mental meanderings - you got me going Julie (long)

[Chris Weaver]

Hey Winston!

Did you mention a book in another message or is Julie "inviting" you to one?

It's Julie, being the muse!

A few things which I am curious about ..

"...group sizes have maximums (average ratio of 1:7)"

Why do you set maximums?

Each instructor/mentor sets his/her maximum.  We experiment.  We debrief
each day, and there is often a discussion of a sense of critical mass for
different activities and ages.  For example, Jerry teaches "stage combat"
(choreography of fights).  His maximum for 7th graders is six - that's the
number he can watch and keep safe.  But if it's 9th graders, he will take
eight.  Maximums for climbing tower, ropes course, woodworking depend on
tools and equipment.  The simple question is, How large a group provides the
best learning experience?  For most of our workshops the answer falls
between six and ten.  Instructor/mentors often report how bad it feels when
a group grows beyond their capacity to be fully responsive (and yes, this
happens at one-third the size of the average school classroom).

"...participants stay with the session they choose, and do not move between
them".

Why? Is this required by the facility? the setting?

Partly the facility.  Our groups are spread across many acres of forest, and
it's out of my comfort zone as the director for children to be traveling
without an adult.  In addition, many of our workshops have a cycle to them,
with important safety instructions delivered to the whole group in the first
part (technical climbing, etc), so it doesn't make sense for kids to join in
the middle.  Other groups engage in a lot of trust-building over their
90-minute workshop, and develop a strong group identity, and the consistency
helps.

It would be interesting, however, to try the process with a full law of 2
feet, and design workshops that would work well in free-flow, and see how it
goes.

"..We have met in a circle three times already in the day as as a whole"

When? morning/opening, plus..

...plus a reflection circle following each session.  Our methodology-du-jour
for the first reflection circle has two parts: 1)  I invite them to pair up
with someone who was in a different workshop.  Each partner takes one minute
to tell "something interesting" that happened in their first session.  With
a hundred teenagers the sound of fifty simultaneous animated conversations
if fabulous, like a river.  2)  Then it's a stick-in-the-middle circle of
"compliments and appreciations."  As I am walking the circle, I say, "If
someone impressed you with something they did, something creative, or funny,
or useful, or skillful, or brave, then walk in and compliment them.  And an
appreciation is a thank you.  Maybe you have someone to thank.  If so, come
on it and tell the group."  Especially for the teenagers, this explicit
invitation to notice and recognize one another is effective in establishing
openness, trust, and humor for the rest of the day.

Second circle is usually, "so, what happened?"  Or, in the marvelous words
of someone on this list, "Who are we now?"

Chris



-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.openspacetech.org/pipermail/oslist-openspacetech.org/attachments/20021030/74995369/attachment-0017.htm>