Category: Education

  • Template for Student Notes

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    I’ve written a lot about documenting as a facilitator in self-directed learning spaces. Every update of the ALC Network website or Starter Kit, I rework the section on documentation based on what I see day-to-day. There are always more questions for facilitators to consider: How much documentation should be from you versus from the young…

  • On Change, pt. 3

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    Surprise! Change comes! Expect it!  This includes expecting forgetfulness and inertia from self and others. We have limitations and tendencies as humans, and networks of humans. Without support, we can lose perspective, our anchoring in ourselves, or our agility. Acknowledging this, we can then create systems to help us meet the changing world well.  Whether…

  • On Change, pt 2

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    Sometimes, teams fail to account for change happening to them even when they have, as Agile Learning Centers do, explicit expectations and systems for responding supportively to changes in their students’ goals, clients’ visions, or the enveloping environment. In theory and practice, the team members embrace change, design for it, and may even be loud…

  • On Change, pt 1

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    ALC Network Starter Kit addendum There’s a section in the ALC Network Starter Kit called “Season Change and Maintenance,” which was added even though the guide was for teams just getting started for two main reasons. First, those of us working on the document realized that setting expectations and prompting folks to think long-term from…

  • E-Book Audio: Section 8 + Reflections Transcript

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    I went a little off-script recording. So here’s a transcript! All recordings are now up at https://soundcloud.com/sde_dispatches/sets/self-directed-education-and-the-agile-learning-approach-an-introduction Hey, welcome to Holding Unfolding, a podcast exploring facilitation that for the past seven episodes has been exploring chapters of an e-book that I put together on some of the, like, context and history and ideas that are…

  • E-Book: audio read-through

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    When working with students or friends to polish something they’ve written, one of my favorite exercises is reading the piece aloud to them. It helps them hear where they lose the thread of their thoughts, in a way that silently re-reading the piece over and over to themselves might not make obvious. I like that…

  • Agile E-Book: Update 3 (of 3)

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    Just updated my page at https://leanpub.com/selfdirectededucationintro with copies of the e-book that include full references, annotated resource lists, and descriptions or web addresses instead of links! Having just finished the first session on an online seminar series on agile learning with friends from CollectiveUP, I’m thinking back to all the topics I wrote in Update…

  • Agile E-Book: Update 2 (of 3)

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    There’s an updated version of my e-book up at LeanPub! The first version was reformatted and lightly edited content from the online course I made for the Agile Learning Center NYC in 2021. While my writing in the Starter Kit, Annual Reports, and elsewhere is typically focused on facilitation, I made the course for people…

  • Agile E-Book: Update 1 (of 3)

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    Trying to run an independent school on sliding scale tuition through an experience of being the US epicenter of a pandemic was…really something. More trying than the initial transition were the few years that followed, where challenges and changes kept coming long after we had worn down our reserves of funding and energy. More to…

  • They’re supposed to play all day…

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    This is the second recording and transcript from a pair of events I hosted with Dr. Peter Gray in June of 2021. The first recording and transcript, as well as some context and commentary, are in this other post. Where the first event focused on content pointing out that forcing kids into coercive schooling institutions…

  • What if they play all day?

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    In June of 2021, I got to host 2 online events with Dr. Peter Gray where he discussed his newest books. Peter Gray is a research professor of psychology focused on play and education. He advocates offering kids a meaningful role in a supportive community, self-determination, access to relevant tools and resources, and abundant time…

  • Holding Unfolding – Episode 8 with Zed and David [transcript]

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    AbbyHi, welcome to episode eight of Holding Unfolding, a podcast about facilitation. I’m Abby Oulton. I use she/her pronouns. I’m located on Lenape lands in New York City, and this week I have a conversation with Zed and David O’Connor from the Agile Learning Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. And the conversation is a little bit…

  • Holding Unfolding, episode 7 with Jean Finlay

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    AbbyHi, welcome to Holding Unfolding, a podcast about facilitation. I’m Abby Oulton. I use she/her pronouns, and am based on unceded occupied Lenape lands, in New York City. I’m thinking about the politics of transcription and audio editing a lot these days, which is fun. And I have an interview for you this week, with…

  • Holding Unfolding, episode 6: NYC facilitation story (transcript)

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    Cover illustration by http://www.instagram.com/pharaohartwork/Music by http://www.bandlab.com/notdummroll Hi, welcome to Holding Unfolding, a podcast about facilitation. I’m Abby Oulton and I use she/her pronouns and I’m located on occupied, unceded Lenape lands, in East Harlem, New York City. And I haven’t put out an interview for a while because I was really attached to this, like,…

  • Holding Unfolding – episode 5 with Amber Sawyer (transcript)

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    Hi, welcome to Holding Unfolding, a podcast about facilitation. I’m Abby Oulton. I use she/her pronouns and am based in New York City on unceded Lenape lands. And I’m kind of having feelings about this being the fifth episode. Because that isn’t a whole lot in terms of Internet expectations for productivity, but, um, since…

  • Holding Unfolding – episode 4 with Julia Cordero (transcript)

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    Hi, welcome to episode four of Holding Unfolding, a podcast about facilitation. Shout out to Sterl a.k.a. DummrollPlease a.k.a. NotDummrollPlease a.k.a. PixellatedSkies for the new music. And always to Pharaoh for our cover art. I’m Abby Oulton. I use she/her pronouns. I’m based in East Harlem, on unceded and occupied Lenape land. And, uh, it’s…

  • Holding Unfolding – episode 2, Ryan Shollenberger

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    [00:00:00.150]Hi, it’s Abby Oulton, welcome to the second episode of Holding Unfolding, a podcast about facilitation. I’m not going to take too much time before we jump into the interview, but there are a couple of notes that I just wanted to give you before we jump in. So, there’s a point in the interview…

  • Holding Unfolding podcast – episode 1 with Mel Compo (transcript)

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    [00:00:01.140] – Abby We’re recording. Amazing. And do you want to start by introducing yourself, your name, where you’re at, your pronouns, anything around you that’s delightful? [00:00:17.140] – Mel Yeah, I would love to start there. So I’m Mel Compo. I use they/them pronouns. I’m currently in Brooklyn, New York, on stolen Lenape lands.…

  • Holding Unfolding podcast – Intro (transcript)

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    [00:00:01.140] Hi, welcome to the Prelude episode for Holding Unfolding, a podcast about facilitation. [00:00:09.880] My name is Abby Oulton and I she/her pronouns. And I’m based in East Harlem, New York City, in unceded, ancestral Lenape territory, and I’m based here for both my residence and for my work. And I work at an…

  • Crisis Response Notes

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    In March of 2020, I went digging for information on best practices for supporting kids through the unfolding and ongoing crisis of the coronavirus’ arrival in NYC. Yesterday, January 6th of 2021, I pulled my notes back out to plan my response to the storming of the US capitol. I would love to feel confident…