Tove and Loren Conversationally Reflect on their Co-facilitated Workshop Session

Description of Workshop

We led the workshop session: “Project! Reflect! Connect! which focused on learning and using the radar-chart tool (pictured below) to help adult educators in Estonia reflect on their comfort levels with each of the Andras qualification competencies. The workshop also focused on helping participants interpret the radar chart to be able to identifies their areas of strength and areas of opportunity and set personal goals.

Illustration of Radar Chart used during Workshop

The final component of this workshop was to connect adult educators and have them discuss ways in which they could support each other in their areas of strengths and areas of opportunity.

This workshop was done by initially having the participants articulate “group agreements and expectations” for the workshop to set the tone and atmosphere of the space. From there, the participants were given a brief summary of the Andras competencies and guided through the instructions on creating a radar-chart. The participants were in four groups consisting of five or six people and each person graphed their own comfort levels in each competency on a large paper in the small groups (so the end result was one paper with the graphs of five or six people). The participants then answered questions prepared for them on a worksheet to guide them through self-reflection of their radar-chart. After time for self-reflection, the small groups came together and discussed among themselves each of the competencies. If some people were more comfortable with one competency, they talked about how they could support those who felt less comfortable in that area. During this time, we went around and gathered the radar-charts from each small group and put all of the results together on one large electronic radar-chart. After the small group discussion time, the participants got to see a large graph of what all of their charts looked like put together. They then discussed what they saw in the large group radar-chart and what that could say about the larger group or about adult educators in Estonia. The session ended with participants taking their worksheets with them to write goals for themselves for the future based on the discussions during the workshop.

What did you learn?

Tove: This question has many layers to me; what did I learn from co-designing, co-facilitating, it is quite difficult to answer for me! But despite that, there were some definite learnings for me. I will use the sequence preparing, conducting, and analysing/evaluating to draw some out (as you can see, highly influenced by the Andras competencies, or at least some of them). So, firstly, In the preparing part of the workshop, I learnt a lot about working together with a person in - what I hope was - a genuine way. I had already delivered the session once, and so I really had to practice being open to your suggestions and not be too attached to the way I did it before. There were several things that you suggested we do which I hadn’t done in the first one and being open to those suggestions definitely led to a better workshop. It was a really interesting experience to go from planning individually, to planning together, and I learnt a lot in the process. Secondly, conducting the workshop taught me how useful and important it is to be clear in instructions. I think the fact that I emphasised being clear in explaining the tool - the radar chart - was important for how the participants experienced it. I also learnt, or was affirmed in my previous beliefs, that trust is key when co-facilitating. I felt so comfortable with you, Loren, and it was really crucial for me in terms of delivering together. As co-facilitators you become such a solid support for each other if there is trust there. Without that it can be quite stressful to co-facilitate! What I’ve learnt about analysing the workshop is a bit too early to say I realise! But I am quite sure a lot of my learnings will come from doing this process with you. How about you, Loren, what did you learn?

Loren: I totally agree, this question has an incredible amount of layers to it, but I think there were two main things that I learned. While you had done your microteaching session on using this same radar-chart tool, I was not lucky enough to participate in your microteaching group and so this was a new tool for me to learn. Through the conversations we had in the planning of our session and through your description of your microteaching session, I was able to learn not only how to use this tool but I was also able to benefit from your insight on what had worked in the past and what had been a challenge for you. Because of this, we were able to build way of presenting and facilitating the use of this tool that already had the benefit of having a trial run. I think that both learning about this tool and then learning how to facilitate the use of this tool came a lot from you, Tove, and from the conversations we had on how to best present it. This is invaluable because I think this is a really amazing and useful tool that has many applications beyond what we used it for with the Andras competencies. That was a big part of what I learned during our preparation process.

