August 30, 2005, Hawkwood College, Bath, UK – I was stunned by the images beaming across the globe from New Orleans’ into the quiet British Inn’s only television. It took a while for me to decipher the events that were actually evolving. I was both terrified and concerned as I watched the unfolding disaster known as Hurricane Katrina. Later, I would learn of greater crimes perpetrated against the marginalized residents of New Orleans. As horrific as the experience was, Hurricane Katrina provides an opportunity for individual and collective learning from lived experiences. Adults can learn from experience as a way of avoiding the same recurring mistakes. Learning from experience can be a deeply engaging exercise and offers opportunities to share, reflect and change outdated behaviors that no longer serve our current needs. It isn’t difficult to do and can be personally rewarding. Below is a quick and dirty outline and materials for how to learn from experience. For the purposes of this teach-in we will use the materials from Teaching the Levees project. Follow the hotlink below to all of the tools necessary (video, discussion guides and handouts) for your learning journey. What have you got to loose? I promise you it will be an eye opener. After all, isn’t experience the best teacher?
Step 1- There is a need to have a memory (individual or collective) of what transpired. Since each person will have a different perspective, it is best if the experience is verified by images, articles and/or video. A collective memory, as we have in the United States, of the effects of Hurricane Katrina is perfect for learning with others through group (collective) reflection and discussion.
Step 2 – Decide what you would like to learn from your experience. One option is to choose a question that addresses your most compelling interest in the experience. The question should also represent the interests of those in your learning circle. In developing content for adult learning for the Teaching the Levees project, our team came up with 8 sets of discussion guides. A few of the guides were positioned as questions for collective reflection. Five of those guides (programs) can be found in the section titled “Race, Class and Katrina in When the Levees Broke.”
■ Program 1: Natural Disaster or Human Failure?
■ Program 2: Government Responsibility for Citizens’ Safety, Health, and Well-Being
■ Program 3: Citizens’ Accountability for Their Own Safety
■ Program 4: Perception of Race, Class, and Citizenship After Katrina
■ Program 5: Spirituality, Resilience, and Hope in Post-Katrina America
Step 3 – Share and review images, articles, video or other artifacts. A quick exercise might be for group participants to read the brief handout and watch the selected segment from Spike Lee’s video “When the Levees Broke” before the group discussion. Using the provided discussion guide, explore, discuss and strive to identify new understandings. Validated the new understandings through external sources, research or additional discussion.
Step 4 – Share what you learned with others. When information is shared with others and they can make use of the information in their own way, it then becomes knowledge.
Note to the wise – If you want your learning group to be fun filled, energetic and vibrant follow these simple guidelines…
- Don’t stifle the group by using loads of technology and dissecting the learning process. I’m a fan of the KISS method – Keep it Simple Silly!
- Don’t show up with an agenda that’s timed down to the minute. Experiential group learning is an organic experience let the process unfold.
- Don’t hoard all of the control and power and then expect people to share freely. Invite others to take responsibility for guiding and supporting the group.
- Relax! Have fun! Experiential learning in small groups is an excellent way to build local knowledge, get to know people better and become a better informed citizen.
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