The Talking Youth Work Podcast

Self Directed Learning with Paul Kloosterman, season 3, episode 2

Hello dear listeners,

 In this episode, we talked with Paul Kloosterman, a youth worker and author of several publications for youth workers and facilitators. We heard Paul’s story of how he got involved in youth work, but the main topic of our talk was Self-Directed Learning.

As the name implies, self-directed learning it’s a process where individuals take responsibility for planning, continuing and evaluating their learning experiences. The role of the learner here is to be curious and find the support needed from fellow learners, facilitators of the learning experience or other resources.

One can say all learning is self-directed because learning is an individual and personal process. We cannot force learning, it’s something that happens within us as a response to external or internal stimuli. The desire to advance in our careers, the need to change something in us or the world around us, the curiosity of exploring connection and wonder, or whatever compels us to start a new learning journey.

Learning doesn’t start or stop at the place where teaching or facilitating is happening. It’s an ongoing process that feeds from the conversations we have, the books we read, the games we play, and the places we go to, so the only constant in the learning process is the person who is learning. The more it can be self-directed, the more impact it will have in one’s life and the life of the people we interact with.

The role of the teacher, facilitator, mentor or youth worker is to support and stimulate the learning experiences that every learner has or needs to have. This support can come in many forms, but the most important support is to show interest in what's important for the learner, bring new perspectives, ask questions and suggest ways forward, always in service of the learning process of each individual.

In a group setting, it can be more of a challenge, but learning with others is also a form of self-directed learning. Paul puts it in a very clear way when he says:

“You start a program, and people go their own way. They go their own way, but they go together.”

Self and others are all parts of the learning experience. 

Paul shares a very nice approach. Curious? Have a listen.

Any ideas, comments and suggestions, email us at talkingyouthworkpodcast@gmail.com.

First published on Sunday Jan 29, 2023

 

Learning Experience Design with Niels Floor, season 3, episode 1

 

Hello dear listeners,

 

After more than a year, Talking Youth Work is back.

 

We did miss you. A lot! 

 

We hope you are doing well and are curious to learn about Youth Work with our guests.

 

This time we spoke with Niels Floor, a pioneer of the concept of Learning Experience Design.

 

Niels is a designer himself, and he brought the curiosity and problem-solving abilities of designers to the learning space.

 

How do we create a better learning experience? By putting together some exercises and group dynamics?

 

According to Niels, Learning Experience Design starts with the learners in mind. Who are they? What do they know already? And how can we help them learn something new?

 

Learning requires changing how we view the world. Through learning processes, we add, subtract and rearrange information to the map we have of our experience of the world.

 

The learning design process should be fueled by curiosity and empathy. It aims to create the conditions for learning to take place.  It’s a holistic approach, where smells, sounds, and textures can all play a role in facilitating the learning experience. Niels shared the “learning experience canvas” as a tool for designing learning experiences. You can download it here.

 

It was a great conversation that left us wanting to have a round two with Niels. 

 

Have a listen and tell us what you think.

 

This episode was developed in the context of EDULABS, a KA2 project funded by the ERASMUS+ programme and brought to by Team MAIS, Humak, ANEV and Youth Watch.

 

Any ideas, comments and suggestions, email us at talkingyouthworkpodcast@gmail.com.

First published on Tuesday Dec 13, 2022

 

What's new in Erasmus+ Youth Exchanges with Paavo Pyykkönen, season 2, episode 16

Dear listeners,

 

We spoke with Paavo Pyykönen who is a senior program advisor for the Finnish National Agency for the Erasmus+ Youth Program, an european funding line that supports youth work related projects.

 

Paavo talked about the importance of international youth exchanges, where youngsters can meet peers from other cultures, pursue their interests and grow together as individuals and as citizens. The job of the adults involved is to empower the young people and not treat them like little kids that can't solve problems by themselves. Youth workers should trust that young people can figure things out, and that they know things and have skills that the adults might miss.

 

We all hope the new funding line will create better opportunities for organizations in the field of youth work to create long lasting and meaningful learning experiences. Besides of the novelties in the new programme that we talked about, Paavo had a good advice for all that want to design projects: people should design projects that answer a specific need of their own organisation or communities, not generic projects that try to tackle too much.

 

The new Erasmus+ Youth programme has new thematic priorities, such as digitalization and green issues, topics we have covered previously in this podcast when we talked with  Laimonas Ragauskas or with Antonio Jovanovski.

 

It was very inspiring for us to talk with Paavo, he is a passionate person that really believes in the support the Erasmus+ programme gives of the next generations, so they can thrive and create better future for themselves, and for all of us, if we think about it.

 

We sure enjoyed this conversation; we hope you do too. Let’s Talk Youth Work!

