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Issue #25 - March 24, 2000 - LEARNING BY DOING
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Brought to you by Laurie Riddell Geary, M.Ed., Coaching you to get your life
IN GEAR by making shifts, getting unstuck, finding balance, accelerating your growth, and mapping the best route to your chosen destination: a perfect life.
 

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FEEDBACK from READERS:
Related to last week's issue on the importance of ACKNOWLEDGMENT, a quote: "The greatest need of every human being is the need for Appreciation" William James
 

I really appreciate any feedback readers send me, especially
personal stories related to the material.  Thank you!
And a special welcome to all my new readers!
 

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TABLE of CONTENTS:

*Topic: Learn by Doing -  The A+ Action
*Tarea: Homework to Move you Forward.
*Recommended Reading & Resourses
*Upcoming Teleclasses & Workshops
*Information on How to Subscribe/Unsubscribe
 

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TOPIC: LEARNING BY DOING - ACTION BUILDS SELF ESTEEM

     Take a moment and think about a time when you learned something - REALLY learned it. My guess is that physical action was involved.

     The experiential education model is what is used by Outward Bound and other outdoor training institutions to facilitate effective teambuilding through personal and professional growth. More and more corporations, professional groups, schools, and individuals are participating in experiential training programs because they see the lasting impact this approach to education and training can have on people's learning.

In 1975 David Kolb introduced the Kolb Experiential Learning Cycle identifying
 four stages in the cycle of experiential learning:
1. Concrete experience - ACTION
2. Observation and reflection
3. Assimilation into a theory - THOUGHT PROCESS
4. Active experimentation - CHANGE ACTION BASED ON  STEPS 2 & 3
 

     This approach to learning is quite different from what we are used to.
As an instructor for Outward Bound over the past five years,  I have come to really appreciate the profound changes that can occur when participants FIRST take action in order to learn a new skill or concept and THEN reflect upon what they learned from their behaviors.

     Traditional education takes the opposite approach; it has us be passive students: we sit and listen while information is "taught"...i.e. stuffed into our heads.  THEN we act based upon our learning.

     Experiential education requires us to be active students right away: i.e. our body learns, then our head. This LEARN BY DOING model has been proven to speed up the process of personal development and relationship-building, create breakthroughs in learning, and facilitate growth that is sustained over time.  It is incredibly rewarding for me as a facilitator of experiential training to see the  A-HA's and INSIGHTS and SHIFTS in perspective that can occur.
 

        To build your self esteem...take action and then learn from you actions.
 Reflect, get feedback from others, assimilate your learning.
 

        By taking action as the first step in the learning process, you create a GAP between where you are and where you want to be; this is the ACT AS IF approach. If, for example, your goal is to be an effective presenter, you stand up and "act as if" you are effective...even though on the inside you do not feel effective or confident.  What you have done is create a gap between your current level of confidence and the level of confidence you want to have. Others only see your external state and thus they react to THAT persona.  Then, by seeing yourself reflected through their eyes..a confident, effective presenter, you begin to actually close that gap and become the effective presenter you originally acted.
 

There are three stages to the ACT AS IF process:
1. Think "as if" - begin to think of yourself as that effective presenter - visualize yourself.
2. Feel "as if" - try to get in touch with the feelings you would have as that effective presenter.
3. Act "as if" - finally you act the way an effective, confident presenter would act.
Thus you gradually close the GAP
 

Some people have called this process: FAKE IT 'TIL YOU MAKE IT.  This process works because we all have a natural human tendency to close a gap..eg. like an amoeba seeking to connect with other amoebae to form a greater cell.  If we purposefully create gaps by taking actions beyond our level of comfort, we will naturally be drawn to incorporate that action as part of ourself. This is one of the main reasons people hire coaches: to help them identify a gap...then be supported and encouraged...coached... to close that gap by taking action and being held accountable for those actions over time.
 

        What blocks us from taking action?  Fear of failure and fear of making a mistake; internal negative self talk; habit and conditioning, unmet needs; resistance to change, overwhelming emotions...are some blocks that come to mind.
We need to learn ways to overcome these blocks...a coach can really help!
We can learn to see mistakes and failure as just part of the learning process; we can learn to reframe our perceptions and replace negative self-talk with positive self talk; we can change our habits and conditioning with awareness and practice; we can learn to identify and then satisfy our unmet needs; we can talk about our feelings; we can learn to have the courage to just GO FOR IT!
 

