published but you
can view more back
issues in the ARCHIVES For Roger's blog and other writings please see the Guide to Active Reviewing |
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| Good quality
reviewing does not always depend on the presence of a facilitator.
These tips will help you to help participants use their
independence productively. ARTips 14.2 Reviewing
without a Facilitator
~ 1 ~ EDITORIAL: Gone Away - back in half an
hour
~ 2 ~ The Art of Not Being There: Reviewing without a Facilitator ~ 3 ~ RESOURCE: Appraisal and Feedback Exercises ~ 4 ~ ACTIVE LEARNING BOOKSHOP ~ 5 ~ ARCHIVE: 18 Active Feedback Exercises ~ 6 ~ EVENTS: May - June 2012 ~ 8 ~ LAST ISSUE and FUTURE ISSUES ~ 9 ~ About Active Reviewing Tips |
| ~ 1
~ EDITORIAL: GONE AWAY - BACK IN HALF AN HOUR I remember doing a double take as I walked past the window of a seminar room just half an hour into the start of a training programme. It was like a scene from Star Trek: the group were stood at the window as if steering their spacecraft through some intergalactic hazard. I checked later and this is exactly what they were doing. The group facilitator had greeted them in a hurry, apologised that he needed to be somewhere else for half an hour, and asked them to turn the room into the Starship Enterprise while he was gone. And they did - very convincingly! It may not have been a very 'professional' start to the programme, but I do remember thinking that this group had probably got off to a much quicker start than any of the other groups - who were probably still on a round of introductions. I am not recommending taking such a high risk at the very start of a programme - but I was impressed by how much this group had achieved in the absence of their facilitator. Starship Enterprise was an impromptu group building activity. But could the same principle apply to a review? Would you ever leave the group to review without the benefit of your facilitation? If you are a regular reader of Active Reviewing Tips - or as regular as publication allows ;-) - you may feel that you want to spend every available minute working face to face with the group. This week's tips article is about exceptions when it may be better to go away for half an hour. Tips about 'how to be absent' or 'the art of not being there'. Enjoy an extra coffee break. Roger Greenaway roger@reviewing.co.uk http://reviewing.co.uk PS If you like this issue, please tell others. If you can suggest improvements please tell me. If you tweet, you can now follow @roger_review on Twitter |
| ~ 2
~ THE ART OF NOT BEING THERE: REVIEWING
WITHOUT
A FACILITATOR
Good quality reviewing does not always depend on the presence of a facilitator: there are a number of situations in which INDEPENDENT REVIEWING is a useful alternative. These situations include: * where a group is becoming too dependent on the facilitator * where there is so much going on in a group that people need to take time out to reflect on their own, with learning buddies, or in smaller groups * where whole group dynamics are not conducive to reviewing in the whole group and you judge that smaller independent groups would produce a higher quality of reviewing. (This strategy may also help to create a better climate for whole group reviewing.) * in order to complete journals, diaries, logbooks, or questionnaires * where you run out of time and ask participants to complete a reviewing task before they next meet with you * where participants are being trained to take more responsibility for facilitating their own reviews * where 'empowerment' or 'developing learning skills' are objectives * where there is a need to review in subgroups but there are not enough staff to go round * when the facilitator needs a break, or has run out of ideas! A BREAK FROM ROUTINE A common pattern in experiential programmes is for independent tasks to be followed by facilitated reviews. This common pattern makes a lot of sense, but it is not the only way of structuring a programme. It makes sense for most reviews to be facilitated, but why not make an occasional change of routine that gives participants more responsibility for their own learning? INDEPENDENT REVIEW TASKS In the review tasks described below, the way in which the end product is produced is mostly left to the group's discretion. You can ask the group to produce something within a specified time, or you can ask them to keep working until the review task is completed. 1 ACTION POINTS List the five most surprising things that happened during the last activity; list five aspects of teamwork which were particularly good; and list five ACTION POINTS for the group which will help you to improve the quality of your teamwork. 2 ACTION REPLAYS Practise two ACTION REPLAYS: one which highlights what went well, and one which highlights what didn't go well. Incorporate these into a five minute performance on the theme of 'Past and Future' which ends with a 'preview' of the next activity - going well! 3 ART With these materials, make a collage/sculpture/junk model about the last activity, showing a mixture of 'obvious' and 'not- so-obvious' experiences associated with the activity. 4 GROUP POEM Using six blank cards, each individual writes down three words and three phrases about the previous activity. As a group arrange all of these words and phrases together to produce a group poem about the activity (using a few extra words if needed). 5 GROUP SONG Write and perform a song about the last activity which mentions and involves everyone in the group. Agree a theme that is related to the course objectives and require that there is consensus about the words of the song before it is performed. 