Graphic Facilitation and Harvesting as a Tool for Learning

The Main Idea This project idea has grown naturally out of the progress made within the Tools For Learning Strategy, which has shown clear developments within recent publications and the last two editions of the Tool Fair. Graphic facilitation is growing in importance in the facilitation of learning processes and this is a real chance to make a solid contribution to spreading both the ideas and the practice within the youth field. After consultation about the project, it has been decided to offer a training course to ten participants. The course will be organised in three parts: 1) A preparation seminar in which participants will try out different forms of graphic facilitation and harvesting in order to support learning. 2) The participants will have the opportunity of putting their developing skills into practise during the whole Tool Fair VIII and will have coaching sessions each day. 3) An evaluation meeting directly after the Tool Fair will be held to look at the look at the effectiveness of this approach and draw conclusions for inclusion in a publication for wide distribution. During the training course participants will get the chance to work on simple and useful skills, such as how to draw basic things (such as people, emotions, objects, contexts, metaphors etc), and look at how it might be possible to capture learning moments and even funny things that happen along the way. Our Aims 1) To introduce graphic facilitation to the world of youth work in a systematic way 2) To break the myth that you need to be "an artist" to do this! So that all can be encouraged to try out these aids to learning and reflection 3) To build on the experience of the last two Tool Fairs and the recent Tools for Learning publications to extend this multiple and diverse tool for learning 4) To explore some of the main types of graphic facilitation and harvesting, including drawings, mind mapping, reporting through illustration, etc. Target group: Educational practitioners in the European youth field: trainers, youth workers and youth leaders, etc. active in the youth field in general and more specifically within the Youth in Action Programme. You do NOT have to be an artist already! You do need to have three basic qualities: a) the desire to use graphic facilitation and harvesting in your future projects b) some previous training experience c) be available for the whole training course (1-10 November 2013)!