Module 2

Facilitation and coping with conflicts

TRAIN THE TRAINERS CURRICULUM

The methodology, followed for training the trainers to incorporate “facilitation and coping with conflicts” in their competence building exercises with young adults, includes a step-by-step process which is explained in the sections below.

For each section of the Train the Trainers Curriculum, trainers/youth workers will find:

  • What is about
  • When to use it
  • How it is applied
  • How to adapt it

Section 1. Opening session: introduction to the circle time
Section 2. Empathy
Section 3. Solidarity
Section 4. Forgiveness
Section 5. Closing session: conclusion of the circle time

Educational resources related to this Module (original production by partners)

The open educational resources, selected and developed for/during the local pilots, are:

  1. Example of assessment sheets (SF)
  2. How to use the Circle Time for the shared evaluation at the end of an educational experience – case of alternation school-work in a secondary school in Italy (SF)
  3. Useful and simply tools to easily exploit the circle time and to foster emotional learning (SF)


Where to learn more (files/images archive and links available on the www)

Some very useful and relevant links which could be used by trainers and youth workers to find more information are:

http://www.edutopia.org/
Edutopia, of the George Lucas Educational Foundation, is an online platform where to find resources to help you implement project-based learning, social and emotional learning, comprehensive assessment, teacher development, integrated studies, and technology integration. In the Community you can find useful articles about how to improve education.

http://www.antibullying.net/circletime.htm
The Anti-Bullying Network is an independent operation with the following objectives: to support anti-bullying work in schools; to provide a free website; and to offer an anti-bullying service which will include the provision of training, publications and consultancy services. The “Circle Time” is a suggested methodology to reduce and/or overcome forms of violence among young people.

http://theelearningcoach.com/elearning_design/isd/tranformative-learning-another-perspective-on-adult-learning/
To deepen some concepts about andragogy and transformative learning.

http://transformativelearning.ning.com/
Transformative Learning Network is for all who are interested in the study and practice of transformative learning. Where you can find also interesting videos:
http://transformativelearning.ning.com/page/tl-videos

http://cultureofempathy.com/references/mirror-neurons.htm
The Center for Building a Culture of Empathy (U.S.) is the home of the global empathy movement. The mission is to build a movement for creating a global worldwide culture of empathy and compassion. This excellent video (part 1 and part 2) explains the scientific and physiological basis of Empathy and the related discovering of the “mirror neurons”. According to provocative discoveries in brain imaging, inside our heads we constantly "act out" and imitate whatever activity we're observing. As this video reveals, our so-called "mirror neurons" help us understand the actions of others and prime us to imitate what we see."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHqAY0UbzAI
Part 1, video of Marco Iacoboni of UCLA on “Empathy and Fairness” (10.49’).

An interesting talk on the evolutionary precursors of morality, mirror neurons and more. Uploaded in October 2018. Taken from Beyond Belief 2008.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4vdCNL01VE
Part 2, video of Marco Iacoboni of UCLA on “Empathy and Fairness” (10.49’).

http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/forgiveness/definition
It is the website of The Greater Good Science Center (U.S.) and its mission is centred on studies the psychology, sociology, and neuroscience of well-being, and teaches skills that foster a thriving, resilient, and compassionate society. Here you can find articles, studies and videos about the topic of “forgiveness”.

http://www.speha-fresia.eu/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/REALIZE_TBW_HANDBOOK_EN.pdf
“Transcultural Biography Work in Adult Education” Manual proposes 13 practices to facilitate the biographical narrations overcoming the concepts of multiculturality and interculturality, for moving to a transcultural approach, “doing culture” with the “Other”.


Assessment Instruction Sheet

Some of the tools that can be used in order to assess trainees’ learning progress are:

  • The Diary of the experience is one of the key tool to propose to trainees/youths and trainers/youth workers. We suggest a Diary composed by two parts: one private and one public, with the possibility to share within the group the personal reflections about this experience.
  • Common grids/matrixes (on the wall-board) or individual questionnaires about the targeted key competences (and related Learning Outcomes) with the assessment scores (e.g. simple ones, like “Low-Middle-High”; or giving 5 or 7 options, from very low to excellent).
  • Each “circle time” session should be closed with an overall assessment of the common discussion, asking each participant to assign a preference between, e.g.: I’m happy with the results, I’m not happy, I have to improve “….” (giving the possibility to “qualify” this aim of improvement).
  • The “Emotional Chart” can always be used to assess the overall “temperature” of the group. In case of particular conflicts, inside or outside the group, the “progression” of these Charts will offer to trainees/youths and trainers/youth workers a qualitative reflection object about the progress in expressing personal emotions and in relation to the engagement within the group.
  • In team work, in case of conflicts or different opinions between the components, an assessment tool  can be offered as opposed to a shared task, using a simple matrix with details of “who, what, when and how”, and with a column to assign the achieved satisfaction degree: low, medium or high (in visualisation work, “emoticons” can be exploited).

During discussion-based assessments (applicable to all sections of the module) it will be useful for the facilitator to take “public notes” on the wall-board, conversing with the participants, or asking their confirmation about the key words of their interventions.