Applying FIRST-ADLX Framework with vocational college students: The Laws of Growth Journey

Facilitator Biography

Amir AbdulKarim Sobra is an Islamic scholar and educator with extensive knowledge of Islamic law, Islamic-Christian relations, and religious sciences. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Islamic law, a Master’s degree in Islamic-Christian relations, and a Ph.D. in religious sciences. He is also a university professor and the founder and trainer of various Islamic and historical programs, with a focus on the sciences of the Qur’an and comparative religions. Additionally, he is the author of several books on science and Quranic studies. Currently, he serves as the head of the religious education department at Al Irshad Wal Islah  Association, where he continues to share his knowledge and expertise with students and scholars alike. 

Background and Rationale

After providing training courses in the fields of Qur’anic, Sharia, and historical sciences for many years, I realized the need to shift my focus from solely mastering the content to effectively delivering it to learners. This realization led me to explore new approaches to teaching and learning. That’s when I came across “FIRST-ADLX Introductory Journey”, which provided me with an opportunity to reflect, change, and engage in self-development. Throughout this learning journey, I gained insights into the significance of defining the learner’s characteristics (Persona), designing ahead for the whole journey, nurturing a positive spirit and healthy relationships among learners, prioritizing pulling over pushing whenever possible, and categorizing activities based on their type (Pre-Opener, Opener, RAR, Closure, Linking and Summarizing, Energizer, missions). Additionally, I discovered the importance of providing my learners with various opportunities to reflect and self-develop, rather than simply presenting or pushing information.

Context 

The training program was conducted in Jiyeh, Lebanon, and was attended by 45 students from a vocational institute. These young individuals were suffering from frustration in the crisis-ridden atmosphere of the country and the negative impression they received from society.

Introduction

The journey, I designed and facilitated,  consists of five learning trips, tailored to six different groups of students with varying class sizes ranging from 5 to 25. 

The journey contributes to educating young people on identifying their talents (latent abilities) and developing them, in order to  change their way of thinking and guide their choices towards positively dealing with life, thus enhancing their ability to build hope and face challenges.

The Process

The Learners’ Persona

The process began by outlining the learners’ persona:

  • Things they see: Tik Tok and other social media platforms
  • Things they hear: songs, insults, bullying, orders, negative comments about reality, and doubts
  • How they feel: frustrated and depressed because of some challenging unattainable expectations
  • Things  they think about loss, confusion, a negative view of reality, religion, faith, and despair
  • Things they do: imitate videos and follow trends.
  • Things they say: talk about their society’s crisis, idle talk, gossip, insults, bullying, etc…
  • Their needs and desires: self-affirmation, skill development, self-discovery, thirst for expression, benefit, and filling a void
  • Their challenges: balancing independence and attachment, struggling with a lack of adaptation

Identifying The Learning Outcomes

Subsequently, the main and parallel learning outcomes (Attitude, Skill, and Knowledge) in addition to the performance outcomes were identified as follows:

Main Learning Outcomes

Attitude

  • Learners will feel the importance of holding positive self-accountability (having certain faith in relief), and appreciate the values of giving and sacrifice.

Skill

  • Learners will organize their way of thinking, deal well with failure, and be able to set steps for self-development plans.

Knowledge

  • Learners will realize that change is possible and starts from within, challenges are growth opportunities when prepared for and dealt with well, and persistence and consistency are important in order to draw a positive outcome.
  • Learners will list the four laws and their rules (The law of will and intent, The law of methodology, The directive law, and The law of gratitude and giving). 

Parallel Learning Outcomes

Attitude

  • Learners will feel the importance of mutual respect among their peers.

Skill:

  •  Learners will practice thinking techniques in groups.

Knowledge

  • Learners will tell some success and failure stories.

Performance Outcomes

Attitude: 

  • Learners will feel the importance of serious contemplation about their future, and to look beyond their external reality and explore their inner aspirations.

Skill

  • Learners will monitor their strengths and weaknesses and set specific goals in all aspects of their life.

Knowledge

  • Learners will know how to grow cognitively toward their goals.

Identifying The Touch Points

The touch points were identified as follows:

  • People:  The main facilitator and the learners 
  • Things: Colored sheets, Classroom Furniture, and Supplies

Describing the Learner eXperience 

In addition to the touch points, the learner eXperience was described, including both desired and undesired characteristics.

Desired Characteristics: Attractive – Engaging – Developmental – Disciplined.
Undesired Characteristics: Boring – Stereotypical – Rigid.

Note: Due to administrative reasons, the program was held in a classroom setting within the institute, during working hours, and without electricity. The learners were provided with only papers and colored pens as tools.

Content

FIRST-ADLX Framework was used to teach four main laws: 

  • The law of will and intent (with rules of will, awareness, and courage)
  • The law of methodology (with rules of thinking, planning, and constancy)
  • The directive law (with rules of supportive modeling and growth environment)
  • The law of gratitude and giving (with a rule of contribution)

Each law was discussed in detail in one learning trip (session), with practical actions aligned with the domains and principles of FIRST-ADLX framework such as Focusing on the Learner, Interacting within Positive Group Dynamics, and Transforming Learning into Performance.

An activity that includes an inspiring story was assigned for each law, and learners were divided into teams to answer three questions: What, So What, and Now What. They were then assigned a practical mission to work on.

In the fifth learning session, learners presented their plans, which aimed to transform learning into realistic, tangible performance by specifying goals for different aspects of their lives.

