I have been teaching a fundamentals class online for six weeks now. Thirteen new people and eight experienced people are participating. The class came after an online introduction to RC that twenty-eight people attended. Each class participant is connected to two experienced RCers.
From the start I assigned the partners for mini-sessions and out-of-class sessions. Until new people become confident in the process and safe with both process and each other, this seems the best way to go about it [to do it]. I explained that they will probably be choosing their own partners in the future. As the class has gained confidence, we’ve started doing some random mini-sessions along with the assigned ones.
The assistant and I partnered new students with experienced people for the in-class mini-sessions as well as for the out-of-class sessions. The experienced RCer answered questions about the process. Each week, the assistant teacher (who knows the people well) and I have had a planning session to work out the assignments, ensuring that everyone in the class gets to connect.
People exchanged ten minutes in the first week, and by week three, twenty to thirty minutes each way.
During week three, I put new students with each other for the first time in a short in-class mini-session. New students will also Co-Counsel with each other in their out-of-class sessions. Each will also be assigned an experienced Co-Counsellor for a longer session.
As the session time out of class becomes longer, and people are becoming more relaxed and confident, some are starting to ask others for sessions. Each week I encourage them to reach out to others. This is happening.
Most of the class members are working irregular hours. For those who are unable to attend class, I record it (except for the demonstrations and mini-sessions) and send them the recording.
After each class, I send people information about the topic we have just covered, along with other articles and the link to the RC website. I am using the Fundamentals Teaching Guide and Class Outline for Pioneer Communities to guide me in choosing the materials. We have done some work in class on restimulations about reading, trusting, and counselling.