(I was asked about the thinking behind how I design my workshops so I thought I would just write it down for others to see a process.)
As someone who does a lot of professional workshops, I am often asked for an agenda ahead of time. Although I do have some objectives in my mind of where the group could go, I usually send a rough itinerary to the organizer on a google document. The reason I share it specifically on a google document is because I know that I won’t be sticking with it, whether it is the time or the activities. How could I organize the learning for the day for a group without actually meeting the group?
Here is how I usually set up my day for a “new” group, no matter what the objectives are for the day. The first thing that I do is give some kind of content that I am going to share. It is important to start with some content, even if it is something that some people “know in the room”. To make sure I tap into those that “know”, I always use a hashtag so that they can share their ideas with groups, or even challenge some of the things that I am saying. This helps because it lends to collaboration through a backchannel, as opposed to only learning from the person in the front.
After content is given, what I do is try to give a “reflection break”, where I actually give time to share their ideas on a simple google form, and also connect with people in the room. I have been in sessions where content is given, and then people are asked to immediately share their ideas with people near them, and for many, this isn’t working, because they need time to process. Giving them a space not only gives them an opportunity to put their thoughts together, but it also allows other to see their thoughts. Although I do this in a shared google form that everyone can see, it is not mandatory as some are not comfortable sharing their thoughts openly immediately, and honestly this is fine.
Why I call it a “reflection break” is that I usually give people 25-30 minutes to take time to reflect but to also connect with others in the room informally. A few years ago when I was in Australia, I noticed that in workshops, there were no breaks that were shorter than 30 minutes in the day, which at first I thought was strange, but then saw the types of conversations that were had during the break that were crucial to the learning. For years, I have been used to a North American version of professional learning where you grab a snack, go to the bathroom, and are ready to go. Connecting with people in the room ensures that even if the presentation isn’t meeting the needs of some, the people in the room can fill those voids.
One of the key components during the reflection process is that I either ask participants to share what they would want to learn during the day, or ask them, “What is one big question you have moving forward regarding today?” The opportunity for participants to share a question, helps me to shape the rest of the day based on the people of the room and their thoughts. We often learn more from a person’s questions than we do their answers. After I read these results, the rest of the day is shaped based on this feedback. So basically, the first 1-2 hours have a plan, and after that, we are going with the needs of the people in the room.
Here are some keys to this for a presenter that are almost in contradiction. First of all, to be able to “go with the room”, you have to know your content area in a very deep manner and be able to push learning on the fly, but on the opposite end of the spectrum, you also have to be comfortable with not knowing everything and learning from the room. As a teacher, if you want to truly create a “learning community”, you have to create opportunities for others to learn from others, not only the teacher.
As we continue on with the day, I leave spaces that I will add resources I know of, or the participants suggest. This way, there is time for people to explore after the fact, and to be honest, use the work that we do with others. Although I have started the day off and again, had some ideas of where we could go, it is great to be able to co-create the day with participants, and I am hoping that they used what they have learned with others, both the content and the process. Obviously, all of this is happening through a google document so I always make sure to share a shortened link at the beginning of the session (bit.do has become my favourite URL shortener because of the immediate need to customize the link).
Here are a couple of things I think about this process and how it ties to the work we do in the classroom:
Are we comfortable with this same format in a room of learners where learning goes with the ebb and flow of the room, not the teacher?
There is an importance in being knowledgeable and flexible as a teacher. I don’t understand how people create a year plan for a group of learners that they haven’t even met that is strict dates attached. The learning in the room should adjust to the groups and individuals.
This would be extremely hard to do with a group of students that didn’t have access to devices of their own. It does not mean that they will use the device the entire time, but a google document is much more flexible than a piece of paper.
I have usually between 3-6 hours with a group so that we can go deep into the learning and have lots of opportunities for questions and exploration. Although it would be tougher in a class of 60 minutes, there are definitely variations that could be done. But, if our schedules are in 60-80 minute chunks, we need to really rethink those time frames and how it lends to deep learning.
I know of one school in Norway that has “all-day” classes and I was told that simply adjusting that schedule created transformational opportunities. Innovative thinking is needed to create environments (which doesn’t just mean space, but also time) where we can go much deeper with our learning.
This isn’t meant to be life changing learning process, but just a different view of the type of learning that can happen in a day when we have access to tools that allow us to adjust so quickly to the room. The more I have done this, the more I have realized the importance of focusing on the people in the room, and adjusting to them, as opposed to them adjusting to me. It is something I constantly tweak and think about, but it looks a lot different from the type of learning that used to happen in my classrooms.
