TC Actor in the Shadow on Personal Development and Sustainability in Youth Work

Tereziny Udoly, Czech Republic

24. – 31. July, 2011

2nd edition

Final Report

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Introduction

The idea for this course came into being through the observation that often, when youth workers feel stuck in their professional environment, they tend to blame the working environment and/or outer conditions for their problems. “Ordinary” conditions for youth work – such as lack of resources like time and money – often put youth workers in a state of constant stress and can contribute to burn-out in their work.

In the field of non-formal education methods are often less important than the people and the personalities that run them. The person and the personality of the youth worker is often the main “tool” for his work. By giving youth workers the opportunity to discover, explore and develop their personalities, we wanted to contribute to the quality of the activities within the EU Youth in Action program. A training course with this concept took place for the first time in Turkey in 2009.

For whom

“Actor in the Shadow” was a training course for youth workers and volunteers who struggle with decreasing motivation, lack of positive energy and sense of meaning in their work, those who would like to experience and learn about tools and approaches for dealing with these obstacles, and that are useful for personal development so as to keep their work sustainable and meaningful.Second edition of this course brought together 16 participants from 9 countries with various levels of experience in youth work and in the program “Youth in Action”. The diversity within the group proved to be an invaluable resource in the learning process.

Training team Evelina Taunytė – trainer, http://www.salto-youth.net/find-a-trainer/369.htmlJan Latal – trainer, http://www.salto-youth.net/tools/toy/find-a-trainer/1177.htmlBjörn Vilhjalmsson – trainer, http://www.viaexperientia.net/en/our-team/Jitka Korinkova – TCP co-ordinator in the Czech National Agency

Report – Evelina Taunytė

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Aim

The aim was to provide a space for youth workers, youth leaders and multipliers to reflect and work on their personal development and thus become more aware of themselves and others. Furthermore the aim was to learn methods of reflection and peer counseling in order to deal more effectively with the every day reality of youth work.

ApproachesOur methodological approach was to inspire learning by offering participants various challenges by choice and giving them a guided space to share and explore the experiences. The program was based on a holistic approach using experiential learning, outdoor education, nature-based methods, creative techniques, group work and reflective learning methods. We chose an environment that would enable to live us simply and in an ecologically sustainable way.

TCI – Theme Centered Interaction

Theme Centered Interaction (TCI) is a Concept for Personal Development and Working with groups. The System is based on a active, creative and discovering process of Learning – "Living Learning" – and Working. TCI uses structures in the process of the group to achieve a dynamic balance between the various needs of the individuals, the interaction in the group and her task (I - We - It - Balance) and to respect the environment ("the Globe") in a closest and widest sense. Individuals are seen holistically, meaning that there is room for the three dimensions of body, soul and mind. This allows for a working atmosphere that frees motivation and creative potentials. Disturbances are not disregarded. but used for improving cooperation thus making a climate of esteem and mutual respect possible. TCI emphasizes both methodical skills and personal authenticity. We introduced TCI as a scheme to formulate expectations for the course. http://www.ruth-cohn-institute.com

Less 'consuming', more reflective more responsible, more community.- Participant

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Experiential Learning

The author of the “Brave New World” Aldous Huxley once stated: “Experience is not what happens to you. It is what you do with what happens to you”. Experiential learning can therefore be defined in terms of a learning model "which begins with the experience followed by reflection, discussion, analysis and evaluation of the experience. The assumption is that we seldom learn from experience unless we assess the experience, assigning our own meaning in terms of our own goals, aims, ambitions and expectations. From these processes come the insights, the discoveries, and understanding. The pieces fall into place, and the experience takes on added meaning in relation to other experiences. All this is then conceptualized, synthesized and integrated into the individual's system of constructs which he imposes on the world, through which he views, perceives, categorizes, evaluates and seeks experience." Wight, Albert, in Journal of Creative Behavior, Vol 4, No 4, Fall 1970, p. 234-282

Kolb (1984) provides one of the most useful (but contestable) descriptive models available of the adult learning process. It suggests that there are four stages in learning which follow from each other: Concrete Experience is followed by Reflection on that experience on a personal basis. This may then be followed by the derivation of general rules describing the experience, or the application of known theories to it (Abstract Conceptualisation), and hence to the construction of ways of modifying the next occurrence of the experience (Active Experimentation), leading in turn to the next Concrete Experience. All this may happen in a flash, or over days, weeks or months, depending on the topic, and there may be a "wheels within wheels" process at the same time. In this course we introduced a number of activities that provided an experience to be reflected upon – Blind Duo's, 'Find the Tree', 'Find Your Place' and 'Be Yourself' exercises.

http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/experience.htm#ixzz1Ti3QWGys

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Learning and the Comfort-Zone

Through involvement in experiences that are beyond their comfort zone people find themselves in an area that feels uncomfortable and unfamiliar - the stretch/learning zone. By overcoming these anxious feelings and thoughts while simultaneously sampling success, people can make their comfort zone bigger. Of course this does not happen automatically; it needs careful processing and attention for physical and emotional safety. When people feel too insecure, they risk to land in their panic zone - a place where learning is not possible any more, because all they want to do is get back to their comfort zone as soon as possible.

Peer-Work

In our course the peer-work was an important feature that was touched upon in several places in the program. Peer means a person of the same age, status, or ability as another specified person. In peer sessions the participants counseled each other on difficult case cases or situations (peer-counseling). In the “Lab” session participants formed teams to read the group process (that they were in) and to plan activities that were appropriate for groups in this stage of development (peer-analyzing) and in the “Open Kiosk” the participants shared knowledge and skills with each other (peer-teaching).

