Happy birthday Ben Franklin! (January 17, 1706--April 17, 1790)
Franklin invented many, many useful things, from fire insurance to swim fins. His best invention, in my opinion, was the powerful format for for adult self-directed learning groups we now call Franklin Circles.
To celebrate, Denver Speakers Corner is having a special meeting today and inviting those attending to take a turn on the soapbox to speculate whether Ben Franklin (and/or Martin Luther King who was born January 15 and has a national holiday in his honor tomorrow) would affiliate with a political party today, and if so which party. Should be fun. For more information and optional RSVP see http://meetup.com/Denver-Speakers-Corner
How to Start a Franklin Circle Adult Self Directed Learning Group
from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can EditTrue Friends on a Common Journey. Benjamin Franklin formed his first Circle (what he called the Junto) in 1727 with a group of his "more ingenious acquaintances." TRAINING MAGAZINE in June, 1995 cited that first Franklin Circle as the embodiment of what we now know are the best techniques of modern self-directed learning. It may have been Ben's best invention! It is grounded in the most basic principle of adult learning theory: Adults learn best by being teachers. Business owners and entrepreneurs use the format to form peer advisory groups, an alternative board of advisers that helps each member take their own business to the next level.
Steps
- Find one or two like-minded learners, people who are interested in learning about the same things. One way to do this is to start (or attend) a meetup.com group.(See links below.)
- Decide when and where you want to meet, how often you want to meet, and how you will conduct your meetings.
- Franklin's original group had two parts to each meeting
- Members take turns making presentation to the group.
- Members address Standing Queries. (See Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography for information about the format and Standing Queries used by Franklin's original group, what he called the Junto.)
- Invite new people to attend each meeting until you have 12 people who are mutually acceptable to each other.
Tips
- One person needs to take responsibility for leading the group, or it will not come together. Let it be you! Or support the person who has taken the job on.
- The organizer also needs to contact each person in the group to remind them to attend prior to each meeting, this makes a big difference.
- The organizer needs to get to each meeting a few minutes early to set up the room and to greet the members as they arrive.
Warnings
- Leadership needs to be inclusive and shared. People will rebel if one person dominates. One good way to do this is for the organizer to rotate the chairmanship of each meeting.
- Following a written format or guideline for the meeting is essential. Experience shows that without this, the meetings soon turn into bull sessions and people stop attending.
- The format or guidelines need to be open to revision and change by the group as needed.
Things You'll Need
- Training Magazine, "What we Know for Sure About Adult Learning," June, 1995.(For link to this article, see www.JohnWren.com[1])
- Malcolm Knowles, Self-Directed Learning--A Guide for Learners & Teachers, Josey-Bass, 1975.
- Benjamin Franklin, Autogiography, yale University press, 1964.
- Ronald K. Esplin, MA Thesis, Franklin's Colleagues and Their Club: the Junto in Philadelphia's Golden Age. University of Virginia, 1979.
- Inc. Magazine article on CEO Peer Advisory groups says 75% of the success of a group depends on the faciliator. [2]
Related wikiHows
- How to Create a Multimedia Quiz with Sameshow
- How to Increase Your Brain's Processing Speed
- How to Be Knowledgeable
- How to Succeed in Life as a Late Bloomer
Sources and Citations
- Information about Franklin's original Junto http://www.acadweb.wwu.edu/OSL/
- Meetups are starting around the country on nearly every topic, a great way to find like-minded learners for your Franklin Circle. http://meetup.com
- See how the Denver IDEA Cafe is used to find like minded learners who are interested in small business and entrepreneurship http://www.JohnWren.com
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