About Groupatwork and Experiential Learning
You’re due for surgery tomorrow morning. Your surgeon graduated from medical school at the top of her class. She tells you not to worry. She has watched hundreds of hours of videos of surgery, so it makes no difference, she says, that she hasn’t actually operated on a body. You’re the first. Still want to go tomorrow?
Your surgeon may be brilliant, but she is lacking “real world” experience, and this has justifiably shaken your confidence. The world of learning is no different. People can sit and listen, or read, and sure, they’ll pick up something, but it won’t last. When they leave the venue, the content lasts for a brief time and then disappears like a smoke wisp. Real learning requires dirty hands. It’s when we shake off the passive approach and immerse ourselves in the learning experience that the roots take hold and students are able to learn and do something differently.
About Alison McEachern
Alison was forced to take piano lessons as a child. She hated it. But then she started teaching others how to play the piano and she discovered that she loved it - not the piano… she still hates the piano… but she loved teaching. By the time she finished her undergraduate degree she had a flourishing “piano school”, teaching people of all ages, and she knew that she wanted to teach.
In the summer of 1989, Alison’s teaching horizons broadened when she discovered experiential learning while attending St FX’s Diploma in Adult Ed Program, and the rest was history. So was the piano. She instantly knew what she wanted to do and it changed the course of her career. After completing her Masters of Education, Alison launched her own learning company, Groupatwork, in 1992 and joined the St FX facilitation team in 1995. In addition to her work with St FX, she has designed and delivered in-person and online experiential learning programs for universities, colleges, provincial and municipal governments, health care, non profit and private sector organizations across Canada and the United States.
Her interest in experiential learning extends to travel and the outdoors. Alison is certified in wilderness first aid and wilderness navigation…..fortunately she has never been lost or hurt.