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Simplicity

One of the most important aspects of our course was the simplicity of the venue, self-management, style of food preparation and the emphasis on simplicity and lightweight style. We have consciously chosen a house where typical Czech outdoor youth activities take place with shared rooms and simple equipment. We invited local guys to help us with the food and introduced the morning hour of service and care where everyone contributed to the well-being of oneself and the others. There was a metaphor in these elements showing the situation of youth-work in some countries and youth workers in their positions. We also wanted to awake a certain level of responsibility for the course and belonging to the place. Among other benefits this grounded the course and gave it a taste of reality and truthfulness.

Sometimes tough because of the venue (dorms, little privacy, cold, rain, service hour), more “demanding” than my first TC, but very

enriching because of the same points! - Participant

Introspection

Relying on the insight that many things happening to us are influenced or even provoked by our own personalities we presume that deeper knowledge about ourselves helps us to understand others. In this course we offered time and space to reflect ourselves – feelings, behavior, patterns within them. There was time to be with and listen to themselves so as there were opportunities to be mirrored / reflected by the others.

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Tools

Diaries and journals - Reflective learning

Trainers and participants received a personified diary / notebook at the beginning of the training course, to use as the container for their learning. This notebook was all in one - notebook, diary and a place to keep memories. The notebook was always around to document the content of the TC and what was of interest for the owner during the days of the course. Reflection moments were an important part of the learning process and were used liberally to discover and to divine the learning of the different program elements and experiences that were facilitated.

Closing the day – was a program element where participants reflected on the activities of the day, reviewed their notes from it and wrote their diary of their experiences and learnings.Random Diary Moments (RDM) were a special feature of the “Magic Valley” day and a presentation of another use for the diary. Diary moments are instigated at random from the outside, f.x. by the trainer, and records the psychological content of the writer ‘here and now’. The aim is to see ‘through’ the generalization of the evening diary and to get a glimpse of ones state in a single moment, answering the questions: Where am I, what am I doing, how do I feel, etc.

Like a cold shower on a hot and dusty day, AiS washed away all the waste – and let me with some fresh ideas, and mostly with myself. The

simple things are most powerful – and AiS was as simple as deep. - Participant

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Forum Theater by Augusto Boal

Forum Theater is a part of the Theatre of the Oppressed, which is a range of theatrical forms used as means of knowledge and transformation of reality in the social and relational field. In the Theatre of the Oppressed, the audience becomes active, such that as “spect-actors” they explore, show, analyze and transform the reality in which they are living. Participants practiced elements of such interactive theatre in form of Forum Theater by creating, performing and reconstructing situations from real life where cultural differences play an important role. It was introduced as a method of peer counseling. Augusto Boal, Theatre of the Oppressed, http://www.ptoweb.org/

Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, http://www.paulofreireinstitute.org/

This course is a fantastic opportunity to have a holistic experience of learning.

You take from it what you will, but the opportunity is there. - Participant

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Transactional Analysis according to Eric Berne

.. is a communication theory in modern psychology. The key to this methodology was a transaction - the fundamental unit of social intercourse. At its simplest level, Transactional Analysis is the method for studying interactions between individuals. Berne ultimately defined the three ego states as: Parent, Adult, and Child. One of the tools used by a TA practitioner is a structural diagram, that represents the complete personality of any individual. It includes the Parent, Adult, and Child ego states, all separate and distinct from each other. (from http://www.businessballs.com/transact.htm) In our training course we have played short sketches showing basic types of difficult communication situations and tried different solutions based on the 'parent adult child' theory.

More: Berne, Eric (1964). Games People Play – The Basic Hand Book of Transactional Analysis. New York: Ballantine Books.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transactional_analysis

Communication: 4 Ears

According to a German communication psychologist Friedrich Schulz von Thun when a person talks to another person he/ she is passing on four different messages. This communication model is called the “4 Ears Model” and is useful in understanding why people misunderstand each other. This model was introduced as one of the inputs within an “Open Kiosk” session.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_sides_model.

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Evaluation results

According to the evaluation of the participants the objectives of the TC were reached as follows:

- Learning ways to enhance the well being 60,4%- Learning to cope with stress and burn-out from your work 80,2%- Be presented with and share approaches and attitudes to living in the post-modern world 78,1%- Learning various methods of reflection 82,3%- Learning methods of peer counseling 69,8%

Were you able to share your experience Did you actively participate during the course? during the training course?

75% yes 63% all the time25% no, had no experience to share 25% most of the time

6% some of the time6% seldom

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75%

25%

63%

25%

6%6%

Is it possible to apply what you have learned on this course back home in your reality?

Yes!

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100%

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Conclusions and recommendations

During the final evaluation team made the following conclusions and recommendations for future development of the course:

different experience levels within the group so as the size (16 participants) proved to be beneficial for the participants;

'low key' venue and the simple accommodation style of the course proved to contribute to the learning experience to a great extent;

the process orientation with 'teachable moments' within a learning flow seemed to be more useful working with such a topic rather than strictly following the planned program;

considering the suggestions of the participants the team will rethink the title and description to fit more the idea of the course.

Within the scope of possibilities the team will explore ways how to consider the suggestions of the participants in the future:

• to have a longer course or even a follow up to give the possibility for the group to extend their learning within the group

over the longer period of time

• more feedback sessions

• to vary the reflection activities

• more theatrical activities

• more peer counseling

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Participants for Future Participants

Amazing! Regenerating! Reflective, but fun!Surprising! True! Authentic! Flexible, innovative, running deep under the skin!

OPEN yourself up to the process as much as you can from the beginning and you are very likely to leave with more than what you arrived with personally and professionally.

TC gave me many new ideas I could implement in my youth work a well as everyday life. I hugely enjoyed it and it meant a lot for my personal development.

It is as search in the natural elements inspiration in your work. There is a place to have introspection in a safe and cozy environment. With the help of others there is place for intervision and reflection.

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