It has been a while since I shared any updates on how our Reflective Group in Dnipro has been doing. As you may remember, we resumed our meetings in 2022 and met monthly between June and September. We then made a long pause for the winter of 2022/2023 due to power shortages and blackouts in Ukraine. In the summer of 2023, we resumed our monthly meet-ups. Here I’d like to share our meeting topics for the ending year, in the hope they could give someone an inspiration to start a similar conversation with colleagues. So…
Where you can find out group members in 2023.
June: Re-union and Re-start
- Where are we? How are we?
- Would we like to resume our meetings?
- Meeting idea: old format (topic-based) or new style (person-based)?
July: Zhenya, It’s all in your hands!
We tried out a new meeting format: Synergy Spotlight. I shared a burning question about a project on my mind (yes, you guessed which one it was!) and asked for ideas and input from the group. It was helpful for me to prepare my reflection for this meeting, to put the ideas together and to share what exactly made me stuck. The meeting offered a helpful and honest feedback on the project as is, and some ways to sort things out.
The ‘Synergy’ meeting idea did not work as well as I had imagined it would, but it was worth trying. Possibly, since we are all based in very different contexts (and countries!) and our roles are too different, and sometimes, not even ELT-related, it can be hard to experiment with a new format. Or maybe, it is a topic for a different post, with a chance to ask readers for some advice.
August: The Rise of AI in Language Learning
Not only the coolest title in the history of our group meetings but also the fantastic slide deck and a meaningful presentation by Oksana. We discussed Chat GPT, Bard, and Twee (at that time it was still free for everyone). We also shared how we use(d) these tools differently in the various teaching and non-teaching roles we play: as curriculum designers, content writers, translators, and others.
October: Professional Development Courses
A facilitator-less meeting where everyone was invited to share. Even though we put ‘courses’ into the topic, it could be any other event that had been meaningful for the members. Some of us (myself included) ended up sharing which courses were memorable and I would like to retake or revisit. One of the greatest parts of this meeting was learning about non-ELT courses people have taken. Lots and lots of insights!
These were our pre-meeting questions:
- What/where was the course?
- What did you like about it? What did you find useful? How did it help you in the job you are doing?
- Was there anything you did not like about it?
November: Teaching Teenagers
The topic was brought up by one of our members who was offered a new teaching job in a school abroad. We all thought about the tips, tricks, dos and don’ts based on our teaching experience in Ukraine and abroad. The meeting was a rich meaningful conversation about our beliefs and practices. It was useful for all the members, not only those working with teens.
December: One Activity Swap Shop
For this meeting, we took a broader Interpretation of ‘Activity’: we could bring a task or a lesson idea done recently, a resource that could work for more than one context, a lesson format that was well welcomed by the students, or even a quote that generated a rich discussion.
This meeting was on the pre-Christmas Saturday, and as it often happens on the last event of the year, the context was a reflection on our 2023 and planning our 2024. I ended up sharing (and partially trying out) my One Word activity.
A colleague (Vika) shared how she turned a humorous activity into a student-generated project for several lessons. One other colleague (Oksana) described a gift-giving tradition she established at the end of the calendar year, and how a gift to students brings a whole new lesson topic and helps to strengthen the relationships. Another colleague (Inessa) offered a metaphor activity to reflect on our values, resources, destinations, and people in our lives.
We briefly talked about our future meeting ideas and wished each other a peaceful year ahead. In times of turbulence and changes, we all admitted how important it was to have each other for the meetings, the group chat, and for the support. Some members are currently in Dnipro, and I am looking forward to the pictures of an actual get-together!
What about you: are you facilitating any reflective practice group meetings (aka communities of practice)? If yes, what have you been talking about? Do any of our discussions resonate?
Thank you for reading! 🙂
Wednesday Seminars 