 

Youth Goals: https://youth-goals.eu

Erasmus+ Guide: https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/programme-guide/introduction_en

EU Youth Strategy: https://europa.eu/youth/strategy_en

Any ideas, comments and suggestions, email us at talkingyouthworkpodcast@gmail.com.

First published on Tuesday May 04, 2021

The Future of Work with Gonçalo Hall, season 2, episode 15

In this episode, we travel to Madeira's island to explore a new and exciting project: the Digital Nomad Village. We talked to Gonçalo Hall - the founder of the project - who had the project's idea while on an Erasmus+ project in Italy.

 

Gonçalo discovered digital nomadism six years ago, fell in love with remote work and became a remote work consultant. He also hosts a podcast called Remote Work Movement and started a few businesses around remote work.

 

Digital nomadism allows global communities to have a positive local impact. When people travel to stay and work in various local communities, they bring their experiences and connections to where they decide to live. This can help rehabilitate abandoned rural areas or revive local economies in regions most affected by the pandemic crisis.

 

We talked about the future of work and what skills young people need to acquire to adapt to new work forms. Gonçalo believes that writing will be an essential skill to thrive in the future because of the communication implications between people who don’t share the same workplace anymore, but also intercultural skills, emotional skills and self-management become more and more valuable.

 

We hope that you can take many good insights from this episode. Let’s Talk Youth Work.

 

How to follow and reach Gonçalo:

Linkedin - https://bit.ly/3rEytFR

Instagram - https://bit.ly/2OFZdY4

Instagram II - https://bit.ly/3rPA2kJ

Facebook - https://bit.ly/2PW2Xp1

 

Remote Work Movement:

Website - www.remoteworkmovement.com

Instagram - https://bit.ly/38xzDvA

Facebook - https://bit.ly/3eurGuY

 

Remote Portugal:

Website - https://remoteportugal.pt/

Instagram - https://bit.ly/3qxVWHr

Facebook - https://bit.ly/3l3IABR

 

Any ideas, comments and suggestions, email us at talkingyouthworkpodcast@gmail.com.

First published on Monday Mar 08, 2021

5 Reasons Why International Youth Work Sucks with Carmine Rodi, season 2, episode 14

Hello dear listeners,

First of all, we wish you a super 2021, as this is our first episode this year. To lighten up things we talked to Carmine Rodi, a trainer and standup comedian.

Sometimes humor is the best way to bring awareness to certain topics, and youth work has some particularities that Carmine explored in a very humorous way. In the work kit that youth workers and trainers use, comedy and humor can be very useful tools to engage and connect with others, to create bridges, to allow further engagement and deepen hard subjects.

The practice of using humor can develop the competences of reading a room, being attuned to the effects of the humor being used and being conscious of the power that words can have in others. This can enhance the ability of public speaking, of being more at ease and connected to the energy in the group and to step up clear boundaries.

We talked about the very thin line between making jokes and offending someone, and as Carmine explained very well context is key in this, all that is heard by others travels through their experiences, their values, their lives, and something that might be funny to some can be offensive to others. But humor is a natural human trait that can be a way to experiment and to better cope with our own mistakes.

It’s a sign of confidence and openness when we can laugh at ourselves, so we hope you can all enjoy the funny aspects of international youth work, that in reality (spoiler alert), don’t really suck.

 

Links to Carmine's work

Professional site: https://carminerodi.net/

Blog on storytelling, the impact on popular culture and... stuff: https://carminerodi.blog/

Facebook page for storytelling workshops and related activities: https://www.facebook.com/nothing.of.the.cat/

Carmine comedian page: https://www.facebook.com/carminestandup/

workshops on Storytelling in Education (starting NEXT WEEK!): https://www.salto-youth.net/tools/european-training-calendar/training/online-workshops-the-art-and-science-of-storytelling-feb-mar-2021.9081/

online workshops on comedy and humor (starting in April 2021): https://www.facebook.com/ThisWorkshopisaJoke/

 

Books mentioned in the episode:

"The humor code" by Peter McGraw and Joel Warner

"The new comedy bibble" by Judy Carter

Any ideas, comments and suggestions, email us at talkingyouthworkpodcast@gmail.com.

First published on Monday Feb 15, 2021

The Art of Clowning and the Art of Youth Work with Pedro Fabião, season 2, episode 13

Hello dear listeners,

In this episode we talked with Pedro Fabião, an international clown, actor, director, trainer, and psychologist.

​He directed the biggest professional clown organisation in Portugal (www.narizvermelho.pt), where he worked for 16 years.

The conversation was about the Art of Clowning and how it can help people develop empathy and self-awareness.

