About the Facilitator and the Learners
My name is Janna Sablini. I’m a psychology graduate and an administrative volunteer from Beirut, Lebanon. I have experience working with diverse individuals and backgrounds. I’ve always been interested in understanding human behavior and motivations, which helps me understand learners and work on exploring their potential and developing their skills. As for the learners in this journey that I’ll be sharing with you, they are 20 female learners aged between 20 and 35, from various disciplines and backgrounds. They have diverse experiences and are characterized by their energy and openness.
Introduction
The topic I have chosen for this workshop is ‘failure and success.’ Many people see failure as the opposite of success and separate the two. However, contrary to these beliefs, failure is a gateway to success, and behind every failed experience lies wisdom and a lesson that can help achieve success. Unfortunately, society has portrayed failure as something negative and worthless, and in this workshop, I wanted to change the prevailing mindset about failure, transforming it from something negative into something positive, and thus enabling people to see failure as an opportunity for learning and development, rather than the end of the road.
Learning Outcomes
To achieve this change, I began by designing the main learning outcomes, along with the parallel learning outcomes, prioritizing the attitude learning outcomes. In this Implementation Story, I will share the main learning outcomes due to their direct relation to the topic.
Main Learning Outcomes
At the end of this journey, the learner will be able to:
Attitude Learning Outcomes:
- Feel more positive about failed experiences and accept them as opportunities for growth and learning.
Skill Learning Outcomes:
- Transform failed experiences into success;
- Deal with failure in a positive manner.
Knowledge Learning Outcomes
- Define failure as the beginning of the road to success.
The Implementation Story
I designed and facilitated a series of experience and learning activities, arranging them in a manner that aligns with their respective outcomes and the energy level each requires, while ensuring the flow and sequence of the session.
- Opener Activity: Each learner wrote on a sticky note defining success and what, in their opinion, contributes to achieving success. We then shared and discussed what was written.
- Learning Activity 1: In a mini presentation, the concept of failure, and society’s perspective on failure and success were addressed. In this activity, I applied the concept of balance between push and pull, emphasizing that a failed experience is the beginning of a journey, not the end.
- Learning Activity 2: Following the mini presentation, a video was shared. The main takeaway from the “reviewing actively stage” was that an individual may fail multiple times before achieving success, but setbacks should not discourage them or prevent them from persevering until they reach success. Examples of individuals and success stories preceded by numerous failed attempts and setbacks were shared (Thomas Edison, the founder of Alibaba, the stories of Prophet Joseph and the Prophet Muhammad). Additionally, the pleasure of success after failure was highlighted, and the accompanying feelings of success were pulled out from the learners.
- Energizer: To energize the learners, they were invited to leave the room and walk around for a short time before returning to their seats at a specified time.
- Linking and Summarizing Activity: After the energizer, a linking and summarizing activity was conducted. The learners stood facing each other, and each one spoke about what they had experienced up to that point.
- Learning Activity 3: In this activity, I wanted to reinforce the idea that individuals should welcome failure and view it positively as an opportunity for learning and a necessity for success. To do this, we formed a circle and played a game where a specific category, such as fruits, car models, or phone types, was chosen. The learners provided examples within the chosen category. If someone repeated an example or gave an incorrect one, they would stand inside the circle and celebrate. We then discussed this activity, and I pulled that failure is not as negative as society portrays it. Instead, we should accept it, reflect on our actions, reorganize our thoughts, and try again. Failure is an opportunity for contemplation, learning, and continuous growth.
- Learning Activity 4: I distributed papers to the learners and asked them to divide each paper into two sections. In the first section, they wrote about a failed experience, and in the second section, they wrote about the lesson they learned from that experience. Then, I invited a volunteer to share what he/she had written, and we discussed and reflected on it.
- Learning Activity 5: This activity was a continuation of the previous one. After some learners shared their experiences and reflections, I invited them to choose one section (failure or lesson) and throw it away. We then discussed why they chose to throw one section over the other. In this stage, I emphasized the importance of learning from failures and not thinking about them for more than 20% of our time. The remaining time should be spent thinking about how we can benefit from that failure.
- Linking and Summarizing Activity: We concluded the session by linking and summarizing the entire experience through creating a timeline of the events and repeating what we learned in each activity.
- Closing Activity: I invited the learners to provide indirect feedback by sharing their feelings and opinions about today’s session.
Implementing the Domains and Principles of FIRSTedu-ADLX
Throughout this session, I was careful to apply FIRSTedu-ADLX Framework in both design and facilitation through a series of activities and actions.
- The F-Domain
- Individualization: I personalized the experience by using the learners’ first names throughout the session, referring back to their contributions, and building upon their responses. For instance, when one learner mentioned that failure is the beginning of success in the first activity, I remembered this comment and referred back to it later while mentioning the learner’s name. I also gave each learner multiple opportunities to share their experiences, knowledge, and insights.
