Group Action LearningSeeing Possibilities.docx
- 文档编号:11627238
- 上传时间:2023-03-29
- 格式:DOCX
- 页数:12
- 大小:35.50KB
Group Action LearningSeeing Possibilities.docx
《Group Action LearningSeeing Possibilities.docx》由会员分享,可在线阅读,更多相关《Group Action LearningSeeing Possibilities.docx(12页珍藏版)》请在冰豆网上搜索。
GroupActionLearningSeeingPossibilities
GroupActionLearning-
SeeingthePossibilitiesTogether
ByJonBergstrom
Introduction
Actionlearningisaprocessoftakingaction,reflectingonourexperiences,revisingourtheoriesbasedonthisreflection,andapplyingthisnewtheoryinournextexperience.ItisbasedonthereflectivelearningcycleofKolbandothers.
ThepurposeofthispaperistoreviewagroupactionlearningprocessthatIhavebeeninvolvedwithforfouryearsthatprovidesanopportunityforeachmemberofthegrouptofocusonproblemsanddilemmas.Itisdesignedtoprovideadeeplevelofself-reflectionsothatwerevealtoourselvesour(oftenun-tested)assumptionsandtheoriesabouthandlingthesekindofproblems.Thisoccursinthecourseofaspecialkindofquestioningbythegroup.Thereareusuallythreebeneficialoutcomesfromthesereviews:
1.Improvedproblemsolving.
Thepersondescribingtheirproblemsanddilemmaslearnsnewwaysofaddressingproblemsthatwouldnothavebeenobvioustothemattheoutset.Theprocessalwaysresultsingreaterclarityaboutissuesandmostoftenresultsinsignificantimprovementindealingwiththeseproblems.
2.Increasedlearning
Eachmemberofthegrouplearnsnewwaysoflookingattheirownproblems.Sincealmosteveryoneexperiencessimilarproblems,anopportunityisprovidedtochallengeourthinkingontheseproblemsandtodiscovernewopportunitiestodealwiththem.
3.Trustbuilding
Asignificantnewbondoftrustisbuiltamongtheparticipants.Overtime,newandimportantrelationshipsareestablishedsothatothergroupmembersareavailabletoassistinsolvingurgentproblems.
Theprocessofgroupactionlearninghasbeenawonderfulexperienceforme.Ihavefoundittobeoneofthemosteffectivewaystofocusondifficultproblems,toallowmyselftothinkinnewwaysabouttheissuesIface,andtodevelopmoreeffectiveplansfordealingwiththeseissues
Acknowledgement
IbecameinvolvedwithactionlearningwhileamemberofthelearningorganizationstaffatAeraEnergyLLC.IamindebtedtoNarandjaMilanovich,mypartnerinlearningformanyyears,whorecognizedthepowerofactionlearningandwasinstrumentalintheoriginalformationofactionlearninggroups.IalsowishtothankCharlieRatliff,DirectorofLearningatthattime,forhissupport,faith,andparticipationintheprocess.
MyfirstactionlearninggroupreceivedbasictrainingintheprocessandthefocusedconversationmethodfromMarshaHyatt,Belden-HyattConsulting(nowWaterlineConsulting).Marsha’sknowledge,enthusiasm,longexperienceandpatiencewereveryinstrumentalinprovidinguswithasolidfoundationthatledtosuccessinusingthisgroupprocess.Shewasmostenjoyabletoworkwithandprovidedguidanceinfacilitationthatallowedustobecomeself-sufficientinsustainingtheseeffortswithmanygroups
Finally,IwanttothankallthemembersofthegroupsthatIhaveworkedwith.EachpersonhelpedmelearnthroughthisprocessandIsincerelyappreciatetheirparticipationandassistance.Ihavegainedgreatrespectformycolleaguesandbelievewehaveallgrowntogether.
TheOpportunity
Ihavebeeninvolvedinmanylearningprogramsduringthelastdecade.Ibelievethatactionlearninginagroupsettingprovidesuniqueopportunitieswhichincludethefollowing:
1.Wecanlearnpowerfulnewwaystoreframeourproblems,seenewpossibilities,andtakemoreeffectiveaction.
2.Wecanbuildneededskillsinlisteningandaskingquestions.
3.Wecanenrichpeerrelationships.
4.Wecandevelopourcoachingability.
TheReflectiveLearningCycle
DavidA.Kolb(withRogerFry)createdthefamousexperientiallearningcyclefromfourelements:
concreteexperience,observationandreflection,theformationofabstractconcepts,andtestinginnewsituations.Thesewererepresentedintheexperientiallearningcirclebelow:
Reproducedfromthe
Encyclopaediaofinformal
education.www.infed.org
Thelearningcyclehereisconsideredcontinuousanddoesnotnecessarilyhaveastartingpoint.Inthegroupactionlearningprocess,thepersonwiththeproblemordilemmaconsidersavarietyofoptions(actions,experiencesandoutcomes)thatmightbetakeninthecircumstancetheyface,andreflectsontheseoptions.Whiletheseoptionsarebeingconsidered,theirassumptionsandtheoriesarerevealedandtheygainclearerinsightintopossibleactions.
LevelsofReflection
Ibelievethatallofususethissimplemodelineverydayliving.Weexperiencesomething,thinkaboutit,andconsiderhowwewillfaceasimilarissuethenexttime.However,myexperienceisthatwearelessthanrigorousinusingtheprocess.First,ourlengthanddepthofreflectionisoftenlimited.Second,wedonothaveastructuredwaytorevealourassumptionsandtheoriesabouttheissue.And,third,weseldomrevealourthinkingtootherswhomighthelpusgaingreaterinsight.
