WNB “Back to School Series” Ideas for Building Community and Practicing Social-Emotional Skills
Many educators look for some simple group activities to begin the process of community building in their classrooms and groups. Last year in our back to school series Jen Stanchfie
More Ideas for Starting Your Program Off With Style: “Commonalities Mingle” Large Group Introductory Activity
In May I posted a couple of my favorite activities to get groups moving, talking, reflecting, and keep them engaged: Concentric Circles and Handshake Mingle. Both of these activiti
School’s Out for Summer! Celebrating Successes and New Beginnings:
In this Inspired Educator Blog post Jen Stanchfield shares her experiences using reflective activities to help schools celebrate the successes of the year and summer programs start
Learning Through Play with Playdough Pictionary: Blending Community Building With Academic or Training Content Review
Playdough Pictionary has been one of my favorite "go-to" activities for years. Though I first started using it in team-building programs I have found that it is a great active mult
Activities to Get Them Moving, Talking, Reflecting, and Keep Them Engaged
Recent research from cognitive neuroscientists validates the idea that educators will increase participant attention, motivation, and learning outcomes when they intentionally weav
The Educator as Guide
When I work with educators from all backgrounds I often find myself encouraging them to reflect on the idea of a “student centered ” or "participant centered" view of teaching
What is Experiential Education?
The experiential approach to education and group work is based on the idea that change and growth take place when people are actively (physically, socially, intellectually, emotion
Large Group Facilitation Tips
When facilitating large groups in interactive activities it can be helpful to have some "attention-getters" so that you are not yelling at the group when leading an activity, facil
An Exciting Month On the Road and Thoughts On the Words We Use in Experiential Education
This experience of facilitating through an interpreter stimulated reflection upon the words I choose to describe concepts in experiential education. When presenting with an interpr
Resolutions, Reminders, Commitments: Reflective Activities to Help Your Groups Ring in the New Year
Jen Stanchfield offers a number of reflective activities to help your group's or students reflect on the New Year: Quotes, Keyboard Keys, Postcards
The Reflective Educator Part Three: Personal Planning and Reflection
Taking time for self-reflection is key to developing your skills and improving your effectiveness and personal satisfaction in your work as an educator/counselor/ trainer.
The Reflective Educator Part Two: Meaningful Self-Reflection and Record Keeping to Improve Your Practice
In this blog post Jennifer Stanchfield explores the importance of prioritizing time for self reflection to improve your practice as an teacher, trainer, counselor or group facilita
Embracing the Quiet and Taking Time to Reflect
Those of us who espouse the philosophy of experiential education understand the importance of reflection as the key to moving learning forward and creating lasting and meaningful l
The Right Ingredients at the Right Time: Sequencing Group Learning Experiences
As with cooking, facilitation is an art that involves a combination of practice, observation, knowledge of theory and creativity. Effective facilitators act as a good chef does, ad
Graffiti Wall Activity: Middle School Students Reflect on Tropical Storm Irene
Today I am returning to the blog after a few weeks offline due to Tropical Storm Irene. Our little village of Brookside in South Newfane, Vermont and many neighboring towns were hi
Key Ingredients for Building a Positive Environment and Increasing Engagement
Jennifer Stanchfield's post on the important ingredients for teaching and group facilitation. Techniques for maximizing engagement, reflection and building a positive group or clas
Transitions: Celebrating the End of the School Year and New Beginnings for Students
The past few days have marked the end of the school year for a number of programs I work with here in New England. Over the last week I have worked with 5th graders "stepping up" t
Latest WNB Friday Lesson: Learning Through Play – Notes from the Field by our Author Jennifer Stanchfield
This time of year many summer recreation and camp programs are gearing up to begin the season. These programs offer great opportunities for youth to develop important social and em
