I have been looking forward to the Liberating Structures Workshop for ages – since I first learned about it at the Fall ETUG event. I had big ambitions to visit the site and explore all the blog posts and descriptions of the 33 liberating structures but, as with many of the other participants here, I ran out of time. 

We began Day 1 with a familiar activity with a twist – Impromptu Networking was a focused "meet & greet" activity – timed cycles where we paired up and shared what we hoped to get from the workshop and what we could contribute, and a challenge we hoped to focus on. I've done smiliar icebreakers before but liked the 3 cycles we went through with a debrief with Keith McCandless & team to really think about the value and purpose of the action.

And the rest of the day progressed from there – we walked the talk for sure – involved in activities with short bursts of guiding discussion and instructions between each brief but intense "gulps" of learning. Some participants questioned the consistent chime and bell nudges but it kept a group of disparate individuals (over a 100) moving through and experiencing and even sharing reflections throughout the day. Lots more to write about but I'm about to start Day 2.

Last thought:  I did a rough review of my notes and we tested and reflected / "unpacked" our experiences of over 12 different micro-structures. Definitely the co-developer of Liberating Structures Keith McCandless and his "Dream Team":  Tracy Kelly, BCcampus Professional Learning, Leva Lee, Open Learning/ETUG, Kele Fleming, UBC CTLT and, Cathy , Shawna Fenwick, consultant, and Fisher Qua, consultant  were amazing and provided me with all kinds of ideas to make my next facilitation event flow smoothly and provide a great experience for participants.