In terms of what I learned from conducting the workshop, I think it’s really interesting that you mentioned learning to be clear and concise in instructions when teaching people to use this tool because I talked with a few of our IMAESC peers who attended our workshop about this and they all said that it had come across very clear and very easily, so it seems that it was a successful learning process! For myself, I learned about patience and silence and how to facilitate in those moments. There were two different time during the workshop where we gave about 10 minutes or so for the participants to reflect or do small group discussions or think about and map out their own competencies. While we had some background music playing, often these moments in facilitation are the hardest for me because I want to be a supportive facilitator, but I don’t want to hover over people and often I find that I simply don’t know what to do with myself in these moments. Through conducting this workshop, I got more experience in just letting things be and in focusing on the importance of the process being with the participants and in their reflection. I don’t have to be saying anything or be explaining or the focus of attention in order to be a good facilitator in these moments. I definitely still need practice with this, but I think it is something I will only grow more comfortable with in time.

In terms of analyzing, I am already re-confirming the benefit of reflection and in articulating what I have learned, but I am sure I will have more insights by the end of this! I am curious also to know if you felt like you reached a better (higher?) level of learning or insight going from facilitating this for you microteaching to doing this also as our workshop? I know the circumstances were not exactly the same, but was there a distinct difference? Is there something you would do differently were you to do this a third time even? Can I ask you a million questions at once? (yes, yes I can).

T: It’s so enriching to read your thoughts on this! I get reminded of a process I was introduced to a few years ago, which is basically when you sit in a circle and speak, guided by certain principles. In it I have experienced that the voices of the others, especially when you are quite similar in terms of what you’re exploring (like young people identifying as women talking about experiences with sex, which is what contexts I’ve used it in), become like your own. Everything you said above made me go “yes!” out loud, feeling like you wrote my thoughts down too. And thank you so much for the feedback on that you were able to learn from the things I had learnt in the first round of doing this, I’m so glad that was the case. Anyhow - to your questions!

In response to the first one, there was definitely a distinct difference! There was of course the setting, which was not the positive cloud of micro-teaching with my classmates as participants, like you say. But apart from that it was different in that I felt more confident with the tool. I was quite nervous about using it the first time, and I made a few mistakes that I learnt from. The fact that you and I had gone through it together, also made me feel safer, as I had my own security but also you there. Some of the ideas you came with thanks so fresh eyes and creativity, like using pens instead of string and adding music, also made quite a huge difference. There was an ease in the room that I felt wasn’t as strong in the first delivery of the workshop. I think those things contributed a lot to the sense of clarity for the participants. If it was to be done a third time, I think I would want more time haha! I’m sure you agree with me on that. The richness really lies in the discussions, and we could also have done the personal goals activity if we had the space. And you had some ideas in our planning, which we decided we didn’t have the time for, like lining up according to your confidence skills in each competency, in order to bring more embodiment in. It would be super fun to play with it in that way. You asking this is highlighting that it is quite exciting to get the space to develop a workshop over time, especially in pairs or groups! Can you see an image of what the workshop would look like if you did it again? I think it’s an exciting question to discuss because it really illustrates the “applying the learning” step in e.g. Kolb’s experiential learning, thanks for bringing it!

L: Holy cow Tove, can you imagine this workshop if we had even an hour? Two?? The things that could be done! I completely agree with you on the importance of the discussion aspect, particularly given our topic especially. I think if I were to do this workshop again, I would maybe have even fewer people (we had about 20, so I am not sure if I would need a larger space or fewer people) and a bit more time. I think providing time and opportunity for the participants to connect more with each other and discuss ways they can support each other would be a really great addition to this workshop. I would also add in an activity or something to get the small groups to get to know each other a bit better. I would do some sort of introductory or storytelling activity I think, especially if the topic is on focusing on comfort levels with different competencies. This requires the participants to have a certain amount of vulnerability with each other that I think would be more genuine if we did some group/team building first. There are also a lot of things I would do the same. I would do the “group agreements/expectations” again and I would do the description of the tool the same because I think those went really well. Overall, I liked the structure of what we did (individual reflection, small group reflection and large group reflection) and would keep that as well, just give me more time! But it is definitely useful to think about what would be the same or different if we were to do this again and I think it also helps to think about this when articulating what exactly it was that we learned from this experience.

