Self-reflective Online Questions Within the Live Training Setting - It’s a Game-changer!
Richard Andrew
? Creating Change Through Awareness-raising, Interactive, Hybrid Experiences ? School Collaborations: Whole-school, Implementations-based CPD ? Corporate: Empowering Coaches & Consultants ? Bus Networking Facilitator
There’s a continuing debate about which training medium is better —‘Live’ or ‘Self-paced Online’.
Just for the record, by ‘Live’, I’m referring to ‘Live-in-person’ and ‘Live-over-Zoom/Teams/Meet/etc.’
The live vs. Self-paced Online debate is, in my humble view, ridiculous. It’s a silly argument, a dead duck.?
The fact is that the live medium has obvious advantages over?the self-paced online medium.?
But equally, the Self-paced Online medium has clear advantages over the Live format. It must be said, however, that the advantages of the self-paced medium are less obvious and require a uniquely interactive platform.
A much more intelligent discussion would ask, ‘What are the advantages of each, and how can we combine them to create a hybrid approach?’
One key advantage of a quality, self-paced online format over the live format is that it encourages all participants to deeply self-reflect.?
And the clear advantage of the Live format is that everyone is present in real-time.
So let's combine the two.
Richard ... I disagree that self-paced online is better for self-reflection!
Let me qualify the above statement. I agree that - with exceptional facilitation, and in some contexts - the live format may be on a par, perhaps even superior to a quality, self-paced online format in regard to having people self-reflect.
However, from experience, there are many situations where it is advantageous to ask exceptional questions and have participants reflect in writing rather than immediately generate a live discussion. An example is situations where views - deeply held by strong personalities - oppose the changes you aim to bring about. In such a situation, an initial live discussion could be counterproductive. But having people work through a series of well-crafted questions - that lead to the required awareness shift - can be ideal.
In some situations, it will be advantageous for participants to read each other's reflections. Therefore, an online forum that allows for multiple excellent questions on the one page is required. In other situations, participants may simply need to write a personal reflection - to arrange their thoughts - prior to participating in a live discussion.
The main point of all this is that a combination of self-paced and live reflections can, in many situations, be ideal.
A Self-paced Online reflective journey inside a Live session.
Note-1: As mentioned above, this reflective journey requires an online platform allowing multiple comment threads on a single page.
Note-2: The live sessions are assumed to be part of a hybrid approach with everyone logged into the Online platform.?
Fun Fact: The sample questions for this reflective journey centre around leadership. However, they could centre around any human behaviour topic.
The reflective journey featured in the video consists of four parts:
Set up: The Coach/Trainer directs everyone to the page containing the five self-reflective questions.
Part 1: Participants answer all five questions online within the live session. (5-10 minutes)
Part 2: Participants read their colleagues' answers and reply to them online (5-10 minutes)
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Part 3: In groups of three, participants verbally share their takeaways (10-15 minutes)
Part 4: A spokesperson from each?group verbally shares their collective takeaways with the entire group (5-15 minutes)
Total Time: 25-50 minutes
In many scenarios, this powerful exercise has clear advantages over live-only and self-paced-online-only approaches.
The Video Demonstration (3:30 min)
Watch the 3:30 min video demonstration of this Live Reflective Journey Strategy.
Alternative strategies combining written (self-paced) and verbal (live) formats.
In some situations, it may be best to have people respond to questions in a private space - so that everyone reflects before hearing others speak - without having them read each other's reflections.
Personally, however, I like the accountability that a closed forum generates.
Note also that the system we use allows you to give participants the option to post privately on certain questions.
Your Turn
Are you a trainer/presenter? Do you work mostly live (in-person or over Zoom/teams/Meet?) Do you strive to maximise self-reflection in your sessions?
Do you recognise the advantages of Live Reflective Journey Strategy? Would you like to adopt this strategy?
Any questions or comments? Let us know in the chat.