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Drawing from what we are learning through
the ACA Research Initiative, we've gathered
some tools that could help you and your
staff.
With so little time in precamp orientation
to do everything you want to do, you may
find it helpful to step back and set priorities
for your training time with counselors.
Take the time to sort out what needs to
be said and understood versus read and
understood. Make
the most of both, and you’ll have
more time for group interaction using methods
that build skills and capitalize on the
talents your staff bring to the job.
Facilitation can be challenging to teach,
but when your counselors "get it,"
the results are phenomenal. Facilitation,
sometimes called processing, helps create
an atmosphere where campers are encouraged
to process feelings and behavior; resolve
conflict; and gain both confidence and
skill in decision making. Additionally,
facilitation exercises help campers develop
a sense of belonging. Camp provides the
ideal setting for the kind of active learning
researchers and educators find as the most
effective way for people of all ages to
learn. Recent brain research points to
active learning as one of the keys to prepare
campers to meet the challenges of our changing
society.
Check out these tools, with exercises
and examples, and consider if they have
a place in your staff training. Feel
free to print off and copy as needed. And,
look for more tool sheets for directors
and counselors coming soon!
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