A Sequence For Reviewing

"Through reviewing you show that you care about what participants experience, that you value what they have to say, and that you are interested in the progress of each individual..." (Greenaway, 1996)

Authors on reviewing processes have expressed that following a particular reviewing sequence can lead to a greater degree of learning transfer. Here is a structured sequence offered by Dr Roger Greenaway

1. Experience

The first stage is to establish ‘play back’, or ‘relive’ what happened. This stage can serve as a useful reminder of significant incidents. This stage can help set the agenda for later stages, but the main focus of this first stage is on what happened.

Questions that can be asked include:

1) How did the activity go?

2) What did your group achieve in the activity?

3) Was there evidence of any barriers during the activity?

4) What were they based on? (language, gender, age, geography)

5) How were the barriers identified?

6) Did the group take steps to overcome these? How?

7) Did the activity draw out any other issues? How?

8) Was the activity of benefit? How? Why ? Why not?

2. Express

The second stage is a vital one, but tends to be the stage most at risk if review time is limited. This stage recognises that activities (especially new or challenging ones) stimulate the senses and arouse emotions. This stage focuses on the quality of the experience: “What was it like?”, “How did it feel?”

3. Examine

The third stage is more analytical and rational. ‘All talk’ reviews tend to arrive too soon at this stage, especially if reviewers are too impatient to draw out the learning from the activity. If the experience has been a ‘whole person’ experience, it is important to use review methods, which match the fullness of the experience.

4. Explore

The forth stage is the most practical stage. It involves preparing to try out something that has been prompted by earlier stages of the sequence. This stage would usually involve setting targets. Above all, it is important to keep the sense of curiosity and exploration alive.

Lean more about reviewing from Dr Roger Greenaway