4.1 Reconnection, Holistic Check-In & Ground Rules

Learning Objectives:

• To facilitate trust, mutual respect, and group cohesion
• To support participants in getting in touch with their body, mind, emotion and spirit
• To encourage mutual empathy towards each other

Materials: Markers, Name tags, Flipchart, Handout 2.1.1 – Holistic Check-in

Time Required: 15 Minutes

Activities & Instructions

Setup:

• Participants sit in a large circle. Facilitator welcome participants back.
• Co-facilitator post Ground Rules/Guiding Principles from previous session and diagram for Holistic Check-In on the wall for the participants to refer to.
• Facilitators provide any announcement as needed.

Instructions to Participants:

Check-in:

1. Facilitator says, “Welcome back. It is good to see everyone. We will begin with Land Acknowledgement that supports us to be mindful about our relationships with Indigenous Peoples and the lands. (Facilitator reads Land Acknowledgement on page 2 of this manual) For our check-in today, let us share our energy level and also use the Holistic Check-in tool (Handout 2.2.1) we learnt last session to share how we are feeling in terms of the different aspects of ourselves: Physically, Mentally, Emotionally and Spiritually.
2. Facilitator role models by saying, “ Just speaking for myself as an example, my energy today is 9; physically I am feeling energized; emotionally I am feeling excited; mentally I am alert; and spiritually I feel connected. So who would like to start?”
   (After all participants have taken a turn, facilitator thanks the participants for sharing.)

Reminder of Ground Rules & Guiding Principles:

1. Facilitator says, “Now let us also refresh our memory for the ground rules or guiding principles we have committed to following in our collaborative learning. Now let us review them quickly.
   (Facilitator either reads them out directly or have participants take turn reading them)
2. Facilitator continues, “Are we all still in agreement to them? Do we have anything else to add?”
   (Facilitator listens to participants’ comments or suggestions if any, and incorporate additional ground rules if appropriate.)

Key Summary Points:

In collaborative learning it is important that we are aware of our own and others’ energy levels and levels of well-being, and support each other to participate in the best capacity we can.

Source:

Holistic Check-In framework from AIDS Bereavement and Resiliency Program of Ontario Training Manual, retrieved from http://abrpo.org/