Simply True with Dr. Jane Vella

Bill Baker, Founder and Principal of BB&Co Strategic Storytelling, knows the value of a good story. Whether you’re garnering support in your organization for a new strategic plan or teaching parents about child healthcare, stories help people make meaning that sticks. In this episode, Bill shares key insights on how to pick and tell the right stories, for the right moments to build rich connections and inspire deep learning.

Read the transcript for the episode here. Sign up for a Storytelling Workshop with BB&Co.

Follow us on Twitter @GLPconsultants for the latest updates about the show and resources available for businesses and individuals alike. You can also find us on Instagram @GlobalLearningPartners, Facebook, and LinkedIn!

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This show is produced by Global Learning Partners and Greg Tilton JR. Our theme music is titled ‘Pretty Face’ by singer/songwriter Una Walkenhorst.

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On this final episode of Simply True, Jane is joined by all her co-hosts – Rebecca, Val, and Peter – to reflect on the axiom, "Learning is in the doing and deciding." Val and Peter share similar stories – they met Jane over two decades ago, early on in their careers working in international development. After experiencing the incongruence of coming into a community as outsiders and finding themselves telling, they both were eager for another way to facilitate learning. Whether learning Portuguese by singing along to the music, or leading long-term organizational change processes, sometimes the deepest learning happens when learners can do and decide for themselves.

Read the transcripts for the episode on our website.

This show is produced by Global Learning Partners and Greg Tilton JR, with theme music by Kyle Donald. Follow us on Twitter (@GLPconsultants), Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn (@GlobalLearningPartners) for the latest updates about the show. Find out more about GLP at www.globallearningpartners.com.

Like what you hear? Consider leaving us a review!

Check out our sister series – Shift the Power: A Learning-Centered Podcast.

Dr. Jane Vella and Val Uccellani are joined by Tonjala Eaton, Career Coach and GLP Partner, to reflect on the axiom "foster 'ah-ha' moments, not 'gotcha' moments". Tonjala was inspired by Jane's writing many years ago and set her sights on becoming a learning-centered practitioner. In 2019, Tonjala joined the GLP team as a Partner and she finally got to meet her mentor! In this episode, Tonjala and Jane reflect on the importance of giving learners the space and time to build their own connections to content – leading to empowering "ah-ha" moments.

Read the transcripts for the episode on our website.

This show is produced by Global Learning Partners and Greg Tilton JR, with theme music by Kyle Donald. Follow us on Twitter (@GLPconsultants), Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn (@GlobalLearningPartners) for the latest updates about the show. Find out more about GLP at www.globallearningpartners.com.

Like what you hear? Consider leaving us a review!

Check out our sister series – Shift the Power: A Learning-Centered Podcast.

Dr. Jane Vella and Rebecca Hutchins talk with Dan Haase, Associate Lecturer at Wheaton College, about the axiom "Hold the opposites" (aka "Fold the opposites"). Dan first learned about Jane's work years ago when his book group decided to read "Taking Learning to Task". He became a quick convert to the principles and practices of Dialogue Education and is now a valued member of GLP's international Certified Network. Jane and Dan share stories of deep learning from both their personal and professional lives on living in the tension between the opposites.

In this episode, Jane credits the alternative form of this axiom, "Fold the Opposites" to Karen Ridout – a past owner and beloved colleague for many years. Karen passed away in February of 2018. We will continue to appreciate and reflect on the important contributions Karen made for years to come.

Read the transcript on our website.

This show is produced by Global Learning Partners and Greg Tilton JR, with theme music by Kyle Donald. Follow us on Twitter (@GLPconsultants), Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn (@GlobalLearningPartners) for the latest updates about the show. Find out more about GLP at www.globallearningpartners.com.

Like what you hear? Consider leaving us a review!

Check out our sister series – Shift the Power: A Learning-Centered Podcast.

Dr. Jane Vella and Peter Noteboom are joined by Marian Darlington-Hope, community organizer and former co-owner of GLP, to discuss the axiom, "Begin with the end in mind." In 1986, Marian read about a workshop at Tufts University and was immediately drawn to its focus on how to avoid all the things she was trying not to do as a professor. The workshop was led by none other than Jane, and within a few years Marian became one of the first owners of Global Learning Partners. In this episode, Marian and Jane reflect on how critical it is to have a clear vision. As Marian's mother used to say, "if you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there".

Read the transcripts for the episode on our website.

This show is produced by Global Learning Partners and Greg Tilton JR, with theme music by Kyle Donald. Follow us on Twitter (@GLPconsultants), Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn (@GlobalLearningPartners) for the latest updates about the show. Find out more about GLP at www.globallearningpartners.com.