Clowns have had a function throughout the ages, as those that push the boundaries, that bring a different perspective. Their power is a counter power.

As Pedro pointed out during our conversation there is loads of diversity in the type of people that go to clowning workshops. It’s a wonderful tool to explore our creativity, to connect with our bodies, and mostly: to connect with others.

The principles of clowning can be useful in creating a “transitional field”, a place without real consequence and yet inscribed in reality. A reversible moment of exploration and endless possibilities. Clowns are experts in making mistakes, looking foolish or messing things up, but with the deeper wisdom of turning shortcomings into a celebration of humanity. So how we relate to failing can be helped by exploring our own clowns and creating physical and emotional safety for others to explore theirs.

Youth workers can engage with young people using this space where the boundaries of reality are expanded. Together, they can see further and deeper without getting overwhelmed or depressed by limitations, anything is possible outside the normal, failure is celebrated and that’s where the Art of Clowning can help.

 

Pedro Fabião website | https://bit.ly/3pdEd85

 

Resources

“Do That Funny Thing You Do” by Tara Brodin | https://bit.ly/38gJB3A

Facebook group with clown resources | https://bit.ly/2KoWkco

Developing Youth Work Innovation eHandbook | https://bit.ly/3gS1ZDw

Any ideas, comments and suggestions, email us at talkingyouthworkpodcast@gmail.com.

First published on Monday Dec 21, 2020

Making Green the New Normal with Antonio Jovanovski, season 2, episode 12

Hello dear listeners,

In this episode we go green. We talked to Antonio Jovanovski, a trainer, an activist and a social entrepreneur. He is a member of the Pool of trainers of Youth@Work partnership (www.youthatworkpartnership.org) and the founder of a youth environmental NGO (www.gogreen.mk) where he works on training and policy development related to youth eco-activism, education for sustainable development and social inclusion through the green economy.  Antonio wrote a very interesting article about the upside of going green in job creation, and the cost of not doing so. You can find the article here. (https://bit.ly/32RUqan)

We are in a time to make decisions and - as Antonio pointed out during our conversation - decisions need reflection, visions of what the future could be like, and the awareness that the decisions we take should ensure a sustainable future. Economic growth has been the measure of progress, and it has become an addiction, but it impairs the decisions that need to be made.

It’s a difficult battle specially for young people because they are the ones that will face the biggest challenges if nothing is changed, but lack the power and the engagement needed to have a say in the decision-making processes.

Youth workers could setup programs that are related to the green economy, where a green awareness is used as a strategy to make decisions that empowers young people to disconnect with the virtual world and connect to real life and worthy causes in which their future depends on.

 

Below are the Youth@Work contacts. You can be part of this initiative.

Facebook: @YouthatWorkPartnership

Instagram: @youthatworkeu

Twitter: @euyouthatwork

Youtube: YouthatWork Partnership

LinkedIn: YouthatWork Partnership

The Youth@Work partnership is delivered with the support of the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union". The European Commission's support for the production of this podcast does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.”

Any ideas, comments and suggestions, email us at talkingyouthworkpodcast@gmail.com.

First published on Monday Nov 23, 2020

Measuring Impacts with Elin Mcallum, season 2, episode 11

Hello dear listeners,

 

We are joined in this episode by Elin McCallum, one of the co-founders of Bantani Education, a non-profit organisation supporting entrepreneurial and creative learning. Elin is also a member of the Youth@Work Pool of trainers.

One of the topics of our talk was how to measure impact in youth work, from the example of the Youth@Work Partnership. We also talked about a model of entrepreneurial competencies (Entrecomp), and the immediate connection that most people make that entrepreneurship is about creating your company or being a founder of a startup, but Elin explained quite well  that being entrepreneurial is the ability to act, to create value. Once again, we talked about the need to understand risk, to be adaptable and flexible in fast paced times, and the role youth work and youth workers have in helping young people to develop those skills.

We discussed something we find very relevant, and that is the need of the youth work field to understand the real value that it is bringing and communicate it properly, because a lot of the competencies we talk about and around being entrepreneurial are already instilled in the work of youth workers, but due to lack of awareness and clarity is not being owned the way it could and should be.

 

Bantani Education Website - https://bantani.com/

Below are the Youth@Work contacts. You can be part of this initiative.

Facebook: @YouthatWorkPartnership

Instagram: @youthatworkeu

Twitter: @euyouthatwork

Youtube: YouthatWork Partnership

LinkedIn: YouthatWork Partnership

The Youth@Work partnership is delivered with the support of the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union". The European Commission's support for the production of this podcast does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.”

Any ideas, comments and suggestions, email us at talkingyouthworkpodcast@gmail.com.

First published on Monday Oct 26, 2020