Facilitating Adult Learning For Social Change (FALSCH)

Session Plan

Title: Girls Education Learning Circle
Time: 30 minutes
Participants:
Facilitator: Nate
Equity process monitor: Brittany
Time keeper: Erika
Scribe: Cassandra
Facilitators Intentions (Whats behind the curtain?): The goal of this facilitation
is for participants to create dialogue and exchange ideas on girls education with the
aim of developing new practices or action plans to meet the challenge of patriarchy
and its impact on the education of girls.
Learning Objectives/Participants Take Away: Sharing different ideals, goals,
practices and experiences can be a catalyst for action. By beginning the discussion
with positive experiences had in school settings we introduce a framework of thinking
for meeting the needs of children around the world who are not enrolled in school.
Materials: Magical talking ball and stick, white board, flip chart, markers
Agenda Overview:
Activity Time Needed Materials/Resources
Introductions/Icebreaker
Name Game
Circle Counting
Game
7 min. Magical talking ball
Ground Rules 1 min. White board
Intro to Learning Circles 2 min.
Experiential Round 15 min. Magical talking stick; flip
chart & marker
Cross-Talk 5 min.
Wrap-Up Excess time

Detailed Description of Activities:
Introductions/Icebreaker
Name game -- to learn names; participants will play a simple game of
catch with a ball; the participant who catches the ball must say the name
of the person who threw it and their own name before throwing it to
another member of the group
Icebreaker will be a non-verbal cues counting game in which the
objective is for everyone to collectively count to an indicated number
without interrupting each other or speaking twice in a row
Ground Rules
Ground rules for the learning circle will be briefly introduced so that
everyone has an understanding of how to respectful in this facilitation
method
Intro to Learning Circles
A brief introduction to learning circles and their purpose will be shared
as well as some rules for learning circle participation etiquette
Experiential Round
Introduce the general topic
The space for everyone in the discussion group to have the opportunity
to speak on a personal experience without interruption
Two questions (see appendix)
Cross-Talk
The space for others to comment or ask questions about each others
experiences from the Experiential Round
Wrap-Up
Tie learning circle framework into the practice of development

Notes To My FALSCH Self (Am I walking the talk?):
How does my content address issues of power and privilege in society? Does it help
to build more inclusive, equitable and sustainable communities, societies and social
institution?
Our discussion topic addressed patriarchal impact on girls education. Having
an open space to share impactful personal experiences in educational settings
enabled the discussion question to be framed in a way that was meaningful for
productive dialogue to take place about the searching question.

How do my facilitation strategies address issues of power, privilege and participation
in the session? Are we walking the talk?
Passing the baton around the circle and introducing the rule that everyone in
the group has the opportunity to speak once deals with issues of power and
privilege by ensuring equal and equitable participation


Detailed Description of the Activity

Learning Circles Facilitation

Roles:
Facilitator: Nate
Equity process monitor: Brittany
Time keeper: Erika
Scribe: Cassandra

Facilitation outline:
1. Introduction: Name Game

2. Ice-breaker: Non-verbal cues circle counting game
Together, the group will count to 16;
Only 1 person can speak at once; if two people speak start over;
Everyone in the group has to have one turn;
You cannot say 2 numbers in a row;
The person next to you cant speak after you speak;
You cant use hand gestures

3. Ground Rules

Listen carefully and actively
Maintain an open mind.
Try hard to understand the point of view of those with whom you disagree.
Help keep the discussion on track.
Speak freely, but don't dominate.
Talk to the group as a whole, not the facilitator.
If you don't understand, say so.
Value your own experience and understanding.
Be prepared to disagree.
Try not to become angry or aggressive.

4. Introduce Learning Circles

Learning Circles are small gatherings of people who come together to share their ideals,
goals, practices and experiences. They are conducted in open neutral environments
where participants can create dialogue and exchange ideas on any topic. The goal of
Learning Circles is to help participants develop new practices or action plans they can
take back to their campuses, communities, and organizations to initiate. Here are some
rules to keep in mind:
Everyone will have the opportunity to speak, with the option to PASS if preferred
The individual holding the BATON has the floor, everyone else is listening
without interruptions, commentary, or questions
Experiences will be shared in a clockwise manner
After every has had the opportunity to share, there will be space for CROSS-
TALK - asking questions, making commentaries, discussing, etc.

5. Experiential round: ask a searching question

(1) Talk about the most powerful experience youve had in a school setting. It could be
relationships you built in the classroom, interaction between the students and
professors, a learning outcome, or the process of learning itself.
Give 1 minute think time, then open the floor
Cross-talk

(2) The Millennium Development Goals mandate that by 2015 children everywhere,
boys and girls alike will be able to complete a full course of primary education. Even
though the number of children out of school has dropped from 102 million to 57 million
from 2000 to 2011, well over half of those children still not enrolled in school are girls.
Certain regions, including sub-Saharan Africa, and South and West Asia continue to
struggle with seven out of ten non-enrolled children living in one of these areas. The
reality for these children is that they will never have any of the experiences you all have
just described.
Have you encountered gender inequality in education either through your
personal experiences or your professional career? What did it look like, and what
do you believe remains to be done in order to correct this disparity?

6. Wrap-up