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Learning in Circles

Learning paths in lernOS guides can be completed alone, in pairs in learning tandems or with 4-5 people in a learning group (learning circle). We particularly recommend the learning group for lernOS newcomers (noobs), ideally with at least one person with experience.

Group of people learning

The learning group goes through a learning path, usually over the course of a quarter, which we at lernOS also call a learning sprint, based on Scrum. The sprint starts in week 0 with planning. Weeks 1-11 are filled with the exercises (katas) of the learning path used. The sprint ends in week 12 with a retrospective and a joint celebration of what has been achieved.

The advantages of a learning group:

  • You are not alone
  • Everyone can help each other - in a ‘Circle of Trust’
  • Everyone can pursue their own learning goal
  • The risk of dropping out is lower (as with a sports/running group)
  • Meetings are possible in person, virtually and hybrid

Week 0: The learning group starts

As with a real journey, planning in advance is important to ensure that the trip is a success. Here is a small checklist to help you get started together in week 0:

Agenda suggestion week 0:

** Check-in: Welcome! (5 minutes) * Get together: Who are you? Introduce yourself. Why are you here? What is your learning goal? Five-minute timebox per person. (25 minutes) Sprint planning see below (25 minutes) Check-out: Confirm the next meeting. (5 minutes)

Determine in week 0:

  1. appoint a coordinator for the learning group. The role can be fixed or you can alternate during the learning journey.
  2. determine the learning path you want to go through together
  3. set the day and time for the weekly meetings (lernOS Weekly's). Schedule all 13 dates in the calendar.
  4. decide whether you want to deal with the content of the weekly exercises in the Weekly, or whether everyone will deal with it in advance and exchange experiences and provide assistance in the Weekly.
  5. decide whether you want to meet in person, virtually or hybrid.
  6. determine which tools you want to use for communication and documentation (e.g. lernOS Circle Template) in the learning group. Make sure that everyone can use the tools and likes them.

Week 1-12: Checklist for circle coordinators

When learning in groups, this checklist helps the coordinator to organise the weekly meetings in a structured way. It is best to copy the checklist to a place where all members of the learning group have access to it (e.g. OneNote, Etherpad, OneDrive, Dropbox).

WEEK 1

** Check-in: What have I done since the last check-in? What has changed in the key results? What's stopping me? Two-minute timebox per Circle member. (10 minutes) * Discuss the results of the katas of the respective learning path Check-out: What will I do until the next Weekly? One-minute timebox per Circle member. (5 minutes)

WEEK 2

  • Check-in: What have I done since the last check-in? What has happened with the key results? What is stopping me? Two-minute timebox per Circle member. (10 minutes)
  • Discuss the results of the katas of the respective learning path Check-out: What will I do until the next Weekly? One-minute timebox per Circle member. (5 minutes)

WEEK 3

** Check-in: What have I done since the last check-in? What has happened with the key results? What is stopping me? Two-minute timebox per Circle member. (10 minutes) * Discuss the results of the katas of the respective learning path Check-out: What will I do until the next Weekly? One-minute timebox per Circle member. (5 minutes)

WEEK 4 & Pit Stop 1

  • Check-in: What have I done since the last check-in? What has happened with key results? What's holding me back? Two-minute timebox per Circle member. (10 minutes)
  • Discuss the results of the katas of the respective learning path Check-out: What will I do until the next Weekly? One-minute timebox per Circle member. (5 minutes)

WEEK 5

  • Check-in: What have I done since the last check-in? What has happened with the key results? What is stopping me? Two-minute timebox per Circle member. (10 minutes)
  • Discuss the results of the katas of the respective learning path Check-out: What will I do until the next Weekly? One-minute timebox per Circle member. (5 minutes)

WEEK 6

** Check-in: What have I done since the last check-in? What has happened with the key results? What's stopping me? Two-minute timebox per Circle member. (10 minutes) * Discuss the results of the katas of the respective learning path Check-out: What will I do until the next Weekly? One-minute timebox per Circle member. (5 minutes)

WEEK 7

  • Check-in: What have I done since the last check-in? What has happened with the key results? What is stopping me? Two-minute timebox per Circle member. (10 minutes)
  • Discuss the results of the katas of the respective learning path Check-out: What will I do until the next Weekly? One-minute timebox per Circle member. (5 minutes)

WEEK 8 & Pit Stop 2

  • Check-in: What have I done since the last check-in? What has happened with the key results? What is stopping me? Two-minute timebox per Circle member. (10 minutes)
  • Discuss the results of the katas of the respective learning path Check-out: What will I do until the next Weekly? One-minute timebox per Circle member. (5 minutes)

WEEK 9

** Check-in: What have I done since the last check-in? What has happened with the key results? What's stopping me? Two-minute timebox per Circle member. (10 minutes) * Discuss the results of the katas of the respective learning path Check-out: What will I do until the next Weekly? One-minute timebox per Circle member. (5 minutes)

WEEK 10

  • Check-in: What have I done since the last check-in? What has happened with the key results? What is stopping me? Two-minute timebox per Circle member. (10 minutes)
  • Discuss the results of the katas of the respective learning path Check-out: What will I do until the next Weekly? One-minute timebox per Circle member. (5 minutes)

WEEK 11

  • Check-in: What have I done since the last check-in? What has happened with the key results? What is stopping me? Two-minute timebox per Circle member. (10 minutes)
  • Discuss the results of the katas of the respective learning path Check-out: What will I do until the next Weekly? One-minute timebox per Circle member. (5 minutes)

WEEK 12: Retrospective & Celebration

This week you should have the final iteration of your Key Results. Talk about it and show it at check-in. You will reflect on the experience in the Circle and talk about how you can keep the process going. After the Weekly, take some time to celebrate your success!

Check-in: What have I done since the last check-in? Shows the final iteration of the Key Results. Three-minute timebox per Circle member. (15 minutes) Your Learning Moments: Talk about the moments in the sprint that were special for you. What are your key learnings? Think about whether you want to publish them as a lernOS Story for all other practitioners. (20 minutes) After Action Review: What was the plan for the sprint? What happened? Was there a deviation? What can you learn from it? (20 minutes) Check-out: Are there next steps? Will you stay together for another sprint? ** Party Time! * (You choose the duration)

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