In this topic you will discover the differences between activity, method and technique to better plan your educational activities to mitigate the impacts of climate change implemented in a community garden setting.
- Activity – acomprehensive set of methods and techniques that form a coherent whole. The literature describes many activities or “games” that have proven themselves in practice and can be used in roughly the same form in various educational events. Nevertheless, an already proven activity should always be adapted to the group, setting or context in which it will be used.
- Learning activity – an activity in which people go through a conscious process of learning that someone, such as a tutor, coordinator or community garden member, has deliberately prepared for them. It can take different forms: meeting, regular meeting, workshop, course, training or a workcamp (A voluntary work placement that combines participants voluntary work for the benefit of local communities and educational and leisure activities.) Depending on the form, the educational activity can last for an hour, several days or even months.
- Method – a procedure or path that leads to a selected goal and has its own specifics. It is a purposeful and coordinated system of teaching activities of the trainer and participants. Methods are based on the interests and needs of the participants. An important role is played by the trainer, who should know several appropriate methods and techniques and be able to change them operatively according to the actual situation. It is important to be clear about the objective to be achieved first, after which the appropriate method can be chosen.
- Technique – a specific way of performing the selected method. For each method there are several techniques that can make it more specific, adapted and fine-tuned to best meet the objectives at a given time. Examples of different techniques suitable for specific methods are given directly in the following section (Topic 2: Name, description, benefits and risks of using methods). We can create a variety of techniques, for example, through a change of:
- the number of people involved – individually, in small groups or together in one group
- visual forms – presentations, pre-prepared papers, pictures, film projection, use of colors, diagrams, tables, use of flipcharts, post-it,…
- environment – by the composter, flower bed, open space, table and chairs, sitting in the grass, inside the building, outside, standing in a circle, sitting on the ground, with the use of music/props/costumes, takes place in the daytime, in the dark, …
- learning styles – Visual, Auditory, Read/Write, and Kinaesthetic (engages all of our senses: sight, smell, taste, hearing, touch)
Bibliography
PEŠEK, Tomáš, Tibor ŠKRABSKÝ, Monika NOVOSÁDOVÁ and Jolana DOČKALOVÁ. Slabikář neformálního vzdělávání v práci s mládeží, 2019, p. 96.
BARTÁK, J. Jak vzdělávat dospělé, 2008, pp. 18-19.
Wilfrid Laurier university. Understanding Your Learning Style [online], 2008.