~ 1 ~
EDITORIAL: Mind the Gap
~ 2 ~ EVENTS: Active Reviewing
Workshops with Roger Greenaway
~ 3 ~ ARTICLE: Zooming In and Zooming
Out - part two
~ 4 ~ BOOK REVIEW: The Well-Played
Game 2013
~ 5 ~ ARCHIVE: Where did this review
method come from?
~ 6 ~ PREVIOUS ISSUE and FUTURE
ISSUES
~ 7 ~ About Active Reviewing Tips
~ 1 ~ EDITORIAL: Mind the Gap
There has been a gap of several months since the
last issue, so I hope your hunger for Active
Reviewing Tips has been growing during this long
interval. As a reminder (if needed) ...
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Active
Reviewing Tips is a free
newsletter from Roger Greenaway that will
help you to re-charge your reviewing and
facilitation skills.
Typical contents:
- a practical feature on reviewing tips
- links to sites about active learning
methods
- tips, comments and ideas from readers
- what's new in the Guide to Active
Reviewing at http://reviewing.co.uk
Maximum frequency: monthly.
"15 years of
promoting better learning experiences
without chalk, flipcharts or marker
pens."
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Tip # 1
My updated description of the Horseshoe
method ("Where do you stand?") now includes sample
questions that illustrate a wide range of
applications for this handy scaling method. The
tip is to download
this 2 page pdf to discover how the
questions correspond to your own work goals.
Tip # 2
if you are interested in holding a
trainer-training event about reviewing or
transfer, start
the process soon - I am holding my prices
for bookings made before
the
end of March 2014. Current
prices are published here
Enjoy reflecting on 2013 and I look forward to
greeting you with the next issue of Active
Reviewing Tips early in 2014 - to help you re-charge your
reviewing and facilitation skills with practical
tips and tools that place
experience at the heart of learning and
development.
Roger Greenaway
roger@reviewing.co.uk
http://reviewing.co.uk
Don't
just
do it - actively review it!
~ 2 ~ EVENTS: Active Reviewing
Workshops with Roger Greenaway
12-14th February 2014, Lithuania. [Please enquire
for details.]
22-23rd March 2014, Castleton, Derbyshire. I am one
of several presenters at the Lindley Annual Festival
of Outdoor Learning. I am facilitating half day
workshops about 'Reviewing in Twos' and 'Reviewing
in Groups'.
14-18th April 2014, KL Malaysia. Experiential
Learning and Debriefing Skills. A trainer-training
workshop with Prof. Colin Beard and Dr. Roger
Greenaway. The 2014 programme will be a revised
version of the
2012 programme. [Please enquire for details of
the 2014 programme.]
late April 2014 Singapore - tbc.
4-8th May 2014, Poland. The Sudety Mountains, nr
Wroclaw, Poland are the venue for the 2014
conference of Experiential
Educators
Europe. Along with most other participants I
will be bringing a workshop to this international
gathering.
The above information is copied from
The
Calendar of Reviewing Skills Training Workshops
where you will find the most up to date list of
open/public workshops provided by Roger Greenaway.
The
other
newsletter: the Experiential-CPD Calendar
The Experiential-CPD 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. The Experiential-CPD calendar features a
'Thought for the Month' about experiential
learning from the editors or from readers.
~ 3 ~ ARTICLE: Zooming in and
zooming out when facilitating learning - part two
ZOOM IN OR ZOOM OUT?
by
Roger
Greenaway, Reviewing Skills Training
In
part one of this article I asked, "Are
you
a 'zoomer in' or a 'zoomer out' when you
facilitate learning?" I then gave
examples of how you can 'zoom in' or 'zoom out'
with questions and also with review tasks. And in
answer to the question 'Why Zoom?' I wrote:
"Whatever
you current focus, it is always worth considering
whether to go large, go small or stay much the
same. You are not looking for the perfect focus
that you make permanent. This is because there is
a value in changing focus and making connections
from one scale (or zoom setting) to another."
Part
two shows how 'zooming' has featured in some
learning models that you may know::
- One way zooming (the funnelling model)
- Zooming both ways (some more balanced models)
followed by some practical examples:
- Which zoom setting when?
- Examples of zooming in for close-up reviewing
- Examples of zooming out for wide-angle
reviewing
- Examples of reviewing methods that zoom both
ways
some thoughts on zooming and the transfer of
learning:
- Zooming and the transfer of learning
and some follow-up links and references for those
who want to explore zooming further:
- References and useful links
You
will now discover more about why and how we
can all benefit from the frequent use of a 'zoom
lens' when our purpose is to learn from experience
– or to help others to do so.
