learning

WILLIAM FULKERSON (dlange@peg.apc.org)
Wed, 30 Nov 1994 20:17:06 +1000

To the growing web of learning org members, I have appreciated
listening in to the dialogue so far.

I am a person who has a passionate interest in learning -
basically so that we can learn how to be better people and do
better things so that we can all live on this planet with dignity
and respect. I am a mother who is continually trying to develop a
learning environment at home with much difficulty at times with a
13 year old and 10 year old!!! I am a wife who tries to develop a
learning relationship with my husband so that we can grow
together.

I work as a consultant and try to assist people in organisations
become more conscious of our thinking and doing and being so that
we can create organisations that are profitable in human,
environmental, social, ethical, aesthetic and economic terms. And
I am a student completing a research Masters in Applied Science
(Social Ecology).

I have recently been asked by an organisation to help them "learn
new ways to learn" . They wanted "tools" so we exposed them to
techniques from Neuro Linguistic Programming. I said that it is
all very well having tools but whether people actually create the
environment where we can take a risk and expose our ideas,
challenge them and develop insights to learn is questionable. So
we included processes to create the environment for learning
except the participants thought that was old hat "they said we
want new ways to learn". Mind you it is my belief that most groups
do not do this well because of the unspoken norms around
protection of self etc that get in the way of people being honest
and open. We also did exercises that included reflection and
planning not just theory and action on the belief that most of the
formal learning that they do concentrates heavily on content and
skills not on reflection of existing behaviour and not on planning
for change based on what has been learnt and integrating all bits.
However, many of the participants did not like reflecting on their
behaviour and went into shut down mode (even though this was done
individually and in small groups and with great attempts to build
the climate so that people could be open, honest, feel safe etc)

So we are trying again

I would be interested to hear from people who have any ideas
either by private email or public whatever is appropriate.

Deb Lange email:
dlange@peg.apc.org 24 Marine Parade
Mobile Ph 61 018 833 889 Seacliff
AH Ph 618 296 3883 South Australia Fax 618
296 5954 5049