Here you will find all our posts in the one place.
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Abandoned
The tale of Hansel and Gretel is said to be informed by stories from the Great Famine of 1314 to 1321. Desperate for food, families abandoned their children knowing they could only feed themselves. Other versions of the fairytale point to relationship power dynamics and the choice of abandoning children for physical pleasure.
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Blinded
Situational awareness is an important element in our decision making. The English fairytale The Fairy Ointment is a good example of how using situational awareness likely would have resulted in a very different outcome for the main character. Instead, ignoring her surrounds, she ends up losing sight in one eye.
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Defying gravity
This is a story that brings together science, fantasy and witchcraft. The Scottish fairytale The Light Princess has some important lessons about grounding and reflection that are perfect for the current situation many of us are facing. #fairytales #lifelessons #grounded #gravity #reflection
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The Red Shoes
The Red Shoes teaches us the valuable lessons about controlling our obsessions before they control us. #fairytale #lifelesson #personalgrowth #obsession #gainingcontrol
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The significance of a date
My past experiences in emergency response have helped shape my approach to the current crisis we are all facing. In this article I share my top five lessons around leadership and leading teams through crisis.
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The tunnel of love
Verde Prato, an Italian fairytale from 1634, gives us great symbolism for the current crisis the world is facing.
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Selfless generosity
When you feel like it’s hopeless, sometimes help can come from the most unexpected places. The White Snake teaches us about helping others and being accepting of their help when we need it. #fairytales #lifelessons #lessons #learning #helpingothers #accepting #acceptinghelp #thebrothersgrimm #stories #powerful #messages
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An original influencer
The Story of Pretty Goldilocks introduced a couple of characters who’ve appeared in other fairytales by different authors. But there’s a more important life lesson Madame d’Aulnoy teaches us. It’s a lesson of being an original influencer for generations to come. #fairytales #lifelessons #influencer #herosjourney #storytelling #personallearning #stories #writing
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Fluffy deception
Lies, deceit and manipulation at all costs to get what we want are the main lessons in Charles Perrault’s Puss in Boots. However the cat wanted these for his master. What are the hidden positive lessons we can learn from this tale. #fairytale #lifelessons #learning #personallearning #growth #mindfulness #gratefulness
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Sparkle like diamonds
Some lessons in fairytales are more obvious than others. The Charles Perrault fairytale The Fairies teaches us some important lessons about ourselves. #fairytale #lifelesson #learning #sparkle
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What big ears you have
All the better to hear you with. Little Red Riding Hood is dark and mysterious and its origins fascinating, but teaches us an important lesson about trusting our instincts.
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Brother and sister
In exploring the key lesson from the fairytale Brother and Sister by The Brothers Grimm, we learn about the consequences instant gratification can bring. In the moment where we can get satisfaction from what we want, we don’t often pause to think rationally about the consequences. #learning #lifelessons #lessons #gratification #fairytales #personalgrowth
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Connection
This article explores the lesson of connections we learn in the fairytale The Goose Girl and how in losing them we lose our true self.
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What’s so wrong with the original?
We’ve all heard the tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, but this is a story that has changed a lot over time. Each adapation imposes the author’s beliefs and values on the reader.
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Use Your Voice
Have you ever heard of the story The Children of Lir? In this post we explore two of the life lessons this myth teaches us.
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Lessons From the Nixie
In our first post exploring lessons from an old fairytale, we discover the importance of perseverance.
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Our 2020 direction
It’s time for change and in 2020, Sense of Learning is planning on changing direction. We’ll explore more of life’s lessons, not just about learning generally. This post gives you an indication of the first series of posts we’re currently planning.
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Welcome to 2020!
2019 was challenging for so many of us. With a New Year we see a fresh start and new intentions. Sense of Learning intends to share more posts with you all in 2020.
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The see-saw we’re on
Recently I had a psychic reading, during which I received a very strong message about the need to be aware of physical and emotional balance, the toll they can take and sometimes the need to decide whether it’s healthy for us.
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Judgy judgy
We all judge – ourselves and others. This post briefly explores how we need to activate our internal judgement filtration system to know what are valid opinions.
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Time for a pause
It’s almost mid year. Time to pause and reflect on where we are with our 2019 learning goals. This post explores one of mine.
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Learning the signs
Have you learnt your signs of stress? I’m being reminded about what mine are.
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Fresh out!
When you’re fresh out of ideas, what do you do? Staying fresh is something many of us struggle with. There are ways to re-energise ourselves with ideas and thoughts we want to share.
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Have you found your true calling?
This is the first post for 2019 and it explores the notion of what our true calling is.
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Are we balancing risks?
