The Art of Learning Together

How do you build learning communities and core teams
that enable large scale participation?

November 11-13, 2014 Asheville, NC

As facilitators, educators, managers, and community organizers, now is the time for us to come together, to stand boldly and compassionately at the intersection of learning, education, practice and transformation for the sake of the greater good. Now is the time for us to be learning together.

You already know the power of learning. You’ve experienced the magic of people coming alive when they let in new information and allow themselves to be changed — taking on new perspectives, new worldviews, new practices, or new insights. You are clear that safe, engaging and fun learning experiences can help people live their life’s purpose, fulfill their company’s mission, and foster healing and resilience in communities. You’re hungry to take your own knowledge and experience to the next level.

Come explore with us different methodologies, practices and patterns that surface diverse perspectives for wise action. Contribute your knowledge and deepen your capacities to work with core teams and build environments that nurture continued learning.

At The Art of Learning in Community you will:

• Explore at your learning edge, stretching to get the most of out our time together

• “Learn on the job” and gain hands on, practical skills for facilitating learning with opportunities to immediately apply what you learn

• Learn how to tap into group wisdom and facilitate in situations with diverse and differing perspectives

• Expand individual and collective understanding of learning, learning in community and the impact and organization of core teams

• Move beyond limiting beliefs that get in the way of facilitating active learning environments

• Focus attention on learning together what could never be learned on our own, surfacing solutions, ideas and deeper inquiries

Our aim is that we leave feeling more equipped to facilitate conversations and assemble core teams in our learning communities.

Imagine yourself immersed in a field of learning with other people like you – people who are dedicated, crazy passionate, experienced and determined to do what it takes to create learning communities where people support each other, learn together.

• What if cultivating engaged learning communities was essential to creating the change needed in our times?

• How can we increase our capacities to create learning environments that surface diverse perspectives, gifts and skills for the betterment of humanity?

• How do we hold the tension of leading a group or project to keep moving forward and also creating an inclusive environment where people are invested to take action?

• What does it take to cultivate learning communities that inspire courage and confidence in learners so that they may fearlessly address the challenges of our times?  

In a 3 day action learning intensive, we will explore methodologies, frameworks, practices and patterns for facilitating and hosting learning communities and organizations. We will inquire into what is essential when learners gather together around a shared purpose to address the complex challenges of our times.

There are a myriad of complex challenges and opportunities facing humanity today. From the global decline of our natural resources to the growing gap between the rich and the poor, and from systemic barriers in our education, healthcare and financial systems to mass incarceration and the school to prison pipeline. There is an ever increasing need for learningcommunities and human to human connection, peopleworking together to address these challenges and move towards a future that serves the greatest good.

What if we transcend our current learning paradigm of downloading information and increase our skills of unearthing diverse perspectives, recognizing and utilizing gifts and capabilities, and collaboratively creating socially impactful learning spaces?

Our times are calling for a new approach.

“Cooperative learning is one step beyond just learning next to another to learning with, by, and for each other” MW Metzler

This event is based on the methodology of the Art of Hosting Conversations that Matter – a powerful suite of facilitative practices and practical frameworks to help groups more effectively work across traditional boundaries. Practices used include Appreciative Inquiry, World Café, Proaction Café, Open Space Technology, and Circle Practice. These practices used together become an effective way to help people lead and help groups move into connection and deep conversation and action. They allow groups of any size to harness collective wisdom and activate self-organizing capacities. To learn more www.artofhosting.org.

It is a participatory and interactive action-learning approach, where you learn by engaging and doing. The intensive is not for spectators. You will be given opportunity to step up your facilitation skills and host others and be in active inquiry around real issues that face our communities. Our intent is that you leave ready to implement what you learn.