Tansanian ryijytyöpaja, osa 10 - Action Reflection Learning ARL

What is Action Learning or Action Reflection Learning, as many call the pedagogics we used for the workshop?


It is lovely when Elina Helenius didn't know the name to the way she teaches in the most successful way! All the good trainers know how to reach their students in the best possible way. We had together made some guesses what the training should be like to succeed to practice with the rug work during a very short time - in four days. We knew we will face circa twenty participants with new ideas to design and use material as handcrafts.
But we didn't know how full of positive energy we will meet. And we didn't know how easy it was to arrange things and environment after our needs. It was just to start!

When we on Sunday evening first time visited the yard of Wonder Works we just looked arround and imaged the start in the next morning: Where to run the workshop > out, in shadow, enough space, table, chairs etc. etc.

On Monday morning we organised with help of participants and Lisette "our class". We found a table, colourful set of chairs, baskets to have the woollen thread on, we shared the needles to everyone and then we started. There was first a short welcome from us. Luckily we had no need for projector, flipchart or whiteboard, for there was none of them. Elina had copied her introduction material and with those papers as a booklet she went around and told about rugs and showed what kind of rugs you can create! I, Anneli, went around and coach participants to put the thread through the needle hole and then to start to do the rug knots. The basic goal was to create a rug on a peace of cloth of 30 x 30 cm and choose from the threads we had brought with us from Finland colours you liked.

This is action learning! You start with the doing and you get just a little bit of guidance and you have the possibility to help, repetition, discussion about your plans, problems and ideas. You let the process guide the coaching. Trainers interact when needed - not after their planned timetable or material. Flexibility is the key.

We had a idea to let participants to do their first rug with the threads we had brought with us. And then apply recycling material on their second rug. But on Tuesday there was no interest on new materials. Wool was the material people wanted to use. Much later, on their third or fourth rug there was small interest to apply other materials, also.  We had only one participant who never during the time learn the knot to do "in a right way", but she was eager to produce "almost right knots" and design colourful rugs.

We were astonished how eager everyone was to produce rugs, knot after knot, rug after rug. There was no need for breaks, we had a short luch break and worked hard to get people stop in the afternoon at three o'clock; after a long intensive day. And keep in mind the temperature was even 30 degreed of Celsius. We had the workshop in shadow, under a roof.

There was a lot chatting, sharing, laugh and testing in the team. After the first day people found a carpet to sit on.

People were eager to recieve encouragament. There was intensity in the air as everyone showed what they have done already and how their rugs looked. There was a special interest when Elina started to sew the Firts Time Rug together - in it was a piece from everybody.

In Action Reflection Learning you start with an experience, you review your results, take your learnings and try again. You draw conclusions from your own work results and make your own future plans. You have the opportunity to learn from others, there is a supporting atmosphere and possibility to ask questions. You can describe ARL with a formula: Learning results = Shared knowledge + Willingness to learn + Skills to ask questions. As ARL-trainer you trust on participants will and capability to learn what they need, you don't act from your plans. You also trust that you have something to share and you are willing to open your experience basket - what ever seems to be needed.

(I will add some pictures when I am connected with more effective net, sorry, only text this time!)

Anneli Valpola