Packing Slip 
item |
Facilitator Preparation Retreat--Center for Formation in the Community College |
contact |
Pam Davenport (Chandler-Gilbert Community College) pam.davenport@cgcmail.maricopa.edu |
credits |
Darby Heath |
college(s) |
Chandler-Gilbert Community College Phoenix College |
discipline(s) |
All subject areas, including composition and literature. |
summary |
I participated in a retreat where I was trained as a formation facilitator. I gained practical knowledge and a theoretical foundation to help me create environments where trust leads to reflection and action. |
details |
With my colleague Darby Heath, I attended the Facilitator Preparation Retreat offered by the Center for Formation in the Community College (CFCC), in Taos, NM, May 22-28, 2006. I learned through the retreat how to better facilitate groups of people in classes, workshops, meetings, and retreats, using the concepts of “Formation,” as outlined in the writings and teachings of Parker J. Palmer. The concepts of Formation, according to the CFCC “make connections between the renewal of the educator’s spirit and revitalization of education.” I gained tools I have already used in my capacity as co-director of the Maricopa Writing Project in June and which I will infuse into the courses I teach and the faculty development activities I lead. These tools include techniques for engaging others in formative and reflective activities. ------------------------------------------------------------ Outcomes: In a paragraph or two describe what worked well. Did you accomplish your objective(s)? Were you able to complete your summer project as written? If not, what did you modify and why? What did not go as well as expected, if anything? Were there any surprises? Note: Use the questions as guides for your outcomes. Do not include detailed list of workshops attended, speakers who presented, or a list of items you have seen, heard, or read. ------------------------------------------------------------ I accomplished all of my objectives for the summer project. I have learned ways to better facilitate gatherings of people—in workshops, retreats, meetings, and classes--to help them to integrate the inner life of the spirit with the outer life of work. I also began an ongoing study and evaluation of the Formation model and process as it is used at various colleges, for the purpose of infusing Formation across MCCCD. To this end, I have been meeting with other trained Formation facilitators from colleges within Maricopa to make plans for incorporating the most valuable components of Formation into our work as facilitators and teachers. The training actually exceeded my high expectations. For example, I learned how to honor and use silence in a class or workshop. This practice fits in well with my recent reading in the area of brain research, understanding the significance of reflection in the learning process. I also gained from the project a strong sense of the need to experience the concepts Parker Palmer presents in his books; it is not enough to read about his ideas. ------------------------------------------------------------ Professional Growth: Your own professional growth is a large part of your project. Your professional growth is important to you, your students, your college, and possibly other colleagues. How did project affect you professionally? What skills did you learn? What environments were you working in and how might your summer project influence your teaching or other responsibilities? Did you gain a different perspective? Was it professionally valuable for you? ------------------------------------------------------------ My professional growth has been enhanced in a myriad of ways, including those outlined below, related to each objective for my summer project to attend Formation Facilitator Training: *Develop workshops. With my MCCCD colleagues I am developing workshops and retreats using the Formation concepts. I am even more convinced of the value of these workshops. As Parker Palmer writes in his book The Courage to Teach, “good teaching cannot be reduced to technique; good teaching comes from the identity and integrity of the teacher.” In thirty years of teaching and involvement with faculty development, I have learned, used, and shared many techniques. Formation has provided ways to involve myself in the very soul of teaching. *Sample and Evaluate Formation Programs. I am bringing back to MCCCD best practices for the use of formation philosophy and applications. Infuse Formation Concepts into My Teaching. I have learned how to better create spaces of trust where deep learning can occur, which will enhance every class that I teach. *Lead writing retreats. This summer project has provided new methods for using writing to get teachers energized and excited about our teaching and the work we do together as colleagues, which is at the heart of writing retreats that I lead twice a year. *Maricopa Writing Project. The training from my project provided new knowledge and techniques for creating dynamic spaces for learning that I am sharing with faculty from across MCCCD colleges through the MWP. I believe I am better able to help MCCCD faculty from all disciplines make connections among their own writing, their students’ work, and the personal and public aspects of both. *Network for Excellence II. My project provided techniques for leading Network II, a faculty development program for new faculty. I will use Formation techniques and share them with the new teachers. *Serve our Community. I feel more prepared to provide workshops and retreats for our community, which is one of our campus goals. ------------------------------------------------------------ Dissemination: How will you share this information with your colleagues, department, students, or college? ------------------------------------------------------------ Through training provided by the CFCC at the Taos retreat, I am now a Formation facilitator, prepared to lead workshops and retreats in Formation. With my CGCC colleague, Darby Heath, I will provide a series of retreats for the purpose of exploring how our individual identity and integrity informs our teaching. I am also meeting with the other MCCCD facilitators to plan how to further infuse Formation across Maricopa. Next summer we plan to have facilitators and others who have participated in Formation activities (Seeds of True Self, Community Conversations), along with others from MCCCD, involved in the Maricopa Writing Project. From that project will emerge writing on Formation. At some point, these writings will be published. Note! As a professional courtesy to the owner of this package, if you use some aspect of this package or have some thoughts about it, please share your feedback via the comments form below. |
web links |
http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/fpg/ |
shareback |
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extra |
Last modified: Sep-05-2006 Date created: Sep-05-2006 Visitor count: 2017 Dublin Core Metadata record  This package is included in the Faculty Professional Growth Summer Project Reports special collection. |
Maricopa Learning eXchange
http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/mlx/slip.php?item=01853