Are we balancing risks? This post explores how we need to balance risk from two perspectives: the task needing to be learnt and the learning approach we choose.
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What topics would you like to explore?
In this post, we’re interested to hear from you, our readers, on what topics you’d like Sense of Learning to explore.
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Does having a qualification really matter?
Does having a qualification really matter? This post explores this question and whether we’re valuing the workplace experience people are coming with or placing more emphasis on academic achievement.
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Get the pom poms ready!
Throughout our personal and professional lives we come across mentors – people who have an impact on our growth and development. This post asks the question “are you a mentor for others?” and encourages readers to reflect about people who may be seeking their expertise as a mentor.
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Dearly beloved…
In this post we conduct a post mortem on a learning program that never got to bring behaviour change into an organisation. We look at key factors of stakeholders, organisational readiness, program design and materials.
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Why I work more like a business partner
An insight into why I choose to work as more of a business partner to strategically influence from behind the scenes how organisations define and design learning. This approach can help ensure learning is aligned to business needs and mission, and stakeholder expectations.
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Once upon a time…
A story of achievement, influence, growth and development. Read about Gilbert’s transformation and how he did it.
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Is your learning boosted by energy givers?
Each day we are surrounded by people who will give us energy and those that will take. In this post I reflect on my week’s implicit learning and who has given me energy sparks.
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The journey so far: my implicit learning
This post is a reflection on the journey so far and just how much implicit learning has taken place. Stop and reflect on your own implicit learning.
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Features of rubrics assessment tools for observational assessments
What features help make a rubrics great for observational assessments? This audio post explores the features of a rubric, types and why they are good to use.
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Shifting ownership: facilitator vs learner led sessions
Some time ago I was having a coffee conversation with someone who was asked to facilitate a learning session on a topic they’d delivered many times before. They always chose to commence their session with some type of challenging activity; an activity that really surprised learners and left them wondering what their intentions are. The…
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Should we be considering our own experiences when designing assessment?
As designers of learning should we not stop and reflect on our own experiences as a learner? In this post we explore how reflection on assessment can lead to good design.
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Developing your design teams
This post focuses on a series of learning workshops that can be used to help develop your design teams. We look at five workshops that may work for you.
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Have you set your 2018 personal learning priorities?
With a New Year and many people returning to their work roles over the coming weeks, it’s timely to think about our personal learning priorities and challenges for 2018. Lots of us make New Year resolutions to address aspects of our personal lives we feel could benefit from changes or improvements; however how many of…
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Storytelling – How can we engage all the senses?
How do you engage your learner’s senses in your storytelling? We underestimate the value of engaging the five senses when we tell stories. It’s a powerful way of connecting the head, heart and body to your story.
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Flow activities in learning environments
Do you have a flow activity that helps with your happiness? In this post we explore some ways to incorporate flow activities in a learning environment.
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Empowering L&D Teams to Perform
In a time where workplace culture is a hot topic, what do organisations need to think about to ensure their L&D teams are empowered to perform? This opinion piece starts to look at three key areas.
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The importance of personal networks
This post explores the importance of personal networks and how these networks hold the knowledge that we need. We just need to stop and think about what makes up our personal network to understand where we can go to get the answers to our questions.
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Rethinking PowerPoint – Part 2
What does the design of a PowerPoint slide for learner engagement look like? The introduction of computer (presentation) software to design and produce computer generated slides has had an influence on the way information is presented both visually and orally. Its application has even extended to being a tool used in face-to-face classroom based teaching and training. Original intentions…
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Is it wise to use the feedback sandwich?
This post explores the nature of feedback and its importance in learning. It also introduces some of the models that can be applied to give meaningful, structured feedback.
Read MoreRethinking PowerPoint – Part 1
Recently I ran a session for trainers on the use of PowerPoint for face-to-face training. It’s always interesting how many trainers tell me that “PowerPoint is for me. I use it to know where I am in my session”. The question I posed to the group was “Yes…but what do your learners think of that?” As…
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Storytelling – a way of engaging learners
Many of us already use storytelling and we may do so without recognising it. But what is it and why is it effective for learning? It’s one of the oldest forms of education, with many forms used to pass information from one generation to another. Ancient forms of storytelling took place through dance, art and…
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Shifting learning
A well-educated mind will always have more questions than answers – Helen Keller In my current role, I am becoming increasingly aware of the need to shift learning from being driven by competency requirements to the needs of the learner and embed more relevant educational theories in the process. Add to this a constant cry for…
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Welcome to Sense of Learning
During a conversation with a friend earlier in the year, it was decided that it was time to venture into the online world! It’s a little like an open sea – nothing for miles but a journey to travel and can be a little rough in patches. We purchased the domain name and stopped to reflect…
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