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Showing posts from July, 2023

Why should we facilitate a conversation on facilitation?

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  What? A vital difference in K-12 learning and much of adult learning, specifically non-formal adult learning, is the voluntary role they play as students. Adult learners may be required to take courses or attend seminars for maybe a job or volunteer role, but they play a larger part in decision making where their lifelong learning journey leads. It is because of this overarching ideal that they tend to need to feel more involved in their learning. In a sense, it is simpler to tell a small child that their teacher has this knowledge and experience to bestow upon them, whereas an adult will have their own experiences to draw from and possibly different points of view to connect their new knowledge too. Evolving from a “traditional” teacher dynamic to a facilitator dynamic can work to foster this relationship. So, what? While teachers can be facilitators, the teaching and facilitation have many differences from one another. For starters, in teaching, the learning is controlled...

Lifelong Learning: a self-directed and transformational opportunity

What? As I embark on the final portion of my formal education journey, I am trying to find ways to transition, as many others have, from my stage of long-term, yet ephemeral formal education to the continuous stage of lifelong learning. While informal learning can take place without even having the intention to learn, lifelong learning can take more conscious effort than I once anticipated. As the world races through and towards technological advancement, it is vital that we not only improve access to resources for those partaking in lifelong learning opportunities, but also show the value in doing so.  So What In pedagogy, learning is typically either, more-so, teacher-centered or learner-centered; The former approaches learning with the view that teachers have the knowledge and wisdom, and students are to receive the aforementioned knowledge from them, whilst the latter is more working in tandem with the teacher as more of the "facilitator" . Learner-centered approaches are...