How did it go?

L: This is a fairly general question I think and not sure what part of the process exactly is being asked about. I can say though that overall, I am very happy with the workshop we did and how we prepared for and implemented our session. I think that some of this had to do with the fact that you and I have facilitated together in the past and so knew a little bit about each other’s styles and approaches. So, I think that we were lucky in that we had a place to build from and did not have to “start from scratch” with each other in this process so to speak. The preparation went really smoothly despite our busy schedules with coursework, placement and other things going on in our lives. Honestly, I did not expect that we would have any trouble or issues preparing or working together and I am happy to say that, in my opinion, I was right about that expectation. The workshop itself I think went really well. We had definitely planned a lot to do in 45 minutes, but I think that we knew that and scaled back on some things in order to focus on the importance of reflection and the use of the radar-chart tool (and teaching it to others). I think we facilitate well together and I also think it came across as pretty seamless co-facilitation. One thing I really appreciate about working with you is that it is always a supportive collaboration. So, even if the workshop had not gone to plan or even if we had experienced difficulties (none of which happened), I knew that it would still be something we could take on and deal with in our co-facilitation partnership, so I definitely appreciate that so so much! I am pretty proud of the workshop we did facilitate together and the work we put in to it along with the outcome. Anyway, what are your thoughts Tove? How do you think it went?

T: I agree with you Loren, that it is quite a general question! I appreciate that you have concretised it, because the temptation with questions like these is to just say “good” or “bad”. But that’s not very useful. Firstly, I agree with that the way it went was heavily impacted by our foundation, the fact that we had facilitated before and that we know each other well. We stood on quite solid ground, so to say! And I agree with most of your points, so instead of repeating them, I wanted to bring in an insecurity I had about how it went! I think that participating in other workshops during the day made me feel like our workshop wasn’t “creative enough” or got a bit paranoid about it being boring! And I kind of had this in my head a bit whilst delivering it. I’m not sure if it showed, but it might have made me a bit more inclined to joke and laugh in the beginning. So whilst I was super happy with how it went (couldn’t resist the “good/bad” binary here), I initially had those “wild dogs” in my head, saying slightly judgemental things about the workshop content. It feels quite weird even to type this out now! Do you ever come across thoughts like this? And if so, how do you deal with it?

L: Oh man, yeah, this is a big one for me as well! It is so hard to not compare ourselves with our peers, especially when we are all in the same program, studying the same thing, in the same classes, with the same assignments. I think it is only natural that these comparisons occur. I have these thoughts a lot even when we are talking about what other people are doing for their dissertations (other people are using this approach, should I also be doing this? Some people already have their ethics submitted, am I behind? etc). I had those same thoughts with our workshop as well and at first I think I felt the same way as you did (should we have done something more creative? More interactive?), but in the end I think the way I try and think about it is by looking at the workshop we did and assessing it only for ourselves and not against what others have done. However, maybe in the future I will take some of the things I learned from my peers in their workshops and use those same approaches or those same tools to supplement what I do. But it is hard to get out of that comparative mindframe. I also think this is where it would have been good to get more concrete feedback (or just more in general), but if we look at the feedback we did get, none of the participants said “I wish it had been more fun” ya know? Anyway, it is a tough one because it comes down to fighting a very natural tendency to compare ourselves with others- but we are also there (in this program) to hold each other up and celebrate successes and learn from areas of opportunity… I am rambling now, but I think it is really good to reflect on these things that you bring up.

