Coach Nuran Al-Sulaimi-Enlightenment Through Design and Facilitation eXperience

About the Author

Nuran Al-Sulaimi, from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – a clinical nutritionist, holistic health coach, and practitioner of functional medicine and lifestyle medicine. She has obtained an Advanced Training of Trainers (TOT) certificate, and has provided courses and workshops for nutritional education in her field of expertise, which is an essential aspect of the wellness system in its various dimensions.

About the Learners

20  learners of various genders, aged between 25 and 45 years who experience difficulty in carrying out their daily routines due to chronic symptoms such as reflux, nausea and vomiting, constipation and/or diarrhea, bloating and gas, abdominal pain, lethargy, and fatigue.

Case Study Background

I have always provided various courses and workshops for nutritional education – my field of specialty – which is an essential part of the holistic wellness system. Through my love for continuous learning and development, I was looking for more enlightenment and to acquire scientific tools to design exceptional programs and experiences that improve people’s lives. Thankfully, my journey as a designer flourished after joining the wellness team at the International Medical Center in Jeddah which in turn provided me with the opportunity to join the learning journeys of SeGa Group. I joined FIRST journeys and experienced both the LXF facilitator journey and the LXD designer journey. Both journeys were face-to-face, learner-centered, and had a lasting impact, characterized by positive interactive cooperation between learners and the use of Flipchart and appropriate tools. Both journeys were smooth, supported by asynchronous interactions, and both were supportive, motivating, inspiring, and filled with enlightenment, valuable gifts, souvenirs, and certificates, in addition to rich learning resources. The domains and principles of the FIRST framework were applied, and I witnessed many opportunities for application and practice during the journey for what will be applied later. I experienced both journeys wearing the hat of the designer, facilitator, and learner, and switched between them according to the context and need. The LXF facilitator journey was my First eXperience to learn about the FIRST-ADLX framework. The number of days was greater, which required more physical effort and less mental effort while the LXD designer journey required more mental effort with fewer learners. We interacted with a specific group for most of the journey, during which we used electronic platforms such as Session Lab and Miro. Everything I experienced during FIRST journeys had a significant impact on my design and facilitation of learning journeys. After FIRST journeys, I am not the same person I was before them.

Before FIRST

The “Digestive Wellness Journey” was the first design journey with colleagues, where I helped generate and develop activity ideas and workshop (as we used to call it before FIRST), in addition to developing accompanying materials such as a mini-presentation, learning material, and exercise booklet using relevant animated visuals. Although I had not yet been exposed to design maps, designer mindset, or FIRST domains and principles, I was practicing some designer mindset without realizing it, such as:

·       Visual Mindset: Designing on Session Lab and thinking with drawings and images.

·       Divergence/Convergence: Generating a set of activity ideas in a session, then choosing the appropriate activities in another session.

·       Collaboration: Designing with fellow designers.

·       Dynamic: Moving between different parts of the journey without a specific order.

·       Iterations: Changing or improving ideas in each session.

·       Prototype: Presenting an experimental prototype of the mini-presentation with animated visuals and exercise booklet.

·       Pilot: Experiencing the basic activities of educational meeting

·       Empathy: Trying to connect concepts and learning material to the learner using the themes and animated visuals

·       Growth: Designing with a team, exchanging ideas and experiences, and accepting failure as opportunities to learn and improve.

During and After the Facilitator Journey with SeGa

It was my first time experiencing the domains and principles of the framework, and I played several roles: as a learner experiencing the FIRST framework to live and be influenced by an Active Deep Learner eXperience, and as a designer and program facilitator aspiring to master the design and facilitation of Active Deep Learner eXperiences so that I can achieve the desired and sustainable impact. I was keen to observe the touchpoints that the learner goes through during the entire journey, whether people or things.

Before the first synchronous session, the domain of “Focusing on the Learner Behavior – the principle of Individualization” was striking to me and aligned with my work as a coach, through responding to learner interactions in the “WhatsApp” group individually and specifically, as each learner goes through a unique LX, in addition to taking care of all the details, even the colors used in the guide, tools, booklets, and gifts. I felt curious and enthusiastic but nervous, meeting other learners in person for the first time wasn’t easy, but the ice-breaking method of ” each person approaching the person they know least and trying to talk to them and get to know them more closely, and then moving on to get to know the rest of the colleagues” was effective in reducing tension and paving the way for the positive collaborative interaction that would take place during the journey between the learners.

