Let’s plan learning in the project!
What do you want to learn?
Who knows better than you what you need for your personal and professional development? Your teachers? Your parents? Your friends? Politicians? Nobody! They can be your advisors or role models but only you know yourself best. You know your strengths and weaknesses. You know when learning is fun for you and when it is hell on earth. You know best which things are easy for you and which things require a lot of work and efforts. During the Youthpass process you decide what you need to learn and how you are going to do that. It means that you are a self-directed learner. Just imagine - you are in the centre and the whole possible learning ‘what’, ‘how’, ‘with whom’, ‘when’ etc. is totally up to you. What a freedom! So tailor your learning as you want!
You can find some examples of things you can learn in Youth Initiative project here.
Maybe you got some inspiration but now it is time for you to identify what you want or need to develop by participating in the Youth Initiative project. It’s a very unique and special learning moment for you and your peers. It’s a bit like an experimental field where you check:
- how you deal with different things,
- what kind of person are you,
- what are your talents, and
- what are your limits.
So what do you really, really want to learn?
The fact that it’s all up to you doesn’t mean that you know already what you want to do and to learn. It takes some efforts to reflect about it and find it out. So don’t panic if you have an “empty head” after asking yourself ‘what do I want to learn’. Take your time, think it over and write down your reflections. Listen to yourself, all answers you will find there.
Find a way how to do it in real life here.
If you know what you want to learn, it’s time to ask how you want to arrange it. We invite you to start thinking about yourself:
- What kind of person and learner are you?
- How do you like to learnand how do you learn best?
- What resources do you have?
- What would you like to change? What would you like to strengthen?
- How can the project help support your learning process?
- Who could support you – friend, youth worker, community worker, any committed person around you?
Being in a process of development requires knowing yourself. This is the reason why we ask how you learn. Do you learn the best by doing, watching, imitating, reading, experimenting, reflecting, listening or maybe – like most of us - by a combination of those elements? … Read more here.
And how do you want to learn this?
If you know what you want to learn or in which area you want to improve your competences, it’s time to make a defined learning plan. Before writing anything:
Close your eyes and imagine yourself one day after the project has ended! - Who are you now? - How do you see yourself? - What has changed in your life? - What new skills, competences, abilities, and knowledge do you have now? - Try to visualise the new person that you have become.
Write a short story about how you want to be after the project. Or draw a picture.
- How do you want to use the new skills?
- How the knowledge and attitudes?
- How can they be beneficial for you?
Then prepare your own, personal learning plan.
Maybe you find this table supportive to deal with it! Download it here.
Make a similar learning plan with your group.
And find another way to stimulate planning learning here– it guides you through a train ride!
No specific method would fit for all. So think about your own way to write down your learning process.
- Would it be a diary?
- Or maybe writing small stories – one for each aim you have?
- Or a structured learning plan file?
- Paintings?
- A learning blog?
- Pictures, a picture story?
- Short comments?
- Personal testimonies?
- Laundry line with clipped post-its on which describes expectations and learning outcomes?
Be creative, it’s your learning plan! Your project would definitely bring you a lot of great experiences.
You can also use the learning plan for the group to divide tasks. Choose somebody in the group who will keep an eye on your group development – the learning plan keeper! Of course you can change the tasks during your Youth Initiative project. Find your way as a group to share and exchange your development.
Use common time and space for learning from each other. There is such an enormously rich world in your group!
Hints for transnational youth initiatives you will find here.
Back to page: Experience and learn
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