Experiential education and community building

Experiential Education in Classrooms,Skillfest 2016

Nisha AdityaWith the help of a lot of others!

Play For PeaceCore Values:1. Inclusion2. No Competition3. Emotional and Physical Safety (rules, no

correct way)4. Role Model5. Fun!Khel Se Mel – Documentary on YouTube -23 minutes (English Subtitles)

Why?

Skill fest

Workshop

Self- Verificat

ion

Experiential Learning CycleDo

Reflect

Learn

Apply

Experiential

Learning

Intentionality

Experiential

Education

Safe Learning Environment &

Group developmentClassroom

Management

Designing Experiences Processing

Agenda / Objectives

What are some of the challenges we, as teachers,

face in our classes?

Challenges a teacher faces in a classDifferent types of learners Differentiated teaching, diverse

learning experiencesAcceptance of special needs and gifted children

Belongingness, IEPs, differential learning, expertise

Handling the naughty ones Everyone is meaningfully engaged

Balance between conflicts and academics

Collaboration, both becoming the curriculum

Time to give experiences and covering the contentNo time to follow the children’s lead

Should be a norm, should be a part of the school culture

Not expressing in writing, in spite of knowing – how do I assess and justify a ‘C’

Assessing in multiple ways – diverse methods, Writing wonderful answers, changing the exam pattern

Attention span Focused studentsChildren refusing to do things, some keep doing – we are too cool for this!

Children participating – 100%

How to assess skills, knowledge is easy!Not knowing everything

Create a rubric

Safe Learning Environments P hysical SafetyI ntellectual SafetyE motional SafetyS ocial Safety= Community

In genuine community there are no sides. It is not always easy but by

the time they reach community, the members have learned how to give up cliques and factions. They have learned how to listen to each other and how to not reject each other.

Sometimes consensus in community is reached with miraculous rapidity.

But at other times it is arrived at only after lengthy struggle. Just

because it is a safe place does not mean community is a place without

conflict. It is, however, a place where conflict can be resolved without physical or emotional

bloodshed and with wisdom as well as grace. A community is a group that can fight gracefully – Laurie

Frank

Role of a

Teacher

Cooperation Stage – Leader• Put ups/put downs, Hidden agendas, Active Listening,

Mixing, Perspective Taking• Takes care of confusion, along with anxiety.• Students try to make sense of their environment. Anyone

walking by the classroom would see the teacher directing the activities.

• Active leadership role. Leadership is welcome. First Day• The students are seen making sure what they are

‘supposed to do’. • At this point, the teacher is seen as the expert.• Playing, Getting to know each other, Challenge by Choice,

(Today’s PfP)

Scenario 1Two benchmates are often getting into fights and it’s disturbing the entire class.

Scenario 2• Let’s all decide a topic and see what the

teacher actions looks like in this stage.• In your lesson plan, how will the

following elements look?- Group Work- Instructions- Assessment

Trust Building Stage - Guide- Making mistakes, trustworthiness, Empathy, Risk

Taking, Physical and emotional- Power shift begins.- Still in charge of PIES safety. Taking help of the

Contract.- Expression and class vocabulary – Nexta Hungra- Opportunities to students to make decisions - walks- Processing is important during this phase - reflection

journal- Spotlight activities, Blindfold activities, Risk Taking

Problem Solving stage - Mentor- Decision making, Group Goals, Taking Turns,

Leadership, Conflict Resolution- Process observer.- Sometimes a well-placed time-out for an observation

from you is all your students need in order to refocus. (Rule of Loud Example)

- Sharing observations- Helps make students aware of strategies they may

not have known about before. (new stuff)- Academic Content (Energy Audit), Problem Solving

Initiatives

Challenge Stage - Consultant• Individual goals, Stating needs, Support, getting over

fears, Success / failure• An equal part of the community – approval of leave• No longer the sole expert• Can offer connection to the larger picture and offer

suggestions• Students can choose to take your advice or not. • Encourage independence. Challenge by Choice.• Handle the meta-data.• Community work, Outdoor experiences, Presentations

and projects

Program DesignDiagnose

Design

Deliver

Debrief

Detach

DiagnoseIntentionali

ty

Why?

Academic / Life skills /

Specific

With Who?

Needs of the Group

When / for how long?

Year / Week / Month / One time

Where?

Space constraints

Design• Experiential Learning Cycle• Brain Body Elements

Bodybrain Compatibl

eElements

Movement

Collaboration

Meaningful Content

Adequate Time

Mastery with Application

Absence of Threat

Enriched Environment

ChoicesImmediate Feedback

© 2010 Susan Kovalik, the Highly Effective Teaching (HET) Model • www.theCenter4Learning.com

Deliver• Invitational Education Theory (Purky

and Novak, 1989)• As designed

I want my happiness.

I want happiness for the other.

The other wants his / her happiness.

The other wants my happiness.

I am always able to make myself happy.

I am always able to make the other happy.

The other is always able to make himself / herself happy.

The other is always able to make me happy.

Intention vs

Competence

Assumes that:

- People are always motivated.

- People choose their behaviour, and that they do the best and safest things they can from their perspective at the moment of acting.

Invitational Education TheoryInvitation Education Principles

TRUST

- An invitation is an opportunity to build trust.- To be inviting it is necessary to trust the process.- Trust is based on the memory of invitations sent, received and acted upon successfully.- As trust develops, so do the nature of invitations.INTENTIONALITY

- An invitation is never an accident. It’s a choice made; a choice someone took.- Some people Wish, others Want, successful people Invite- Good intentions are not always good Invitations.- When the opportunity is ripe, Invite; there may never be another chance.

Invitation Education Principles

OPTIMISM

- Human potential is always there, waiting to be discovered and invited forth.- To be INVITING in a disinviting environment is to change the environment.- Challenges, problems, ‘impossibilities’ may be invitations in disguise.RESPECT

- The price of any invitation is respect for the other person’s right to say NO

Invitation Education Principles

Debrief (Processing)• Intentionality• Experiential Learning Cycle• Processing

Processing

Debrief

Fa

Fe

Fi

Fu

DetachLeader

Guide

Mentor

Consultant

3 personal keywords

1. Trust the process

2. Self-facilitation3. Relationships

References:• Journey Toward The Caring Classroom,

By Laurie Frank• Article ‘Creating Safe Environments’ –

Trimiti Newsletter on Mental Health – Aditya and Nisha (2014)

• Content from Diploma in Experiential Education and Practice by Vishwas Parchure (www.vishwasparchure.com)

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For any material that you need,Pebble Creek Life School,

HyderabadContact us at:

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