Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Zahra is the founder and CEO of Enrol Yourself. They organise Learning Marathons, which are 6 month peer-led learning programmes for adults. They also run year long training programs for peer-based learning facilitation. She is passionate about lifelong learning and the power of peer groups to support it.
In this episode:
- She shares how people use learning marathons to support big transitions like changing careers or starting new businesses
- How people in the program benefit from their peers and the wider network helping them reach their goals
- We also talk about how networks can support or undermine an individual’s personal growth
- She explains how this type of learning environment helps people try on a new identity
- We discuss what she’s learned about peer-based education through this experience
KEY NETWORK SCIENCE CONCEPTS
- Job Opportunities and Granovetter’s Strength of Weak Ties
- McCabe’s Tight-Knitter, Compartmentaliser and Sampler Friend Networks
SHOW NOTES
- Explaining what Enrol Yourself does [3:21]
- The value of this type of program to someone who is going through a transition [5:25]
- An example of one participant’s learning question and how they worked through it using the programme [7:23]
- How the peer learning groups are curated [9:30]
- How peer learning groups support each other through the process and carry the ethos of peer learning forward [11:06]
- What is the right size for a peer learning group? [13:38]
- A metaphor of the peer learning group as a changing room for trying on new identities [18:04]
- Is it better for the group to be strangers or friends at the beginning? [19:22]
- Why it is important to have ‘learner’ as part of a person’s identity [21:24]
- What have you found works to reach the people who would most benefit from this experience? [24:31]
- The importance of people seeing themselves reflected in the message and marketing materials and facilitators [25:04]
- Train the trainer programme [27:38]
- The types of friendships that this has unlocked [30:10]
SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE