EVALUATION

 

Participants/Organisers:

I didn't do a formal assesement with the participants as the w/s was so short,

We all went for some tea & luch afterwards though so I did get to have a chat with them, continue the flow of ideas, learn from each other & assess how they found the workshop.

They were all very happy with what we had acheived & felt it had been a worthwhile, if very cold mornings work!

 

Participant Comments: Feel like we have a direction & some next steps, Great to be all on the same page with a shared vision, excited about getting the plan into place on the ground,

 

Myself: I evaluated the w/s soon after...

 

What went well?

Process:

• Focus on collecting information from various sources, together with open communication beforehand, -clarification of vision & expectations of the clients,

• Focus on 'pattern to detail' kept the workload manageable and I think it improved the quality of the design.

• Dividing functions into categories; simplifying things,

• I liked the CEAP process; having a specific time to focus on eppying the principles to me means the design becomes more 'permaculture'. On the other hand, it could do with an extra E for evaluate on he end.

• Collaborating; Having Danny my boyfriend there as a 'planter' of sorts, for support, honest feedback, taking photos, & throwing in the odd creative suggstion so as they don't always come from me really helped alot. And again, sommunication/collaboration with clients.

• Starting small; a small focussed design which felt manageable & I had time to be creative with i because I wasn' under pressure.

Content

• I really enjoyed it! Working with really nice genuine people, sharing knowledge, experience & inspiration felt really good & I felt supported in the work., I was humbled to be invited to share these skills with people who are engaged in positive community activism. I appreciated thelessons I've learnt so far which gave me the skills to do this effectively.

• The design process structure

• Giving partcipants the chance to do it themselves, facilitating their own design, they felt ownership of it, creative teaching methods paid off!

• Me going around & spending time with each pair or group to check in, support & keep them focussed

• Working with an open & focussed group who are all up for learning, finding solutions & participating. And in a situation where they are ready to put this into action straight away so it's real applied learning. I felt a part of the group rather than a teacher. At the beginning of my diploma pathway I identified one goal to work with groups who are working on a project, to design with them & guide them using permaculture design, So I am really happy that i am finally doing this! Was like the participants were leading the workshop, I was steering,

• Intense learning, short workshop

• Allowing at leat 20 min in the plan for people to arrive in the morning.

• Adapted principles cards worked well,

• Worksheets worked well,

• Positive & temporary graffiti!

• Visiting the site the day before,

• Staying with Dee, -comfy, nearby, relaxed, get to spend time with a friend, background of the project.

 

What was challenging?

Process

• The evaluating part: Aside from assessing Boundaries & Resources I don't know what else I could have used here to help evaluate the needs of the design.

 

Content

• The weather: Personally, I was well wrapped up but some people were very cold.

• Initial set up: the gazebo wasn't ideal shelter from the wind, & the makeshit whiteboard was a bit messy, & we got started quite late as people drifted in.

• Dreaming about Permaculture in my sleep the night before,

• Last minute clarification of goals from one organiser, good to get it but would've been better earlier on in the preparation!

• Not exactly challenging but I could have had more design patterns to hand giving precise examples eg: pathways,

• In group & pair work people tend to drift off & talk about other things!

• The money aspect, it wasn't exactly challenging but by the time i take travel time & costs & preparation time into account I earnt a pretty optimistic e3/hour.

• At times I am hesitant to cut across people who are telling long irrelevant stories :-)

   

Long term vision:

Process:

• I feel this design has come a long way from some of my earlier work, partly the conditions were amenable & tha makes things alot easier.

Content:

• To adapt more of my workshops to a learning-by-doing format,

• To get to teach more workshops, short & long,

• To be reimbursed a bit more in some way, financially or otherwise and/or to spend less time in preparation.

 

What could be better next time?

Process:

• Explore the resources better & really try to get hold of all clients early on in the design process eg: if we knew we had access to inside the container it could have saved us putting up the gazebo, 

Content:

• I did notify people on their group facebook page about wrapping up warm but an email would also help, perhaps sent through an organiser

• Meditate, or something before I sleep the night before,

• Ask for travel costs to be covered/contributed to (seperately)

• Group/pair work: keep going around & give people more ideas, & suggestions, keep them focussed, don't assume they are doing it!

• Have some tools at the ready for bringing people back to the issue at and when there is a storyteller on the go.

• Anticipate questions.... & have the relevant info to hand.

 

Next achievable steps:

• Write a review/overview of the w/s & put on my blog, & send link to those who are involved & other interested parties, via social media & email.

• Sort SEO on the website, so that people can find me,

• Compile list of organisations, sites, individuals who may be interested in hosting p.c workshops, & contact the with offers & my website

• Sort out all my teaching notes & resources!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Finally, I self assesed this design (click here) against the diploma criteria using the tutors individual assesment form.