For over a decade in Facilitating Learning Online courses, Beth has distinguished herself as a leading proponent of the Liberating Structures frameworks. The Better Together Conference committee asked Beth to introduce 'Liberating Structures' to the participants, and select some activities that would help us make the most of the rest of the Better Together Conference. We explained to Beth that the FFO group was involved in re-defining itself as the need to support instructors, students, and each other in emergency remote conditions gave way to an emerging new normal of mixed modes and new ways of teaching and learning together. Beth responded by facilitating discussion about our experiences and aspirations, and then led us in. Session discussions were about the creative tension between the need of the institutions for structure, and the necessity of freedom and liberation from pre-conceived notions that are essential in education. By breaking out of conventional modes of meeting together, whether in classrooms or committee rooms, we can get at the essence of what it means to contribute, learn from, and really honour the experience of being together. Several participants subsequently mentioned that the Liberating Structures we experienced in the session quickly helped get to more meaningful dialogue with each other. Here are some links to information about Beth, her new book “Design to Engage: How to Create and Facilitate a Great Learning Experience for Any Group”, and to her Liberating Structures presentation at the 2022 Better Together Conference.