In general, this reminds me of a conversation I had recently about “FOMO.” Have you heard of this? It was new to me, but is essentially anxiety that occurs by participating in social media and thinking that all of your “friends” are having more exciting or interesting experiences than you are. I had this issue with Peace Corps also where I would look at social media of the other Volunteers and think that they were better Volunteers than I was or that they were doing more exciting things in better parts of the country. This kind of relates to what you are talking about though because I think there is a rise in general in society for us to compare our lives against those we see projected around us. In this case, it is helpful to remind myself that I am only seeing one small part of the story and that people don’t post about the mundane things or the really hard things (often). So, maybe this technique works in relation to what you are saying as well? When going to the workshops of our peers, we are only seeing one part of that experience and not the other challenges or surrounding things that may have existed for them (preparation, feedback, co-facilitation etc). Anyway, this may be a bit off topic, but I thought it related a bit.

T: It’s a relief to hear that I’m not alone with thoughts and feelings like this! I really want to do more work on this comparison thing in me, because it would be so much nicer to think and react in the way you write there; “to take some of the things I learned from my peers in their workshops and use those same approaches or those same tools to supplement what I do” - basically being inspired instead of judgemental and jealous! I have heard of FOMO before and think it’s a great analogy. It highlights that we are kind of expected to be and do EVERYTHING at once - which is impossible! Much more doable, and enjoyable, to be where you are and do what you do. On a very practical level I think you are very right, it is grounding to think about what you set out to do in the beginning and assess according to that as opposed to other people’s aims and designs.

I think this whole section highlights what I love about facilitation, it teaches me so much about life. I’ve said this in several IMAESC contexts before, but a highly influential facilitator in my own life once said to me “you can use this [facilitation training] to create great events, or you can use it to deepen into what it means to be alive. I suggest you choose the latter”. A little un-facilitator like to give advice haha, but it’s been very formative for me. All of what you write makes me think about that - it is essentially about stuff going on inside us, that becomes visible in the process of facilitating and reflecting on it.

What did you gain as an adult educator?

T: It is daunting to set the conversation off on these questions, because there are so many routes to go down! But so far we have taken very nice ones, so I will trust in that we will continue to do so and share my thoughts. A lot of what I gained is also the same or similar to what I learnt, so this question requires me to distinguish the two.

As an adult educator, I firstly gained something that might seem simple and superficial in words, but that is so fundamental and on my personal development list; practice. All of what we have been discussing above shows me how important it is to constantly be in this cycle, of practice and reflection. I found a quote (from a baseball coach, Yogi Berra, very unexpected!) that I liked on this: “In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is.” I liked this, because it illustrates for me that every time I facilitate, things come alive and the similarities or differences between the theory and practice become visible. Does it work when I ask for participation in the sense of sharing out loud here, as e.g. Freire would emphasise in cultural circles, or would it be better with silent contemplation individually? Shall I get the participants to define these concepts, or is it more suitable with a “lecture” style? Realising that some things that are stipulated in theory doesn’t align with the practice, or the other way around. Might sound a bit vague, but basically the practice makes things come alive for me! This was quite a short reply, but I don’t want to repeat myself too much! What did you gain as an adult educator through this workshop?

L: I love the Yogi Berra quote you came across- I had never heard it, but it summarizes concisely this idea of practice being such an integral part of development, in this case, the development of ourselves as adult educators. I am right there with you on your introspection into the importance of practice and that being the crucial thing you learned during the process of our workshop. It definitely is for me as well, and in all of the theory on critical pedagogy and being adult educators we have learned over the last year and a half, the stress on the importance of practice is only becoming more and more understandable. From Kolb’s experiential learning theory to Mezirow’s transformative learning theory and to Freire’s critical pedagogy- all of them have a strong focus on this cycle of experience, reflect, change, practice, repeat.