- Probing and Assessing: I frequently asked the learners to rephrase concepts and express their feelings about failure and success to assess their learning and provide feedback when needed. For example, when one learner shared her experience with “failure” and how her family perceived her as a failure, it provided an opportunity to check her understanding of the importance of persistence and not giving up in the face of challenges.
- Trust the Learner: I empowered the learners by allowing them to explain the instructions for the activities and share their own experiences, stories, and knowledge related to the topic.
2- The I-Domain
- Social Event: I encouraged the investment of energy and expertise among the participants and stimulated interaction and cooperative learning, making the session feel like a gathering of friends.
- Positive Spirit: I used humor, maintained a positive demeanor, and responded to incorrect answers with encouragement. Additionally, I incorporated educational games, such as in the third activity, as well as enjoyable and fun energizers to keep the learners engaged and prevent boredom.
- Motivation and Attention: I employed positive reinforcement to encourage the learners to participate and interact.
3- The R-Domain
I ensured the implementation of the three stages of the RAR model in each learning activity. For example, in the fourth learning activity, ‘Failure and Wisdom,’ I did the following:
- Readiness Stage: I distributed a paper and pen to each learner and asked them to fold the paper in half. They were invited to write about a failed experience in the first section and the lesson learned in the second section. I then invited one of the learners to repeat the instructions to ensure everyone understood before starting the activity facilitation stage.
- Activity Facilitation Stage: I circulated among the learners, providing guidance and support as they worked. I also encouraged them to assist each other.
- Active Review Stage: I asked the learners to reflect on what happened during the activity and what they did. Some volunteers shared their thoughts. Then, I asked them what they learned and what lessons they could take from this activity. Here, I pulled that every failed experience offers valuable lessons. We can either dwell on the failure or learn from it and build upon it to grow and learn. Afterward, I asked them how they would apply what they learned to future failed experiences and how they would change their perspective on failure. I pulled that they should no longer view failure as something negative but rather as an opportunity to learn.
4- The S- Domain
I diversified the activities, incorporating experience activities (opener, closing activity, linking and summarizing activities, energizers) and learning activities (mini-presentation, educational video, educational game, individual activity). I carefully considered the energy level required for each activity, ensuring that consecutive activities did not demand the same level of energy to avoid boredom and fatigue. Additionally, I divided the concepts into specific learning outcomes and verified their achievement through the reviewing actively stage before moving on to the next outcome or activity. To ensure a smooth and sequential flow, I was careful to repeat key concepts and reinforce learning outcomes in various ways throughout the session to avoid boredom (e.g., pair discussions, timelines).
5- The T-Domain
To implement this domain, I employed various activities and actions. Some examples include:
- Asking reflective questions to learners about failure and success, inviting them to connect these concepts to their own experiences.
- Encouraging learners to share personal stories of failure and the lessons they learned.
- Sharing real-life stories of famous individuals who experienced numerous failures before achieving success.
- Embracing the celebration of failure in real-life scenarios through activities such as “Celebrating Failure” and “Failure and Lessons Learned.”
- Encouraging learners to set future goals and take initiative to achieve them. At the end of the session, I spoke positively about their future success and encouraged them to share motivational phrases about perseverance, while pulling from them the feelings they might experience upon achieving success.
Impact of Applying FIRSTedu-ADLX Framework
On the Facilitator:
The application of FIRSTedu-ADLX Framework significantly enhanced my understanding of the framework. As I began preparing and sequencing the material for the journey, all the concepts of the framework and their interconnections became clear to me. I gained a better understanding of how to plan and prepare, focusing on outcomes, domains, and principles. During the journey, we applied each single domain, which helped to solidify the concepts practically. As a result, I became proficient in preparing and delivering any material in a way that is suitable for learners and leaves a positive impact. My perspective on learning sessions has changed, and I now believe in the importance of applying the framework in all educational activities. The application of FIRSTedu-ADLX Framework has led to a radical transformation in my practices. Interaction between me and the participants, as well as among the participants themselves, has increased significantly. The learners left the session equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to apply what they experienced. Unlike the traditional methods I used to follow, which focused on the transmission of information in a didactic manner, FIRST-ADLX Framework makes learning an interactive and enjoyable experience, transforming learning sessions into Active Deep Learner eXperiences.
On the Learners:
Participant feedback indicated that the session was significantly more engaging compared to other workshops and meetings they had attended. Some participants expressed surprise at the abundance of activities compared to other sessions. Consequently, the application of FIRST-ADLX Framework had a positive impact on the learners. They did not experience boredom during the session, and the concepts were reinforced more effectively. For some, their perceptions and beliefs about failure shifted. At the beginning of the workshop, they viewed failure as the opposite of success. However, by the end, after their experiences in the session, they realized that failure is actually the beginning of success.
