I began my supervision training in the conventional face to face small group setting. And from the get go found the experience thoroughly stimulating and engaging with a feeling of real connection between the members. Then things changed, as they did for the world, and the global pandemic necessitated going to online mediums for all work related activities.
I was reticent at the beginning of this process and found myself harbouring doubts as to the feasibility of training in this online from. Within a very short space of time, my doubts were thankfully diminished as the experience, while different from face to face, has been and is invaluable. The connections still exist with the use of video conferencing, and there is a shared sense of learning. This is largely due to great facilitation and being able too see and react to each other. We get to work together as a large group, and then are able to work in smaller groups, which is very effective. The experiential nature of this training has not been lost by a move to online platforms and if anything adds another dimension to he ttraining process.
Certainly this experience has shown me the value of online learning, and, while I wouldn’t wish to move to this medium completely, I think there is real value in blended learning approaches. I look forward to getting back to face to face experiencing but do not feel hard done by its absence and if anything feel I have gained a lot from this temporary learning experience and would not wish to give it up completely.
Chris. April 2020