The
full article on zooming in and zooming out (parts
one and two together) is now available at:
http://reviewing.co.uk/articles/zooming_in_and_out.htm
~ 4 ~ Book Review: The
Well-Played Game (2013)
The Well-Played Game: A Player's Philosophy
by Bernard de Koven (2013)
Reviewed by Roger Greenaway
If the title sounds familiar, it might be because
'The Well-Played Game' was first published in 1978
and was followed by a revised edition in 2002 –
which is currently on sale at Amazon for £637! Its
re-publication in 2013 gives these playful insights
a new lease of life – and at a more affordable
price! The 2013 edition also includes a new foreword
by Eric Zimmerman and a new preface by the author,
Bernie de Koven.
'The Well-Played Game' is difficult to classify
because it is so original and unconventional. For
example, it ends with a 'Nonconclusion' comprising
four 'Inklings'. The three main reasons that I
enjoyed re-reading this unique treatise are:
1. It is a detailed
forensic analysis of how games (of all kinds) work
– providing clear insights into the social 'DNA'
of a well-played game.
2. The style is entertaining and playful – making
the journey wonderfully consistent with the
subject of a well-played game.
3. There is an unrelenting focus on the experience
of a well-played game.
As with all good books, it can be enjoyed at many
levels – as a player of games, as a play leader, as
a game designer, or as a designer/facilitator of any
activities (educational or recreational). By the end
of the book I could even accept the author's
"Inkling # 3" that "If we can create even larger
games that we can all play together – all of us –
then there will be no separation between us and
others, no we and they. We will all be one
community. All one species."
Bernie's writing makes me smile and brings me many
'aha' moments. It has been a considerable influence
on my own approach to designing (and playing)
debriefing games, such as making it easy for people
to opt in and out, designing half games that leave
space for participants' creativity, and always
keeping the Joker (wild card) in play – giving
everyone the right and opportunity to change the
game.
For more details about what you will find in the
Well-Played Game (including intriguing concepts
like 'The Well-Timed Cheat', 'The Fair Witness',
'The Practice Game', 'The Bent Rule', 'Restoring
Balance', 'Quitting' and 'Quitting Practice') please
see
my full review.
~ 5 ~ ARCHIVE: Where did this
review method come from?
Participants in my reviewing workshops often ask
where certain tools and techniques come from.
Knowing the history of how particular tools have
developed might be of value to you in two ways:
Firstly - knowing
the background may help you to use these reviewing
tools more effectively.
Secondly - knowing more about the process by which
these tools were created, might just whet your
appetite for developing your own reviewing tools.
This article will help you to tap into your own
powers of innovation.
But why invent or develop new tools when there are
so many ready-made ones to choose from? Is it not
better to use a few tools you know well and just add
some ready-made, tried-and-tested methods when you
want a bigger and better toolkit? Why go to all the
trouble of inventing something new? (Although if you
think of inventing as 'trouble' you might never get
started.)
I hope this exercise in reviewing the origins of
reviewing methods will awaken or sharpen your own
innovative instincts while also providing a few tips
along the way.
So where did these reviewing techniques come
from?
- A happy accident (arising from participants'
creativity) ...
- To stimulate creativity ...
- The lack of resources, leading to creativity
...
- Developing variations of a method that works
well ...
- Finding a new use for an old method
- Recognising the shortcomings of an existing
method and doing something about it ...
- Seeking greater efficiency
- Responding to needs during a programme ...
- Turning principles into practice ...
- Turning research findings into practice ...
For the full article with examples to go with the
principles, please see Innovations
in
Reviewing
~ 6 ~ PREVIOUS ISSUE and FUTURE
ISSUES
The previous issue of Active Reviewing Tips is
archived at
this address.
Topics under consideration for future issues
include:
- Reviewing in twos (as a break from whole group
reviewing)
- Making the case for active reviewing
- Making reviewing a memorable experience
- Reviewing as a takeaway skill for participants
- Evaluating Active Reviewing: how well does it
work?
- Reviewing for different outcomes (using the
same activities)
- End of programme reviews
- Co-facilitating reviews
- The art of improvising
- Remote Reviewing
- Reviewing over a cup of tea (informal
reviewing)
- Readers' Questions about Reviewing (please
feed me with questions for this 'FAQ')
- 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 write to roger@reviewing.co.uk
if you have any topics you would like to see
included or put at the top of this list (which is
not yet in any particular order).
~ 7 ~ 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
PRIVACY: see foot of page
"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."
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