 In addition to the different methods of dividing and redistributing groups so that each learner interacts with a different group each time as much as possible without disrupting the flow. The more the learner himself interacted with different learners, shared ideas, feelings, skills, and experiences, the more each of them came out with different learning outcomes.  While the same learners went through the same journey, each of them came out with a different LX. The LX focuses on the learner himself, and the sustainability of the impact transmitted to him. It is worth noting that the use of intentional use of the Flipchart solely throughout the learning sessions, for linking, summarizing, clarifying, writing with the learners, and building on their interactions, was very effective, as it enhances the effect of recalling the LX, in addition to confirming the possibility of living an Active Deep Learner eXperience through the whole journey of learning with the simplest tools.

The learning material sources provided by SeGa, including cards, booklets, and presentations on the learning platform, contained explanations and illustrative examples, and they were very valuable as I went back and forth to them during the design and recorded the facilitator’s instructions as well.

Completing the design of the “Digestive Wellness Journey” after the facilitator’s journey with SeGa and a number of meetings and follow-up and guidance sessions with experts and colleagues was full of challenges. I had not yet been exposed to the designer’s mindsets and tools, and I was using the design tools (Design Maps) with the mindset that they have a beginning and an end point, and that they are templates to fill in. Therefore, I had difficulty moving around and spent a long time at a certain point for improvement, many concepts became mixed up, and perhaps I spent too long wearing a hat at this stage. I felt frustrated at times, the need for enlightenment, learning, acquiring more skills, working as a team… etc.

 

After the Designer Journey with SeGa

The mentioned challenges had a significant impact on my development as a designer. The LXD journey provided me with skills and tools such as the designer mindsets and design tools which made it easier for me to move smoothly between different parts of the map during the design process, considering (Design Maps) as a free space that supports design decisions, not restricts them. Recalling and incorporating the domains and principles of the framework throughout the design process, in addition to writing the facilitator’s instructions, all helped in transforming the design into an Active Deep Learner eXperience My harmonious practice of design mindsets also played the biggest role in helping me face the challenges. I will share with you some examples, including but not limited to:

 

  • Visual Mindset: I made some adjustments to stimulate creativity and form a general vision while making it easy to save the design, navigate through it, and improve it with the team anytime and anywhere, so I did the following:
    • Designing on Session Lab.
    • Thinking with drawings, images, and videos.
    • Using Design Maps and Sticky notes.
    • Using Miro.
    • Using the Portfolio.
  • Divergence/Convergence Mindset: From the beginning, the opening (generating a set of activity ideas/questions and discussions to research in a session) and closing (choosing the appropriate and compatible activities with the journey/answers in another session) were determined in the design session
  • Collaboration Mindset: Participating in completing various design activities and tasks with the team, which saved time and effort and added value, touch, and vitality to each person, in addition to feedback to develop and improve the design.
  • Dynamic Mindset: Moving and navigating around and between Design Maps/Designer Mindsets/FIRST Domains & Principles and different parts of the journey without a specific order and as needed, supports inspiration, progress, and productivity in the design and ensures the compatibility of all parts of the journey with each other.
  • Iterative Mindset: Starting with  Iteration 0 where brainstorming (without restrictions, limits, order, or filtering) for everything related to the journey (from ideas, activities, content, people, place, and outputs) and then doing an infinite number of Iterations to generate, improve, refine, or change any design process in each session. For example, drawing a perception of the learner’s personality from our personal perspective as Iteration 1 invites us to research more deeply and realistically, and avoid personal assumption using tools such as surveys, interviews, and social media… etc. Then, Iterations 2,3,4. are produced

 

  • Prototype: Presenting an experimental prototype that speaks for itself (mini-presentation, exercise booklet, specific activity, mind map…).
  • Pilot: Experiencing an Active Deep Learner eXperience throughout the entire journey (synchronous and asynchronous activities at all touchpoints).
  • Growth: The risk lies in spending a lot of time and effort on a specific stage of the design without testing it, just because I feel it is incomplete or imperfect, as exposing it to realistic situations will make it easier for me to identify its strengths and weaknesses and build improvements on them, keeping in mind that early failure is better than late failure. Therefore, designing within a team, exchanging ideas, and accepting different points of view and experiences helped to identify shortcomings and build appropriate solutions for them. Also, allowing a prototype to come out, an initial LX, and then feedback for improvement and deepening along the way.
  • Empathy:  It is the holistic human view of the learner as a whole human being with with ideas, feelings, needs, experiences, and actions, etc. and with sincere curiosity to discover the keys to the different learner personalities and start from them and move through them in designing the Active Deep Learner eXperience, in addition to trying to connect, approximate, and simplify concepts and learning material for the learner and ensure the drawing of the overall journey sequence with learning meetings, asynchronous activities, and all touchpoints. I also drew the sequence of the learning meeting itself, where I ensured its smooth and clear flow for the learner, taking into account the learner’s status during the entire journey, linking the learner’s experience to his reality, and focusing on performance outcomes, transformation, and impact.

