General guidance for session delivery

Educators have different personal styles and approaches. Be yourself – don’t be afraid to express your own style:

• be relaxed and non-judgemental
• encourage participation from the group and from individuals
• respond to group atmosphere
• encourage problem solving
• include clear explanations and use appropriate language
• encourage reflection.

Adopt a style you are comfortable with. Appropriate humour and banter make for a more enjoyable and memorable learning experience. Stories, humour and anecdotes can help participants to understand the context, importance and relevance of the learning (but remember not to ‘over-share’!).

Your strategies and style of delivery should reflect adult learning principles and the DAFNE philosophy.

Work with your co-educator. Effective teamwork and good rapport with colleagues supports an effective learning environment and demonstrates peer support.

Be professional. The DAFNE process can reduce barriers between the educator and the participant, which can sometimes be challenging.

Putting group management theory into practice is not always straightforward. Each group is different, and presents different challenges. Courses do not always run as we would hope – often the learning experience is an imperfect one.

Remember, we learn as much (often more) from an imperfect experience as from a perfect one. Admitting imperfections and learning from errors are as important as reflecting on your success in becoming an effective DAFNE educator.