The First Learning Trip 

At the time of the first learning trip, which was one of a five-meeting journey, I was eager to immerse myself in the learners’ eXperience, which I had witnessed at the beginning. As a result, instead of waiting for the learners in the classroom or teachers’ lounge, I went to the playground to interact with them. I noticed that some were optimistic, others hesitant, and some were playful. I even stood in line with them and witnessed the speech and directions they received from supervisors, all without being distinguished by others.

The learners were greatly surprised when I entered the classroom with them and sat at the facilitator’s table instead of the learners’ desks. Hence, they began to comprehend the situation, and their attention was strongly drawn to me, highlighting the difference between this learning experience from their previous ones.

I was eager to immerse the learners in the journey and facilitate their progress through various means, such as presentations, printed material, energizers, and active participation techniques. Despite the exhaustion that came with teaching six classes, I needed to get to know each learner’s unique characteristics and specialties. This allowed me to enrich my learning material and make necessary edits in response to their repeated questions and feedback so that this learning material assists me in creating an Active Deep Learner eXperience.

The Sequence of Activities

The learners formed a circle for the first activity and participated in various group activities which encouraged positive interaction and cohesiveness among them (Interacting within Positive Group Dynamics Domain).

Among the goals of the day were to acquaint the learners with the facilitator and with each other, provide them with an overview of the journey’s content, and introduce them to some inspiring stories, including that of America’s General Surgeon, Dr. Richard Carmona. In addition, the learners were introduced to The Good Growth Program, and the classroom rules were set, emphasizing the importance of collaboration, cooperation, and respect among the learners. These learning outcomes were designed to create a positive learning environment and to encourage the learners to work together as a team throughout the journey.

The session lasted for fifty-five minutes, and a set of activities were sequenced to ensure its smooth flow (Sequencing Domain).

Opener (3 mins)

The learners were invited to share their feelings at the beginning of this journey (Focusing on the Learner Domain)

RAR Activity 1:

  • Duration: 30 minutes
  • Readiness Increase (5 mins): The learners were divided into groups, invited to show readiness to read an inspiring story (the story of the ascent of the merchant Ibrahim in Jordan), and provided with clear instructions.
  • Activity Facilitation  (10 minutes): 

The learners had three minutes to read the story and discuss the following questions:

  1. How did Ibrahim perceive his situation as a porter?
  2. How did he develop his abilities to deal with the challenges of his life and getting fired?
  3. What was the turning point that made him become the merchant he is today?

During the activity, I monitored the learners, facilitated their mission, clarified ambiguities, and distributed cookies to motivate them.

  • Reviewing Actively (15 minutes): 

To help the learners reflect on their learning and connect the knowledge learned to real life, I used the “What? So What? Now What?” reflective model.

RAR Activity 2 ( Drawing on the Board) 

  • Duration: 5 minutes
  • Readiness Increase: The learners were invited to listen attentively to a mini-presentation.
  • Activity Facilitation: A mini-presentation was delivered in which I presented and explained the rules of the laws “the law of will and intent, the law of methodology, the directive law, and the law of gratitude and giving”. It was emphasized that to achieve one’s latent capabilities and goals, one must grow in scientific, personal, spiritual, social, health, family, professional, and material aspects of life. To illustrate this point, a bicycle wheel was drawn on the board, with each area of growth represented as a spoke on the wheel. It was highlighted that to grow, one must have the willpower and awareness to monitor their current strengths and weaknesses in each area. The learners were encouraged to push their limits and stretch their courage between their current position and their desired position.
  • Reviewing Actively: Again, the “What? So What? Now What?” reflective model was used to help the learners draw insights from the activity and grow aware of the lessons learned.

Closure

  • Duration: 2 minutes

The learners’ feelings were pulled, and their feedback was collected.

  • Interactive Mission (10 minutes)

Over the following week, the learners were invited to participate in an interactive mission. They were asked to monitor their areas of strength and areas for improvement, design a personal growth plan, and prioritize activities that align with their strengths (Transforming Learning into Performance Domain).

Note that I made a conscious effort to maintain high morale during the subsequent meetings to help foster a positive learning environment among students at the institute.

 Findings

As a facilitator, I found that utilizing the focusing techniques (Focusing on the Learner Domain and Reviewing Activities Within RAR Model Domain) helped to effectively engage the learners in the learning process, motivate them to complete the weekly interactive missions,  and reduce the effort required on my part. Overall, this experience showed that effective facilitation is possible even in challenging circumstances and with limited time available, given a pre-designed sequence and active learner participation (Sequencing Domain and Interacting Within Positive Group Dynamics Domain).

Regarding the learners, they provided positive feedback and expressed a desire to participate in similar learning journeys in the future. They highly evaluated the journey and its accompanying activities. The results of their questionnaire indicated a favorable impression of FIRST-ADLX framework domains, and they found the interactive missions to be particularly helpful in setting personal growth plans.  

Forty-five learners filled out the feedback form at the end of the journey, and the results were as follows:

Excellent Very Good Good Fair Weak
The Quality of the Content 28 11 3 3
The Quality of the Supplementary Material and Tools 20 14 7 4
Time Allowed for Discussion and Sharing of Insights 23 16 4 2
The Activities Effectiveness 27 11 2 3 2
The Facilitator’s Mastery of the Subject Matter 32 6 2 3 2
  • The journey addresses my professional needs:

34 (Yes) – 7 (No) – 4 (No Response)

  • The journey encouraged my self-development:

35 (Yes) – 7 (No) – 3 (No Response)

  • Would you recommend this journey to others? 

36 (Yes) – 5 (No) – 4 (No Response)

 

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