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 [...]

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.

My last two posts have focused on methods for positively influencing learning outcomes with groups through strong beginnings. I shared some of my favorite activities for starting off with style and creating a “hook” to engage participants from the moment they walk through the door including the use of postcards, objects and quotes.   These [...]

A Taoist Perspective on Facilitation and Leadership To continue with this month’s theme around the qualities that make a great leader or group facilitator we are offering this excerpt from Steven Simpson’s book The Leader Who is Hardly Known. Being Hardly Known In experiential education, I do not know of anyone who does not enjoy [...]

“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 [...]

Processing in the Middle of the Experience Jen Stanchfield Often when we facilitate reflection with groups, we make time after the experience or lesson is completed to review and reflect. Many educators describe their reflective practice with groups as “debriefing”—a word that originated in the military for the act of eliciting a report from a [...]

Engaging Groups in Meaningful Dialogue and Reflection While Practicing Decision-making and Consensus Building. Jen Stanchfield My last few posts have explored the power of play to help learners build decision-making, and conflict resolution skills. I have emphasized that educators can intentionally “weave in” opportunities for groups to practice these skills throughout their day- to-day lessons. [...]

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 [...]

Experiential Approaches to Building a Classroom Community: Highlights from Jen Stanchfield’s Winter Workshops for Educators at the Southeast Vermont Learning Collaborative. This winter SVLC hosted two days of workshops for teachers and school counselors focused on experiential strategies for building a positive classroom environment and active approaches to differentiating instruction. Thanks to everyone who participated. [...]

Jen Stanchfield’s workshop The Art of Experiential Group Facilitation. Jennifer Stanchfield and Josh Meyer presented a Holistic Approach to Teaching focused on brain-based learning, differentiated instruction and positive behavioral supports.