Like what you hear? Consider leaving us a review!

Check out our sister series – Shift the Power: A Learning-Centered Podcast.

Dr. Jane Vella and Rebecca Hutchins talk with Dr. Paula Berardinelli about one of Jane's personal favorite axioms: "No laughing, no learning!" Jane and Paula have known each other since the last century at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. They co-authored a book on evaluating adult learning called "How Do They Know They Know" and remain close friends and neighbors to this day. In this episode, Paula introduces a new indicator of engagement – the number of teeth you can see in the room – and shares insights on how to turn those teeth from fangs to smiles.

Read the transcripts on our website.

This show is produced by Global Learning Partners and Greg Tilton JR, with theme music by Kyle Donald. Follow us on Twitter (@GLPconsultants), Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn (@GlobalLearningPartners) for the latest updates about the show. Find out more about GLP at www.globallearningpartners.com.

Like what you hear? Consider leaving us a review!

Check out our sister series – Shift the Power: A Learning-Centered Podcast.

Dr. Jane Vella and Val Uccellani talk with Ellen Turgasen RN about the axiom "Don't do for the learners what they can do for themselves." Ellen met Jane in 1985 when she took the Popular Education 'bootcamp' prior to flying off to Peru to work as a nurse for Maryknoll. From then on, Ellen was hungry to learn more about how to live the principles and practices of Dialogue Education. This particular axiom gained new meaning for Ellen in her work as a massage therapist – where doing for the learner has tangible consequences.

Read the transcript on our website.

This show is produced by Global Learning Partners and Greg Tilton JR, with theme music by Kyle Donald. Follow us on Twitter (@GLPconsultants), Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn (@GlobalLearningPartners) for the latest updates about the show. Find out more about GLP at www.globallearningpartners.com.

Like what you hear? Consider leaving us a review!

Check out our sister series – Shift the Power: A Learning-Centered Podcast.

Dr. Jane Vella and Rebecca Hutchins chat with Adriano Pianesi – Founder of ParticipAction Consulting and Adjunct Professor at Johns Hopkins University – about the axiom "classrooms can be radical spaces of possibilities." Like many others, Adriano read Learning to Listen, Learning to Teach and was inspired to reach out to Jane. Since then, he has incorporated the lessons from Jane's book into his work as a change management consultant with clients like Microsoft and International Monetary Fund (IMF). Adriano and Jane reflect on the immense potential for growth when you unleash people's natural curiosity and allow them to co-create a vision for change.

Read the transcripts on our website.

This show is produced by Global Learning Partners and Greg Tilton JR, with theme music by Kyle Donald. Follow us on Twitter (@GLPconsultants), Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn (@GlobalLearningPartners) for the latest updates about the show. Find out more about GLP at www.globallearningpartners.com.

Like what you hear? Consider leaving us a review!

Check out our sister series – Shift the Power: A Learning-Centered Podcast.

Dr. Jane Vella and Peter Noteboom chat with Christine Little, Certified Dialogue Education Teacher, about the axiom "Affirmation is like oxygen – we all need it to survive." Christine first met GLP nearly twenty years ago through her work with Habitat for Humanity International – one of the first organizations to broadly apply a learning-centered approach. Chris and Jane reflect on how this axiom builds on one of Jane's old favorites: lavish affirmations. Genuine affirmation is essential for adult learners, even if they might resist it at first!

Read the transcript for the episode on our website.

This show is produced by Global Learning Partners and Greg Tilton JR, with theme music by Kyle Donald. Follow us on Twitter (@GLPconsultants), Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn (@GlobalLearningPartners) for the latest updates about the show. Find out more about GLP at www.globallearningpartners.com.

Like what you hear? Consider leaving us a review!

Check out our sister series – Shift the Power: A Learning-Centered Podcast.

Dr. Jane Vella and Rebecca Hutchins chat with Michael Gibbons – ITEP Scholar in Residence at the School of Education, American University – about the axiom "Dialogue is not among teacher and learner, but among learners, of whom the teacher is one." We often center experts and expertise in training events. This axiom explains how we can equalize learning spaces with a simple shift – enriching the learning for everyone. Jane and Michael met long, long ago and far, far away during their days with Save the Children. Listen for Michael's stories about a class with Malcolm Knowles and lifelong learning from his time in the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone.

Read the transcripts on our website.

This show is produced by Global Learning Partners and Greg Tilton JR, with theme music by Kyle Donald. Follow us on Twitter (@GLPconsultants), Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn (@GlobalLearningPartners) for the latest updates about the show. Find out more about GLP at www.globallearningpartners.com.

Like what you hear? Consider leaving us a review!

Check out our sister series – Shift the Power: A Learning-Centered Podcast.