 

Impact of FIRST – ADLX Framework

The FIRST – ADLX framework undoubtedly had a positive impact on the work environment, and the impact was observed in the following points:

  • The language became unified between the design and facilitation team. Everyone experienced the journeys with different hats, practiced, and learned. We noticed growth as individuals and as a group in skills, mindsets, and experiences, from empathy, communication, cooperation, maturity, research, creativity, and breaking the routine, to the ability to face challenges, flexibility, acceptance of mistakes, resistance to ego, renewal, development, and continuous improvement, in addition to cooperation, harmony, and support as a team.
  • Availability of sources, tools, and references, distinction and diversity of programs and journeys offered by the team were also noticeable.
  • The team’s focus on the human learner and their awareness of the importance of comprehensive vision and a further, deeper, and more lasting impact were clearer.
  • On a personal level, there is no doubt that there is a lot of growth and maturity for me as an individual, designer, and facilitator of Learner eXperiences . I am more capable today of improving human well-being in all its dimensions and improving the quality of his life.
  • As an individual seeking continuous development and impact, I lived, practiced, applied, learned, acquired, commented, got frustrated, recorded, interacted, and communicated with many people (teachers and mentors, colleagues, learners and experts…) and things (tools, sources, ideas and inspiration, various activities, electronic platforms, different hats, unsuccessful experiences, feedback…) during the journeys.
  • As a designer, facilitator, and learner, I am on my way today to complete learning, practice, exploration, and enlightenment in designing and facilitating journeys. I understand today that every LX is a unique and different experience, even with the repetition of the same activities, outcomes, concepts, and tools.

 

Application of What I eXperienced in FIRST Journeys

I was keen to apply all the domains and principles of the framework in all stages, and I also drew inspiration from many ideas and activities from the journeys:

  • Using Flipcharts, Sticky notes, Session lab.
  • Inspiring ideas for activities from SeGa sources, including booklets, learning material, and YouTube videos.
  • Using search engines and Session lab library.
  • Designing design activities with the team, such as: (searching social media (Instagram) for Persona comments and questions to draw them realistically and delve deeper into their needs, questions, understanding their suffering and desires).
  • Identifying the key concepts and determining learning and performance outcomes, in addition to drawing a description of the journey.
  • Designing various learning activities such as: Experiments, Metaphors, Game based, Cooperative eXperience activities, Mini-presentations.
  • Using design tools in a way that serves the design harmoniously, and using design maps as a free space to support design decisions.
  • Recalling and applying the domains and principles of the framework throughout the design journey.
  • The design begins with an iteration and ends with a completely different iteration, and it is modified and developed into another iteration as well.
  • Design motivates you to be flexible, not to stick to your opinion, to resist yourself, to accept mistakes, and to experiment continuously, while focusing on the learner as a driver, guide, experimenter, and improver.
  • The development and transformation journey includes the designer, the facilitator, and the learner.
  • Experiencing the same journey several times but with different learners leads to: different outcomes and experiences for each learner and for each designer and facilitator of the journey.
  • You may face many challenges along your way, continue and look for solutions and inspiration, and remember to move between and around the various design tools flexibly and smoothly, you will inevitably find enlightenment at some point!
  • Continuous exchange between Zoom in/Zoom out is necessary most of the time, while ensuring the harmony of all parts of the design and making the journey simple and appropriate for the target learners. You will then have an impact  – without a doubt!
  • The designer draws a picture of the design and leaves space for the learner.
  • Focusing on the impact and performance outcomes throughout the design and facilitation process.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to SeGa Group for their continuous support and trusting us. My journey with SeGa has been full of challenges and achievements. I was able to take steady steps towards progress and excellence with hard work and diligence, seeking to achieve more positive impact, and continue my journey towards development and success. Thank you, we look forward to continued excellence and achievement together!

 

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