Atypicalactionlearninggroup
Atypicalgrouprangesfromfivetoninepeople,meetseveryfourtosixweeksfortwotothreehoursandcoverstwoorthreeprojects(issues)duringthattime.Itismostcommonforthegrouptobepeers.Itisimportantthattherebenooneinthegroupthathaspositionpoweroverothersinthegroup.Forexample,itisnotusuallyappropriatetohaveasupervisorofothersasamemberofthegroup.Thiscanlimitthefeelingofsafetyanddiminishtherangeofconversationssomemembersofthegrouparewillingtohave.Peergroupsprovideamuchgreateropportunitytoreviewissuesindepth.
Trustamonggroupmembersmustbeestablishedovertimesothateveryonecanbesurethatconfidentialityofalltopicswillbemaintained.
TheFocusedConversationMethod
Thepowerofthegroupactionlearningprocessisthatwehavetheopportunitytoreflectontheissueswefaceinaveryfocusedwayandforalengthyperiodoftime.Wedothiswithpeoplewetrustandwhowishtoassistusinourownlearningbyaskingusquestions–manythattheywouldaskthemselvesiftheywereinthesesamecircumstances.Thequestioningtechnique,calledthe“focusedconversationmethod”,wasdevelopedbytheCanadianInstituteforCulturalAffairstoallowustoseeourissuesinfourdimensions.AparticularlyhelpfultextisTheArtofFocusedConversation:
100WaystoAccessGroupWisdomintheWorkplace,editedbyR.BrianStanfieldfortheCanadianInstituteofCulturalAffairs.Themethodisoutlinedinthistextonpage18ofChapter2:
Thefocusedconversationusesquestionsatfourlevels:
1.Theobjectivelevel-questionsaboutfactsandexternalreality.
2.Thereflectivelevel–questionstocallforthimmediatepersonalreactiontothedata,aninternalresponse,sometimesemotionsorfeeling,hiddenimagesandassociationswiththefacts.Wheneverweencounteranexternalreality(data/objective)weexperienceaninternalresponse.
3.Theinterpretivelevel–questionstodrawoutmeaning,values,significance,andimplications.
4.Thedecisionallevel–questionstoelicitresolution,bringtheconversationtoaclose,andenablethegrouptomakearesolveaboutthefuture.
Thetextreferencedabovehasquestionsforalmostanysituationwemightencounter.TheprocessIhavebeeninvolvedinusesquestionsbasedonthismethod.IwastaughtthisquestioningtechniquebyMarciaHyatt(WaterlineConsulting),whowrotetheActionLearningHandbookwithGinnyBelden,MicheleSimon,andBarbaraTuckner.Thishandbookisanexcellentreferenceforthegroupprocessandprovidesalargenumberofsamplequestionsthatareveryusefultoagroup,particularlyduringtheirearlylearningprocess.Thehandbookincludesmanyexamplequestionssimilartothosethatfollow:
Objectivequestions
∙Whoisinvolved?
∙Whathashappened?
∙Howdoesthis….work?
∙Whataretheobjectives?
Reflectivequestions
∙Howareyoufeelingaboutthis?
∙Whatareyourgreatestconcerns?
∙Doyouhavepastexperiencesinthisarea?
∙Ifyoucouldbeanoutsideobserver,whatwouldyousee?
∙Whatdoyouthinkistrue?
Whatotherinterpretationsmighttherebeofthissituation?
Interpretivequestions
∙Whataretheoptionsyoumightconsider?
∙Whereisthegreatestleverage?
∙Whydoyouthinkthingshaveturnedoutthisway?
∙Whatistheessentialstoryhere?
∙Whatmighthappenif…?
Decisionalquestions
∙Whatarethemostimportantthingstodo?
∙Whatarethestepsyouwishtotake?
∙Whomighthelpyou?
∙Whoelseneedstobeinvolved?
Theprocessallowsthegrouptoaskquestionsineachoftheseareas.Theintentionofthegroupinthequestioningprocessistoassistthepersoninthinkingmoreclearlyandatadeeperlevelabouthisorherissues.Somequestionsreflectwhatpeoplemightaskiftheywereinthesesamecircumstances.Othersquestionsareintendedtohelpthepresenterthinkinmanydimensionsaboutissues.
Onethingthatisrecognizableaboutallthesequestionsisthattheyareopen-endedandcannotbeansweredyesorno.Itisalsoimportanttonotethatthequestionsshouldnotbeadvicegivenintheformofaquestion.Ifyoualreadyknowtheanswertoaquestion,thesuggestionistoalwaysrefrainfromaskingit.
Thepurposeisnevertoseewhocanaskthemostinterestingorcleverquestions.Asmyfacilitationtrainer,MarshaHyatt,noted“itis100percentaboutthepresenterandzeropercentaboutthegroup”.Oneaspectoftheprocessthateveryonehastogetusedtoisnotbeingthecenterofattentionwhenwearetalking.Oneoftheskillslearnedintheprocessisgivingourfullattentiontosomeoneelse.
Projectprocess
Theprocessusedtoreviewoneprojectisdescribedbelow.Itpro
- 配套讲稿:
如PPT文件的首页显示word图标,表示该PPT已包含配套word讲稿。双击word图标可打开word文档。
- 特殊限制:
部分文档作品中含有的国旗、国徽等图片,仅作为作品整体效果示例展示,禁止商用。设计者仅对作品中独创性部分享有著作权。
- 关 键 词:
- Group Action LearningSeeing Possibilities