I believe that the only learning worth engaging in is learning that leads to transformation. It's not enough to just be inspired or to get a few new ideas. This might feel good, but if you don't see change a week, a month, a year later, an opportunity was missed. What kind of learning leads to transformation? Here are some of what I believe are key ingredients.
And of course there's a host of other considerations that go into delivering an effective learning experience, such as the skills of the workshop leader, the setup of the learning space, length and schedule, preparation, and pre-work by the participants. These factors are critical to consider, but I believe the six factors articulated above are what distinguish a good-enough workshop from a workshop that changes people from the inside out.
- Presence of the Leader. More than a great workshop design, the perfect venue, master facilitation skills--more than anything else--I believe that presence is what makes the difference between a good experience and a sacred experience. What do I mean by this? It's very easy to get caught up in the logistics and techniques and schedule when leading a workshop. These are important tools for the facilitator, because they help create a learning space where information can be conveyed. But the most valuable tool a facilitator has is the self. It's your ability to be fully present, to truly see and respond to your participants, that will lead to transformation.
- Mindfulness of Each Participant. I believe that participants take in a message and internalize it when they are practicing mindfulness. An excellent workshop will intentionally lead participants to self-reflect, to be aware of both their surroundings and what's happening within them. It's when this higher order of being is activated that a person moves from just going through the motions to experiencing change and transformation. This kind of learning experience leads to permanent change.
- Context of Community. I believe that transformational learning is most likely to happen when it's experienced within a context of safety, trust, mutual respect, common expectations, and a little bit of playfulness. The extent to which this kind of community is intentionally nurtured within the workshop environment depends on the learning goals. But regardless of whether you're teaching people how to tie fly fishing knots or how to improve their intimate relationships, creating a space where everyone feels safe, seen, and accepted by each other will deepen the learning experience.
- Adults as Learners. I believe that after childhood and adolescence, people continue to develop. Inertia and the pressures of everyday living can numb us to this reality, leading to long stretches where stagnation seems the norm. But when someone takes the step to attend a workshop geared toward personal growth, they have demonstrated a critical ingredient: awareness of need. With this seed of awareness, the right learning experience can serve as both the catalyst and the holding place for that next step in growing as a human being.
- Learning through Experience. What we hear enters our mind (and rarely stays), but what we experience enters our heart. I believe that successful learning is a journey made up of a series of experiences that build upon each other and are backed up by the right information. When we are able to feel in our bodies what we learn with our minds, then we are set up to be able to put it into practice when we're back in the chaos of daily life. Thus the name "Learning Experiential."
- Solid Theory and Design. As boring as theory can be, a strong theoretical basis is important for ensuring what gets built has a foundation that is supported by research and reality. Bloom's taxonomy describes three domains of learning: cognitive (what you know), affective (your attitudes and emotions), and psychomotor (what you can do). An effective workshop design will begin with the end in mind. Bloom's taxonomy informs the process of identifying what you want your participants to know, feel, believe, and be able to do when they leave the learning engagement. Once the learning goals are identified, a learning experience can be designed that optimally sequences the right opportunities and modes for transmitting information, active engagement, reflection and metacognition, application, feedback, and evaluation.
And of course there's a host of other considerations that go into delivering an effective learning experience, such as the skills of the workshop leader, the setup of the learning space, length and schedule, preparation, and pre-work by the participants. These factors are critical to consider, but I believe the six factors articulated above are what distinguish a good-enough workshop from a workshop that changes people from the inside out.
