Inner Circle -> Whole circle LO12064

Gloria Martillano (gloria@helios.iconn.com.ph)
Sun, 19 Jan 1997 16:27:45 +0800

Replying to LO12038 --

I seem to have the same perception as Debbie. There are times when I
choose to just read because there are some discussions (particularly the
intellectual) which I do not seem to be comfortable to participate in. As
to the inner circle, I do not seem to have felt it.

I remember my first lurking experience: I wondered how many lurkers like
me were thinking of how and when to make a contribution. What made me get
out of being a lurker was the realization that I was getting to be a
passive learner and what I wanted was to intensify my learning from the
discussions by making a contribution. The private responses that I got
from my first posting was quite encouraging attesting to what Debbie has
referred to as the power of feedback.

Before deciding to make a contribution, I ask myself first whether I
wanted to "express rather than impress." ( Handling learning environments
with local translators has driven me to always operate in this mode - the
painful lessons of humility). If I can honestly say to myself that it is
to express, I go for it. The question that I also deal with is how I can
make the contribution more meaningful.

There are times when I choose to give private responses to certain
postings that interest me rather than give public responses. This happens
when I find it difficult to put across my ideas (being a non-native
speaker of English) and when I grapple with the issue of whether I was
making any sense.

With these insights, I am now beginning to understand the issues of the
"silent learners" in my seminars. I wonder if they ever feel the presence
of an "inner circle". From my experience, the more they are provided with
collaborative learning environments or smaller team activities the easier
it is for them to get out of their shell and make a contribution.

Gloria Martillano
gloria@helios.iconn.com.ph

-- 

gloria@helios.iconn.com.ph (Gloria Martillano)

Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>