        So, take actions this week...do something differently..embrace the experiential education approach to learning..and continue to build your self esteem!
And I look forward to hearing from you about the actions you take.
 

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TAREA:

1. TAKE ACTION - GO FOR IT!

2. REGISTER for an Outward Bound Experience:
      -for open enrollment programs, contact:
        Hurricane Island Outward Bound School
        P.O. Box 429, Rockland, ME 04841
       1.800.341.1744 or 207.594.5548

       Project Adventure
       P.O. Box 100, Hamilton, MA 01936
       978.468.7981

       National Outdoor Leadership School - NOLS
       288 West Main St, Lander, WY 82520
       307.332.6973

     -to arrange for a corporate/professional program, contact;

        Northeastern University's Warren Conference Center
        Jill Hammond, Director, Training & Consulting
        529 Chestnut St, Ashland, MA 01721
        1.888.WARREN.1  or 508.881.1142
         http://www.warrencenter.com
 

         Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center
          Rachel Ringel, Director, Training and Development
          P.O. Box 127, Boston, MA 02127
          617.328.3900 ext. 141
 

3. Read some great books on EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION & TRAINING:

DO IT...AND UNDERSTAND! The Bottom Line on Corporate Experiential Learning, by Christopher Roland, Richar Wagner, Robert Weigand

TEAMWORK & TEAMPLAY, by Jim Cain & Barry Jolliff

ISLANDS OF HEALING: A GUIDE TO ADVENTURE-BASED COUNSELING, by Dick Prouty, Paul Radcliff, and Jim Schoel
 

4. REGISTER for my upcoming teleclass on the
"8-A SYSTEM for BUILDING YOUR SELF ESTEEM"
in order to identify actions you need to take to build your self esteem now.
"see below to register"
 

5. HIRE A COACH!
I will help you find the right coach for you or call me for a complimentary half-hour coaching session to support you in taking action and being accountable for your actions. Voice: 617-494-1422;  email: laurie@ingearcoaching.com
 

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Upcoming TELECLASSES:

"LEARN the 8 A'S - A SYSTEM for BUILDING YOUR SELF ESTEEM"
4 Tuesdays, April 11, 18, 25, May 2 @ 9 pm EST - Fee: $99

"LEARN the 3-STEP MODEL for TAKING RESPONSIBLE RISKS in order to GET UNSTUCK/MAKE BREAKTHROUGHS  to CREATE the LIFE YOU WANT"
4 Mondays, May 1, 8, 15, 22 @ 2pm EST  - Fee: $99
 

For a more detailed description of each teleclass or to register, go to www.teleclasscanada.com
You may also find these teleclasses listed at www.teleclass.com or www.teleclass4U.com
 

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UPCOMING LOCAL WORKSHOPS:

BECOMING A PERSONAL/PROFESSIONAL COACH
*Boston Center for Adult Education
April 24 & May 1,  also Monday, June 12,  @ 6:30-9:30 p.m.
*Middlesex Community College -  Saturday, April 29, 9 - 4 p.m.

BUILDING YOUR SELF ESTEEM: THE 8 A-SYSTEM
and BUILDING YOUR TEAM - May 17, 2000
*Wellesley Public Library, Wellesley, MA - 9 - 4 p.m.

ATTRACTING WHAT YOU WANT IN LIFE
*Middlesex Community College - Wednesday, June 7th from 6:30-9:30pm
 

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Please  forward your copy of this email to anyone you think might enjoy reading it.  I am trying to build my subscriber list - I am almost at 400... and my goal is to reach 500 by May, 2000. I appreciate your support. I just request that you keep the broadcast intact...nothing changed, added or deleted, including subscription information and my contact and copyright information. Thank you

Also, please e-mail me laurie@ingearcoacing.com if you would like back-issues of my weekly broadcast or go to my website - http://www.ingearcoaching.com
 

To subscribe/unsubscribe to this broadcast, please send an email addressed to subscribe@ingearcoaching.com
or 
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In the subject line, write either subscribe or unsubscribe 
or visit my website at http://www.ingearcoaching.com

Laurie R. Geary, M.Ed. 
Professional  Certified Coach 

Register for my free weekly newsletter: Gear Up for Success! 
or a free teleclass on Risk-Taking or Building Self Esteem. 
at my website: http://www.ingearcoaching.com

Phone: (617)494-1422 
Fax: (617)494-1786 
Address: 4 Canal Park, PH9, Cambridge, MA 02141 
Graduate: Coach University http://www.coachu.com