In my August post I compared the art of group facilitation and teaching to cooking and promised more articles on the key ingredients that make group work and learning successful.   As with cooking, facilitation is an art that involves a combination of practice, observation, knowledge of theory and creativity. Effective facilitators act as a [...]

Today I am returning to the blog after a few weeks offline due to Tropical Storm Irene.   Our little village of South Newfane, Vermont and many neighboring towns were hit hard by flooding during Irene. Some of our neighbors lost their homes. Power, phone and Internet were gone for many days and our roads [...]

Jennifer Stanchfield’s post on the important ingredients for teaching and group facilitation. Techniques for maximizing engagement, reflection and building a positive group or classroom environment.

“A teacher is one who makes himself progressively unnecessary” – Thomas Curruthers When I work with educators from all backgrounds I often find myself encouraging them to reflect on the idea of  a “student centered ” or  “participant centered” approach to teaching and group facilitation.  In this approach an educator thinks of themselves as a [...]

Last week I mentioned my favorite way to divide a group into teams using a “Which One?” scenario where partners practice compromise/decision-making. After reading the last entry my colleague Kristen reminded me to share my funny “success” story from using this method with students in an elementary school: I was working with a 2nd grade [...]

Jen Stanchfield’s Upcoming Workshops Designed for Advisory Group Leaders: Advisory group leaders report that they are always looking for new ideas for facilitating advisory sessions with students. Many educators are planning for the remaining few months of school, summer programs and the start of next school year. The Chewonki Foundation in Wiscasset Maine and the [...]