This, along with so much of what we have done and studied in this course, leads me back to the paper we wrote for Larissa in the first semester on our philosophies of being an adult educator. I think this relates to what I learned the most from this workshop: the evolution of myself as an adult educator. This was something I mentioned back when this program first started that I wanted to continue always learning, growing and evolving in my identity as an adult educator. Facilitating this workshop has done that for me on many levels from the supportive and collaborative process of co-facilitating (and co-learning) with you, to the implementation of our workshop and even in this reflection, I feel like I am always learning and growing. It is really interesting to reflect on where I am with this now when back in the first semester I wasn’t even sure what being an adult educator meant for me, my identity and how I think about the work I have done and am doing. Now I am much more secure in that identity and am in the phase where I want to keep building and getting better. This process of preparing, implementing and reflecting on our workshop only helps to facilitate that growth and evolution. Interestingly, facilitating a workshop on reflecting and articulating on comfort levels of competencies has also shown me my own comfort levels in my competency as an adult educator and the areas where I need more work along with those where I feel the most secure. Hopefully after this reflection, we can continue this cycle and the next opportunity we get to “practice”, we will have this experience and reflection to guide us.

I don’t know if anyone else has gone back to this essay as much as I have, I don’t think I knew it would be as crucial to my development as it has been when I was writing it. What about you? Have you returned to those initial thoughts on your philosophies of being an adult educator? Do you think it connects or pertains to what you learned about yourself as an adult educator through the process of this workshop?

T: This is a really interesting that you raise, because that essay has been sort of a guiding point for me too, making me see what I need to do more of and if I’m in line with what I want to do. Of course also whether the essay is still relevant to who I am and my practice. Actually, after my micro-teaching, I went back to that essay and thought “did I facilitate in a way that aligns with my teaching philosophy?” and after realising that I hadn’t fully. My aim of being norm-critical wasn’t reflected in my facilitation, and so I tried to adapt my behaviour in the workshop we did. For example through us doing the “rules” at the beginning, where we named respect and other important values. I’m realising that would be nice to do now as well, after our workshop together. Having that document definitely helped me to gain more as an adult educator that time, and like you say contributed to me evolving as one.

For both of us, the learning is clearly to a very great extent dependent on the space for reflection afterwards, or at least that is where it becomes visible. It makes me grateful to be in a programme where there is space for that, and it also makes me ask questions about the future. If we end up in workplaces, will we have space for this? So much is centered around efficiency and delivery in our current work climate, and I fear that it will take away space for that which actually enables us to learn and create better spaces for our participants. I really wish we could have work contexts where reflection or introspection is also valued, and seen as integral to what we deliver. So far I haven’t experienced that. So I guess it is a question around this process we are in now, and how that can or can’t be continued after our graduation. What are your thoughts?

L: PhD! :) Well, maybe someday anyway… but it is true, being in an academic environment, especially one like this program has afforded us is a bit like being in a bubble where we are allowed the time and space for making mistakes, for practice, for reflection. Not only are we allowed the time and space for this, it is encouraged and a large part of what we are taught. How will that translate into workplaces or into whatever we do after graduation is a really good question. Not all areas of employment will allow or even desire this type of learning and growth. I guess for now I want to take the time and atmosphere we have and use those wisely in preparation for not necessarily being able to have these same possibilities in a work environment. However, I think I will probably set personal goals whatever job I am in to be able to do this same sort of reflection and growth. It has become pretty clear to me that what I want out of a future is a I am passionate about doing work that is meaningful to me. It may take some time to find that kind of job or the right fit for me, but I think if I am in an occupation that I find meaningful then, even if it is not possible to continue with my philosophies in that environment, I would find an outlet for this somehow, like with volunteering or personal reflection or something like that. Just setting aside intentional time to do these types of things is going to be really important I think. I am looking forward to what the future holds but also holding on to this academic environment a bit like a safety blanket for the time being. I guess for me it just comes down to intention, personal growth and making that a part of my life in any way possible- even if it means in 10 years I’m writing to you asking for us to do yet another critical dialogue reflection together!

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