6 NEWS REPORT produce a front page newspaper story, a RADIO NEWS item (live or recorded), or a VIDEO (or ACTION REPLAY) about the last activity. In large groups you can ask for more than one product. The news angle can be determined by the style of presentation associated with different media and/or linked to course objectives. 7 QUESTIONNAIRES Questionnaires relating to the previous activity are handed out to each person, and are completed individually. The notes made during this individual review exercise are then used as notes for a review discussion. The reviewer should have announced at the start if individuals will be asked to read out any of their answers. 8 REVIEW DISCUSSION (PREPARATION) In a group of ten people, the group agree a five part agenda for reviewing the activity, and then divide into five pairs, with each pair choosing to lead one item on the agenda. Each pair then has (say) five minutes preparation time. 9 REVIEW DISCUSSION (OBSERVED BY FACILITATOR) The group prepare for a review discussion which will take place in your presence. You describe your own role clearly - which may be "to observe and record, but unlikely to intervene". At a suitable point, such as 'half-time' or at the end, you provide feedback on the review process. 10 FACILITATOR COACHING You help a participant prepare for facilitating a review discussion which you observe. After the discussion you ask for feedback from the group to the participant who took the role of facilitator. Of course, it would be very difficult to give feedback to a facilitator who has decided to apply the art of not being there! 'Not being there' is an occasional tactic and is not recommended as a whole course strategy especially for someone who has spent time reading Active Reviewing Tips and is looking for opportunities to try them out. Feedback welcome! Roger Greenaway roger@reviewing.co.uk |
| ~ 3 ~ RESOURCE:
APPRAISAL and FEEDBACK EXERCISES Many feedback methods depend on the giver of feedback thinking about the messages they wish to communicate and how they will communicate them. (This is especially true for the making of GIFTS.) Other methods require the receiver of feedback to think carefully about the questions they wish to ask in order to get the feedback they want. (This is especially true for WARM SEAT.) http://reviewing.co.uk/feedback.htm |
| ~ 4 ~ ACTIVE LEARNING BOOKSHOP Do ALL your Amazon shopping (not just books) via <http://reviewing.co.uk/reviews> and not only do YOU get a good deal, so do CHILDREN around the world who need our help. I worked for Save the Children for 4 years so I know about the value and quality of the work they do. Please support them by buying your books (and any other Amazon goods) via ROGER'S ACTIVE LEARNING BOOKSHOP |
| ~ 5
~ ARCHIVE: 18 ACTIVE FEEDBACK EXERCISES http://reviewing.co.uk/archives/art/3_9.htm |
| ~ 6 ~ FACILITATION TRAINING 2012 If you are a provider of facilitation training, please send me the details if you would like the details included in future issues of Active Reviewing Tips. For the latest listing see: http://reviewing.co.uk/experiential-CPD-training-calendar.htm DISCLAIMER: READER BEWARE I do not guarantee anything about the quality (or even the existence of!) events advertised in this message. You are advised to make your own judgements about quality and authenticity of any events listed above. For the full Experiential-CPD Calendar see: http://reviewing.co.uk/outdoor/notices.htm ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ REVIEWING SKILLS TRAINING WORKSHOPS If you would like to host an open event or arrange for an in- house customised trainer-training programme please get in touch. Write to: <roger@reviewing.co.uk> Or view the sample training workshops at http://reviewing.co.uk/trainingworkshops.htm My travels in 2012 will take me to these countries. If you wish to host a reviewing skills workshop in one of these countries in the month's shown, you may be in luck! Please check the details or get in touch. May: Switzerland May: Romania June: Copenhagen July: Malaysia Aug: Singapore Sept: USA Nov: Copenhagen Nov: Stockholm Write to: <roger@reviewing.co.uk> |
| ~ 8 ~ LAST ISSUE AND FUTURE ISSUES LAST ISSUE Reviewing with Cards: 8 Methods http://reviewing.co.uk/archives/art/14_1_reviewing_with_cards.htm FUTURE ISSUES Topics under considerations for future issues: * Reviewing as a takeaway skill for participants * Evaluating Active Reviewing: how well does it work? * Reviewing for different outcomes (using the same activities) * Reviewing for teachers and lecturers * Reviewing for consultants * Reviewing one-to-one * End of programme reviews * Co-facilitating reviews * The art of improvising * Remote Reviewing * Readers' Questions about Reviewing * Sample designs for learning and development * Integrated practice in experiential learning (when does an activity become a review? when does a review become an activity? examples of integrated practice - and do these challenge or demonstrate experiential learning theory?) Please let me know what you would like to see in a future issue of Active Reviewing Tips - whether from the above list or on another reviewing topic that matters to you. If you like this issue, please tell others. If you want to suggest improvements please tell me: roger@reviewing.co.uk |
| ~ 9 ~ About Active Reviewing Tips EDITOR: Dr. Roger Greenaway, Reviewing Skills Training 9 Drummond Place Lane STIRLING Scotland UK FK8 2JF Feedback, recommendations, questions: roger@reviewing.co.uk ARCHIVES: <http://reviewing.co.uk/ezine1/art001.htm> The Guide to Active Reviewing is at <a href="http://reviewing.co.uk/">http://reviewing.co.uk</a> FROM GUESTBOOK: "I like the way you look at everything and then return to what is simple, effective and memorable." COPYRIGHT: Roger Greenaway 2012 Reviewing Skills Training |
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