Advanced Skills in Experiential Practice

Dear Teacher, I am a survivor of a concentration camp. My eyes saw what no man should witness. Gas chambers built by learned engineers. Infants killed by trained nurses. Women and babies shot and burned by high school and college graduates. So, I am suspicious of education. My request is: Help your students become human. Your efforts must never produce learned monsters, skilled psychopaths, educated Eichmanns. Reading, writing, and arithmetic are important only if they serve to make our children more human. ~ Author Unknown (cited in Haim Ginott’s “Teacher and Child”)

INTRODUCTION/CONTEXT

Outcomes Exploring the meaning of “intentionality” Applying social emotional learning personally and professionally Using metaphors before, during, and after an activity to facilitate meaningful connections for participants Integrating learning and the brain to understand how to think and plan experientially

Agenda FLOW  Introduction/Context  FACILITATIVE & CONCEPTUAL APPROACHES TO PROCESSING  WATERING THE GARDEN  THINKING EXPERIENTIALLY  Closing

BEST WORKSHOP EVER: Facilitator Talk about practice – what does it sound like, look like… Help me to relate and connect Using various tools, processes, and strategies to facilitate what we do in the workshop – Show us Definitive answers - opinions – Offer tools for use in my situation Create awareness about what we’re doing – why – Building contextual meaning Addressing all objectives

BEST WORKSHOP EVER: Everyone Being more involved in the workshop Listening to each other Express oneself (doubts, questions) Being relevant Being supportive Be open and accepting… non judgmental Give examples when saying something Flow – see where it goes – trust the process Start on time Be mindful about disturbing others

FACILITATIVE AND CONCEPTUAL APPROACHES TO PROCESSING

minutes minutes minutes

WATERING THE GARDEN Making Experiences More Meaningful through Metaphor

Metaphors Frontloaded During/Internal After/Processing

Facilitator Directed Did you notice that the harder you tried, the more difficult it became? Did you notice things slipping away from your hands? Did you notice how much involvement it required to achieve the objective? Did you notice you paid more attention to some objects than others? Did you notice we tend to exclude people if we don’t pay conscious attention? Did you notice that many times we feel like we have no control over things?

Participant Directed What did you notice about how you accomplished this activity together? How does this connect with your life/work/school? How is this like your life/work/school? Where do you encounter a similar experience in your life/work/school What does the stick represent in your life? The people?

THINKING EXPERIENTIALLY From Isolated Event to Learning Process

FRONT INTEGRATIVE SENSORY BACK INTEGRATIVE MOTOR ZULL’S MODEL OF THE CONNECTION BETWEEN BRAIN FUNCTION AND HUMAN LEARNING Gathering Information Reflection/Obser vation Creation of New Concepts Active Testing

“… if one advances confidently in the direction of their dreams, and endeavors to live the life which they have imagined, they will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. … If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” Henry David Thoreau

Laurie Frank GOAL Consulting To download this PowerPoint, please go to my website:

Leaning Pairs Or Scales Leaning Pairs Or Scales What did you have to do to maintain balance? Homeostasis Definition Concept Map of human body Examples Homeostasis Definition Concept Map of human body Examples Research Homeostatic Relationships Present findings Research Homeostatic Relationships Present findings Concept: Homeostasis HOMEOSTASIS Theme/Big Idea: Balance