Active Reviewing Tips for Dynamic Experiential Learning
http://reviewing.co.uk
Active Reviewing Tips 2.9 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ISSN
1465-8046
~ ~ A C T I V E . R E V I E W I N G . T I P S
~ ~ FOR DYNAMIC EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
~ ~ the free monthly newsletter associated with the
~ ~ 'GUIDE TO ACTIVE REVIEWING' http://reviewing.co.uk
~ ~ Editor: Roger Greenaway
roger@reviewing.co.uk
~ ~ Vol. 2.9
~ ~ ACTIVE REVIEWING ARTICLE (Part 1)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
CONTENTS (TOP)
FROM
THE
EDITOR
In the Chinese language, I am told, there is a
symbol that
represents both opportunity and crisis. So when my modem
packs up
and most of my files and messages disappear, I try very hard
to
see the opportunities
........................................
......maybe I'll write about that another time.
Meanwhile, here is part 1 of my 'recycled' article about
Active
Reviewing. Maybe this IS an opportunity after all. Rather
than
throwing isolated ideas at you, here is an article that
draws
together some of the key principles and practices of active
reviewing into one article. Here is your opportunity to get
an
overview of what 'active reviewing' is all about.
This article is published in two parts because some of you
may
have a size limit for the emails you receive. (You or your
service provider may have set a limit.)
And after two months without any Active Reviewing Tips,
perhaps
you have an appetite for a longer 2-part issue?
If you prefer to read the full version of this article from
the
web, please find your way to:
http://reviewing.co.uk/actrev.htm
CONTENTS (TOP)
A
NEW trainer-training workshop with
Roger Greenaway
Reviewing Skills Training
==========================
HOW TO TRANSFER LEARNING
and give your training lasting impact
==========================
Experience-based training has impact. But how do you ensure
that
the impact leads to valued, significant and transferable
change?
By taking part in this practical 2 day workshop you will
learn
how to improve the chances that the full benefits of your
training are transferred to the 'real' world.
As a participant you will gain ...
* an understanding of key issues in the transfer of
learning.
* the know-how to make learning experiences more
transferable.
* an expanded toolkit of reviewing techniques that assist
transfer
* first-hand experience of 'transfer planning'
==== DAY 1 ====
TRANSFER, TRANSLATE OR TRANSFORM
* Who does what to assist transfer?
* Key issues about transfer
* Doing nothing about transfer
* What you can do before, during and after training events
to
promote transfer
THINKING LINKING
* Warm-ups and skills development
* Mind opening exercises
* Association games
* Physical games
* Creative thinking exercises
* Systematic comparisons
* Pattern making
* Parallel worlds
* Developing learning skills
TRANSFER WITHIN A TRAINING EVENT
* Linking by design vs. linking by review
* 'Do-Review-Apply' within a course.
'* Do-Review-Apply' within an activity.
* Reviewing how transfer is happening
* Re-reviewing to find new associations
TRANSFER BEYOND A TRAINING EVENT
* When and how to focus on the future
* Reviewing how transfer is happening
* Models of transfer: bridging the gap with your favourite
vehicle for change.
* Transfer plan = action plan + learning plan
* Writing 'smart' objectives with muscle!
* Rehearsing 'what if' scenarios
==== DAY 2 ====
MAKING TRANSFER INEVITABLE
* Growth, capacity and potential
* Storing success
* Working with stories and metaphors
* Working at different levels
MAKING LEARNING READY TO USE
* hooks - internal and external
* talking with different people about the course
CUSTOMISING LEARNING TRANSFER
* travelling alone
* creating and using support
* action plans or learning plans?
* preferred learning style
BEYOND TRANSFER
* translating and transforming
* what do you do with unfinished learning?
* evaluation measures and supports transfer
Roger Greenaway is the author of Playback and other books
and
articles about reviewing. Roger provided his first
trainer-training courses in reviewing at Brathay in the
early
eighties. He was awarded a doctorate in 1995 for a study
entitled
'Powerful Learning Experiences in Management Learning and
Development'. Roger now provides reviewing skills training
and
consultancy in the UK and abroad.
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CONTENTS (TOP)
A
C T I V E . R E V I E W I N G . [Part 1]
WHEN WORDS ARE NOT ENOUGH
The purpose of reviewing is to assist the process
of learning
from experience. This paper outlines some active approaches
to
reviewing that offer a way forward when words are not
enough, or
when words get in the way.
ACTIVE REVIEWING
Active reviewing improves our ability to learn from
experience.
Most active reviewing is simple, basic and direct. Used
wisely it
can enliven and sharpen the process of reviewing experience.
INTEGRATING THE WORLDS OF TALK AND ACTION
* Over-reliance on words can restrict our ability
to learn from
experience, however articulate or inarticulate we may think
we
are.
* Talk and action tend to inhabit distinct and separate
worlds,
especially when there is a clear demarcation line between
doing
and reviewing.
* The more separate these worlds, the less likely it is that
learning from experience is happening.
* Active reviewing is brings these worlds closer together,
by
narrowing the gap between theory and practice.
THE BENEFITS OF ACTIVE REVIEWING
The benefits arising from the habit of active
reviewing can
include:
* More effective learning from experience
* An improved confidence in translating words into action,
trying
out ideas, making decisions happen, and turning plans into
reality
* Soundly based resolutions and action plans. The transition
of
learning from a course is more likely to happen if plans for
the
future have already been rehearsed in some way while on the
course.
