Evaluating Youth Work Activities with Young People : The Reflective Learning Circle

#evaluation #youthwork #youthworkers #activityreview #experientiallearning #YWCR #weareeducators #learningbydoing

The importance of effective review and evaluation with young people, goes much further than establishing if an activity was fit for purpose and a success.  The evaluative review in youth work as with other forms of education should determine if the pre-planned outcomes and informal education principles led to learning for young people inclusive of spontaneous learning experiences that young people identify. This short overview is effective for experiential learning activities with young people.

Reflective Learning Circle

The following evaluation technique promotes a learner centred focus and by keeping the four arenas of the learning circle in mind, the discussion should establish how young people felt about the activity, (experiential learning; the doing) the value and learning for self, (reflective/self-awareness; the reviewing) what young people learned about others (peer learning; discovering) and what is the next progressive activity/activities they would like to discover (taking learning forwards/aspirations; redoing).

Evaluation should provide the youth work team and young people with variable narrative data that supports an evidence base of the value of the youth work activity towards an overall depth of understanding to form an evaluation. The importance of voices as qualitative narratives about young people’s learning and ongoing activities, provision or agenda moving forwards are good ways to evidence the value of youth work.

The learning circle evaluation method aims to enable young people to review activity self, others/interactions and next steps offers clear example of peer learning opportunities and facilitates learning from others alongside giving and recieving feedback.  For youth workers to learn more about their delivery and secure take aways regarding young people’s now and ongoing aspirations, the process requires active dialogue to assess the learning from an activity using discussion and reflection.

The purpose of a learning circle is to encourage young people to share their experiences of the activity.  Detail regarding the activity itself and personal insight using storytelling to identify learning of self and others.  This method promotes important informal education principles such as critical thinking, development of self-awareness and identifies collaborative connections and learning there was with others in the group as relationships develop.

Things to remember:

It is important to explain the purpose of the reflective learning circle and raise the importance of sharing experiences and as a key, listening to others.

Cues to support the evaluation activity:

Can you give one word that describes your feeling right now about the activity?

What did you enjoy most about the activity?

Was there something new you have learned/gained?

What did you learn about someone else?

How did you feel as the activity was taking place? Is this different to now?

How did someone else improve your experience of the activity?

What challenges did you come across and what did you do as a result?

Can you think about how you can take what you have learned from doing the activity, outside of the activity?

It can support some groups to use flip chart and pens as a distraction if required to undertake this activity and to support quieter young people.  Creating visual drawings as a group provides opportunity for individuals to share their part of the story and how this is added to the drawing and therefore part of the wider experience, being as creative as possible.  In this way, there is the opportunity for further questions about details included and feedback to be shared between young people also.

Using sticky notes to create a series of word collages of one thing each person has learned, along with a suggestion for ongoing activities leads the evaluation effectively away from the group and offers progression.

What evaluation methods do you find valuable? Could your team or organisation benefit from training around review and evaluation methods in youth work? Contact me to chat through. Share your own methods of evaluation in The Youth Work Common Room members area to continue our community of practice.

#evaluation #youthwork #youthworkers #activityreview #experientiallearning #YWCR #weareeducators #learningbydoing

Steve Walker : The Youth Work Common Room (2024)

More Articles

Back to Website

The Youth Work Common Room (Members Area)

YWCR Online Store

Contact Me

The Youth Work Common Room