Learning to Learn

Learning processes can be designed with more or less involvement on the part of the participants. In our opinion however, the facilitator’s role in inspiring and empowering learners for active participation in civic and social life is the main topic. That is why we now ask the question: How can one design a learning event so that active participation and self-directed learning are fostered not only after, but from the very beginning?

Personal Competence

For self-responsible action people need to perceive themselves as agents of change. They then assume responsibility for themselves and for others. Skills for planning and for following their plans are the conditions for their next steps, taking concrete action. Third, reflective competency is crucial for successful action, like the capacity to observe and evaluate challenges, requirements, or options.

All of these aspects are not born and need to be trained. Your seminar room is the perfect training field for this task. Like all good training it starts with a good trainer: Are you willing to give your participants opportunities to overtake initiative? Are you tolerant enough regarding unexpected developments or possible mistakes? Are you prepared for changes of your plans?

If you can answer these questions with "yes", this will help you to make the right decisions under real life conditions such like limited time, conflicts in a group, or too much workload. Here facilitators face often a dilemma: Giving their participants place for experimentation or better teaching more topical knowledge for the price of less experimentation. However, at the end we should not conduct traditional teaching. Here are some ideas, how you can show your cooperative attitude toward your participants in your plans made before the seminar started and during your moderation of the common process.

Ways to engage participants before and during...

Flexible planning and moderation	Involving participants every evening in planning of the next day and letting them decide on the direction. Parts of the event’s content are decided by participants: practical workshops, defining topics, and moderating discussions. Full ownership is here in learners’ hands. (Co-)moderation by participants, presentations.
Decision-making	Asking participants how much time they need rather than giving timeframes for task completion. Leaving “open windows,” such as one hour each day where learners decide for themselves what they want to work on and how. Whenever a problem or difficulty appears, ask participants to verbalize it and moderate the search for solutions.
Reflection and feedback	Discussing and answering ongoing questions in front of the group. After each session or working day, establishing transfer rounds where participants clearly define what learning outcome they find useful. Pairs of participants discuss their reflections independently of facilitators.
Co-creation in the learning space	Co-creation of the learning environment: shaping the space where the learning event takes place directly after entering the room and according to learners’ wishes. Participants deciding on their own music and entertainment. Teams take care of specific activities (during program and social time). Shared decisions about social activities.

Addressing Self-learning Skills

Like mentioned before, the skills for reflection, goal-setting or decisionmaking are condition for successful action. Facilitators offer learners spaces and methods where they can practice and experience these. The following ideas might help you to put this ideal more concrete into practice:

Learners reflect on their learning styles and preferences, and gain awareness of their conditions for successful learning
They become familiar with planning skills: learning plans, assessment, checklist work
Training an orientation toward opportunities and solutions (in contrast to analyzing problems)
Practicing goal-setting methods
Using learning diaries or portfolio tools for (self-)documentation
Using self-assessment tools for evaluation

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Learning to Learn

Contents

Personal Competence

Ways to engage participants before and during...

Flexible planning and moderation

Decision-making

Reflection and feedback

Co-creation in the learning space

Addressing Self-learning Skills

Related

Checklist: Possible ways to activate participants

Tips for Increasing the Participants' Levels of Ownership and Involvement

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Holistic Learning