The Little Book of Restorative Teaching Tools by Lindsey Pointer

Author:Lindsey Pointer
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781680995893
Publisher: Good Books
Published: 2020-02-19T16:00:00+00:00

6.

How to Design an Experiential Activity for Teaching Restorative Practices

As I coach new volunteers through their first several experiences facilitating community restorative justice processes, the most common feedback I offer is to use more reflective statements and to practice reframing inflammatory or unhelpful statements. My coworkers and I agree that reflecting and reframing are two of the most essential skills needed by facilitators to take on more high-stakes cases and effectively manage the “difficultator” (our term of endearment for that person most likely to throw a curveball severe enough that it could make the whole restorative justice process go sideways).

Reflection and reframing require a facilitator to think on their feet, sometimes in a moment when they may feel uncomfortable, uncertain, or escalated. Knowing we could use an experiential activity to address this need, we created “Mirror Mirror” and “Race to Reframe.” These games provide a low-pressure way to practice these important skills. While “Mirror Mirror” can be used early during a class to generate connection while practicing reflective statements, “Race to Reframe” works well at the end of a class because it adds an element of time pressure and gets people laughing and competing. After several deliveries of “Race to Reframe,” we recognized it was necessary to increase the offensiveness of the statements needing to be reframed, in order to push the skill development of our advanced facilitators. We continue to revisit and adapt both games according to the context and skill level of the group in order to keep them fun and challenging.

—Kathleen McGoey

This chapter describes six steps for designing games and experiential activities for teaching restorative practices, including how to write scenarios and lead an effective debrief of the game or activity to deepen learning. These aspects of design and delivery are intended to help learners to understand the connection between the “micro” learning experience and the larger “macro” issues, concepts, or skills being taught.

Designing an Activity Step 1: Cultivate Self-Reflection and Willingness to Learn

The first step in the process of designing a restorative experiential learning activity is taking the time to reflect on your own relationship to and understanding of a topic. This will include identifying and considering your relevant history, assumptions, and biases. In order to be an effective teacher, you must be willing to learn through the teaching process.

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