Training Philosophy
5. Mapping
As indicated above - with the reference to creating a 'log book' - I like to think of training as being the start of a journey. To underline this, I often ask trainees to create 'maps' of one kind of another as a way of setting themselves destinations and directions. These are inevitably highly personal, often surprise those who create them and invariably range from the technical to the highly abstract or symbolic.
All that is needed is to provide the space, time, paper, paint / crayons / felt tips and a gentle prompt to get people going. Sometimes I have some examples on hand to show the range of possibilities. These include:
- An unusual version of a map of the world
- A diagrammatic map showing the route up a mountain
- An aboriginal dream map
- A child's drawing of their journey to school
- A map of the stars
- A photo of a spider's web
- A Tony Buzan-inspired 'mind map'
- A Chinese illustration of the digestive system
- A diagram of the routes on the London Underground
The idea is to liberate imagination and to show by example that the idea of a 'map' can have many interpretations.
Usually, to help create a quiet and concentrated atmosphere, I have a CD playing with soothing music or sounds. I try and quietly insist on silence. I always join in.
Sometimes, everyone works on one long piece of paper and then, towards the end, the group work together to join up the different pieces of work. More often, though, people work on their own and then (only if they feel comfortable doing so and always in small groups) explain what they have done and why. It is quite important, I think, that (if they want to) trainees can take their 'maps' home - or at least back to their work - with them.
Example: Mapping Social Future Mind Map
6. Reflective Practice:
All these things contribute to promoting 'reflection'. And in this increasingly fast-moving world time to slow down and take stock becomes increasingly important. Learning how to internalise experience by build capacity to become 'reflective' as a matter of day-to-day routine seems to me to be fundamental to building competence and confidence in any people-related activity.
I see reflective practice as 'experience recollected in tranquillity' (to mis-quote the poet Wordsworth) and after a time it becomes habitual.
"Once reflective practice becomes a habit, you move beyond question-and-answer mode to an internal conversation without words. You learn to still the chattering inside your head - full as it always is with impressions, memories, anxieties and unfinished business. You become better at resisting the relentless need to plan, to be logical, to be in control. You allow yourself to simply wait, and if you are lucky, images and ideas begin to emerge unquestioned and unasked for. It can be a truly creative and inspiring experience and can inform what you do and how you do it in a completely new way."
Extract from: TALKING THE WALK - A COMMUNICATIONS MANUAL FOR PARTNERSHIP PRACTITIONERS, 2008, Ros Tennyson (See: Publications)
7. Games, Stories & Other Learning Tools
Just in case this is all getting a little too introspective and insular, there is a whole range of training activities that can be used at the other end of the spectrum. At various stages colleagues and I have employed a range of stories and games as a dynamic way to challenge assumptions, build skills and / or learn from practical or imaginative experience.
One example is what is known as The Chairs Game introduced to various training courses for partnership practitioners by a very respected colleague, Michael Jacobs.
Another example is the use of stories - whether legends, fairy tales, episodes from history, personal anecdotes or original tales created by the group. Issues, insights and feelings can be explored in quite a different way through this lens. Those involved can reveal / perceive deeper understanding of a situation, they can explore (comparatively safely) different ways of viewing the world or expressing views or negotiating with people they don't usually meet.
Ironically, it is often through a story or fiction that a new kind of truth emerges.
Stories have the power to draw listeners in through the unleashing of their (all too often latent) imagination and the capacity to draw out responses that are more 'wise' than 'clever' because they touch the heart rather then simply the brain.
Another way of stirring the imagination is to use images (post-cards are usually most practical) as a prompt for individual reflection and group discussion. Inviting trainees to pick an image that represents to them how they operate in their day-to-day work, what they aspire to become or what best represents their sense of their potential is a good way either to start a reflective process or to build a deeper level of small group inter-action.
Next: 13 Senses