!!! Study circles & Tips on recording and facilitating a study circle

1 Definitions +

 1) S tudy Circles | Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education) 

  The study circle is a “free and voluntary” pedagogy that has become a mass phenomenon in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. It was initiated within the popular movements in the first years of the 1900s as a tool for education among their members. Around 10 adults typically meet a few hours a week to develop their interests, for example, in art, political topics, music, or foreign language. The “study circle grammar” includes voluntary participation, an extremely wide span of topics to be studied, no requirements of a teacher, and no entrance qualifications, grades, or exams. Tradition stresses deliberations among participants, but practical topics often have a workshop pedagogy. They have received subsidies from the state and from municipalities through various organizational structures depending on country since the early 1900s. They grew and spread fast, reaching a peak in participation in the late 1900s, but have since stagnated; however, a substantial share of adults in Nordic countries continue to engage in them. 

 

 2) Study circle, Wikipedia 

 A study circle is a small group of people who meet multiple times to discuss an issue. Study circles may be formed to discuss anything from politics to religion to hobbies with a minimum of 7 people to a maximum of 15. These study circles are formed by a study circle organiser, and are led by a study circle leader. Study circle doesn't have a teacher. They are differentiated from clubs by their focus on exploring an issue or topic rather than on activities or socializing. When they emerged in the early twentieth century they were based on a democratic approach to self-education and were often linked to social movements concerned with temperance or working class emancipation.

Basics

Study circles are typically created by persons who discover a common interest; other study circles may be created to analyze and find solutions to social, political, or community problems.

Often there is no teacher, but one member usually acts as facilitator to keep discussion flowing and on track, and ensure that everyone has an opportunity to become as involved as he or she desires to be. Reading material and audio/visual aids are often used to stimulate dialogue.

Study circles may be introductory level, advanced level, or any level in between...

 3) Community Tool Box - a free, online resource for those working to build healthier communities and bring about social change, ctb.ku.edu/en

 A study circle is a group of 8 to 12 people who meet regularly over a period of weeks or months to address a critical public issue in a democratic, collaborative way. Participants examine the issue from many points of view and identify areas of common ground. They emerge with recommendations for action that will benefit the community. Some examples from study circles conducted around the country include youth mentoring programs; new hiring policies; citywide diversity celebrations; a multiracial "unity choir;" and a new state law reforming the corrections system in Oklahoma. 

 

4) Pioneer Network - Pioneers in Culture Change and Person-Directed Car, pioneernetwork.net

 Learning Circles are built upon the idea that every member has something to contribute and that every member has something to learn. Learning Circles are intended to lead to action and change. Learning objectives and how to achieve them are agreed upon by the group members. 

 

 5) EIFL (Electronic Information for Libraries, eifl.net/blogs

Learning circles - study groups for online learners - are helping hundreds of learners complete courses in public libraries  

 Research indicates that 80% of the people who enroll for online learning fail to complete their courses. One of the main reasons for failure is loneliness. Learning circles - in-person study groups - add a social element to learning via the internet by bringing learners together to work through their courses. Guided by a facilitator, groups of learners share knowledge and skills, and motivate each other to keep going...

 The learning circles methodology was developed and tested in 2015 by the non-governmental agency, Peer to Peer University (P2PU) in the USA, where it proved to be successful in boosting online course retention rates. In 2016, EIFL and P2PU wanted to test the methodology in Africa. ...

 The results of the pilot were excellent: ... over 90% of the learners completed their courses. 

 

2 Facilitating (and recording) a study-circle

 Източник: Community Tool Box - a free, online resource for those working to build healthier communities and bring about social change, ctb.ku.edu/en

A study circle is typically led by an impartial facilitator whose job it is to keep discussions focused, help the group consider a variety of views, and ask difficult questions.

 People find study circles valuable because:

• The discussions begin with people talking about their own experiences. Study circles don't deal with problems in the abstract - they deal with real problems that real people experience every day.
• The small groups help people of different backgrounds talk about difficult issues in a safe, respectful way. Large groups can be intimidating; but many people who are uncomfortable in a large group will open up more easily to a smaller one.
• People know that they are part of a larger effort, and they feel good about that.
• The study circle program as a whole empowers community residents... [in the US use of them]

Once study circle programs get started, they usually grow larger and stronger -- people come to enjoy working together on a common goal. Study circle participants often talk about how quickly the time passed, since the discussion was focused, honest, and productive. They also talk about how much fun they had getting to know one another.

Tips on recording and facilitating a study circle

 The recorder and the facilitator are very important to each individual study circle. The facilitator keeps things moving and on track, and the recorder makes sure everyone's thoughts are written down. If you've taken on one of these key roles, here's a fuller description of what you'll need to do.

THE RECORDER'S ROLE

Each study circle needs a volunteer recorder to jot down some of the key ideas that come up. The recorder should not be the facilitator--both jobs are too important for anyone to have to pull double duty! The recorder's main job is to listen carefully and document what the group members talk about. Some people feel they can take good notes and still participate in the discussion. Others prefer to concentrate on listening. 

 

THE FACILITATOR'S ROLE

 The facilitator has a key role in the study circle process. Here are some tips that will help you facilitate meetings effectively:

1. Stay neutral. ...
2. Be prepared. ...
3. Let participants respond to one another. ...
4. Don't let any one person dominate the discussion. ...
5. Draw out quiet participants. ..
6. Keep the discussions on track. ...
7. Allow for pauses and silences. ...
8. Don't worry about achieving consensus...
9.  When in doubt, ask the group...

1. Stay neutral. Use the power you have with the group wisely. Your role should never be to promote a particular point of view, but rather to further the discussion. By the end of the discussion, group members should not know your views on the issues being discussed.
2. Be prepared. Think ahead of time how the discussion might go. This will allow you to give your full attention to the group.
3. Let participants respond to one another. Encourage interaction among the group. If questions or comments are directed at you, try to deflect them to someone else. You should speak less than any person in the group.
4. Don't let any one person dominate the discussion. If you allow people to interrupt or let one or two talkers take over, the more polite people will get angry and frustrated. At the first sign of trouble, refer to the ground rules the group has set.
5. Draw out quiet participants. Don't put anyone on the spot, but watch for opportunities to bring quiet people into the discussion. Learn participants' names and use them.
6. Keep the discussions on track. Since important issues are usually related to each other, it is easy for groups to move into other areas. Participants need the freedom to explore connections and ideas, but try to keep the discussion related to the session's topic.
7. Allow for pauses and silences. People need time to think and reflect. Sometimes silence will help people build up the courage to make a valuable point. You may find it helpful to silently count to ten after asking a question.
8. Don't worry about achieving consensus. Not everyone is going to agree on everything. There is no need for consensus--just try to help the group find some areas of agreement.
9. When in doubt, ask the group. If you're having trouble enforcing the ground rules, or deciding which topic to spend time on, ask the group what they would like to do.