* Language is more likely to be used accurately, responsibly
and
sensitively. When language and action are no longer 'safely'
separated, the quality of communication can only improve.
ACTIVE REVIEWING complements
discussion-based methods - it does
not replace them.
There is a risk that active reviewing might be seen as
'anti-language' or as an attack on the value of verbal
reviewing.
It is the trainer's responsibility to maintain a suitable
balance
between language, action and any other media which are used
for
reviewing. Active reviewing methods simply extend the
choices
available for learning from experience.
PREPARING FOR ACTIVE REVIEWING
SETTING UP NEW LANGUAGES
It is useful to have a wide range of options
instantly available
when reviewing. If a trainer intends to use active
techniques
during a review, an earlier session involving communicating
through action can prime the group for using 'active
language'.
'Active Images' is an example of setting up and using a new
language:
ACTIVE IMAGES
On a course which has 'teamwork' and 'leadership'
as themes, each
group member can be asked to demonstrate an ideal active
image of
'teamwork' by directing the rest of the group in a short
realistic or symbolic presentation. These presentations can
then
be readily adapted during later reviews to illustrate how
the
group is actually working as a team, and to represent
people's
changing views about teamwork or leadership.
SETTING UP CONVENTIONS
A number of games, communication exercises or
movement exercises
can be used to set up a range of conventions for use during
reviewing. Strict observance of conventions can be just as
vital
to the success of a review as it can be to the success of a
game.
A group which already knows various conventions and has
experienced their value, is more likely to be responsive
when
such conventions are re-introduced during a review.
The discipline of 'rounds' or of 'sustained silences', or
the
precedent of moving everyone else or of freezing during
action -
these are just some of the conventions that can be valuable
during reviewing.
CONVENTIONS FOR CONVENTIONS
If conventions are simply established by default
(e.g. that
people always sit in the same places and keep to the same
pecking
order in group discussions), then it is unlikely that
effective
reviewing will get off the ground. By making alternative
conventions available in advance, trainers create more room
for
manoeuvre during reviews - both for themselves and for
participants.
EXAMPLES OF ACTIVE REVIEWING
ACTION REPLAYS
(improvised group re-enactments of a group event)
Action replays are the basis of many active reviewing
techniques.
The purposes and variations of action replays are endless.
The
nine purposes listed below cover three broad areas:
CLARIFYING
what happened, CELEBRATING what happened, and INVESTIGATING
what
happened:
CLARIFYING
* keeping everyone in the group informed about what
others were
doing (especially where a group has split into smaller units
during an activity)
* informing others outside the group about a group event (or
possibly just to update the trainer following an independent
exercise)
* reconstructing a distant or complex event (to help people
recall and relive the facts and feelings of an event)
CELEBRATING
* celebrating a success (and appreciating more
about what
contributed to the success)
* helping people to see the serious side of a humorous
incident
(or vice-versa)
INVESTIGATING
* agenda-raising (using an action replay as a sweep
search for
issues to review)
* awareness-raising (bringing out different points of view
and
disagreements)
* focusing on issues which participants have found difficult
to
recognise or confront during the activity
* analysing a problem (similar to reconstructing the scene
of a
crime)
ACTION PRE-PLAYS (or rehearsals)
Pre-plays (or rehearsals) are a natural development of
action
replays. They simply focus on future possibilities rather
than on
past events. Acting out alternative courses of action is
more
committing than talk, but is less committing than the real
thing.
* pre-plays create quick and convenient opportunities
for second
attempts (compared to real second attempts). There may also
be
fewer distractions from key issues.
* pre-plays create opportunities for experimenting with
alternatives
* individuals can swap roles with each other, leading
towards
criticism becoming more constructive...
[end of part 1 of this article.
See ARTips 2.10 for the continuation]
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DO YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE?
If you want to READ more about ACTIVE REVIEWING
1) Do nothing! Just continue reading Active Reviewing Tips
and you will receive a monthly(ish) dose of practical ideas
for active reviewing.
2) Search http://reviewing.co.uk
There's now a full text search
box at the top of the home page from where you can navigate
this
220+ page site - mostly about reviewing, and quite a lot
about
outdoor learning.
3) Use http://reviewing.co.uk
to find related sites. You will
find useful links throughout the site.
4) Go to http://reviewing.co.uk/pbk.htm
and learn more about
Playback online. (You can also buy a copy from here.)
If you want practical face-to-face TRAINING on the subject
Take a look at http://reviewing.co.uk/_wkshops.htm
for a full
list of workshops or write to me at
roger@reviewing.co.uk
You will find a menu of workshops to choose from, but in
most
cases the workshops I provide are customised one-off events
to
meet the needs of a particular staff team.
If you want to HOST a customised or open workshop, please
write
to me at
roger@reviewing.co.uk
DON'T JUST DO IT -
ACTIVELY REVIEW IT !!
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MORE APOLOGIES - AND THANKS
The results of the last Active Reviewing Tips Survey were
amongst
the casualties in my recent data disaster. Thank you to
those who
took part. I'll look after your replies better next time!
Thank you to Paul at http://www.learningfountain.com
and Frank at
http://bemorecreative.com
for giving Active Reviewing Tips a
mention. Both Paul and Frank provide excellent ezines that I
have
been receiving for some time. I'll tell you more about them
in the next issue!
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