Free Articles

This page contains many articles I've written over the years in pursuit of learning, reflection, and personal development.

Themes include productivity, wellbeing, teaching, defusing bullying, culture, heritage, facilitation & more.

You will find that some of these posts are originally published on LinkedIn.

Blog: Text

Sumbella

Apr 12 min read

To Shuffle or Not to Shuffle?

[#facilitation + grouping: to shuffle or not to shuffle?] I think facilitators (especially in education and PD) are known for mixing up...

Sumbella

Apr 12 min read

Facilitation and Teaching Activity Idea

[#facilitation / #teaching activity idea] Rounding off my trip to #Qatar earlier this week by sharing a key activity I have been wanting...

Virtual Facilitation Recipe: How to Run a Surprise Celebration for a Colleague

Sumbella

Mar 302 min read

Virtual Facilitation Recipe: How to Run a Surprise Celebration for a Colleague

[Virtual #Facilitation recipe: how to run a ✨surprise✨ celebration for a colleague] This week I learned something new about how to...

Overcoming Tiredness: Tips for Energising Teacher Workshops

Sumbella

Mar 302 min read

Overcoming Tiredness: Tips for Energising Teacher Workshops

[#facilitation + #PD + teacher tiredness] I once led a workshop where I was super duper wooper low in energy. And when I arrived at the...

Effective Strategies for Crowd Control in Facilitation and Teaching

Sumbella

Mar 301 min read

Effective Strategies for Crowd Control in Facilitation and Teaching

[#facilitation, #teaching, & 'crowd control’] "How do you control the room?”, someone asked me. There’s no one answer. There are lots of...

Sumbella

Mar 302 min read

Contrast in Workshop Facilitation

[#Facilitation + "Contrast"] Sometimes I worry about including simpler tasks like word-matches or other ‘lower order thinking’ activities...

Sumbella

Mar 301 min read

'Profitable' Skills for Success

[#learning + ‘profitable’ skills] These are some of the most profitable skills I’ve learned: Writing Facilitation Teaching Mandarin The...

Sumbella

Mar 302 min read

Wrapping Up with Energy: Music, High Fives, and a Sweet Farewell

[#facilitation + endings] A little while ago I got an idea to finish the end of a workshop or session with a bit of music and high fives....

Sumbella

Mar 302 min read

The Impact of Examples in Facilitation

[#facilitation, #teaching + the power of examples] I talked in yesterday’s post about how I’ve been trying out seating arrangements in my...

The Power of Seating Arrangements in Facilitation

Sumbella

Mar 302 min read

The Power of Seating Arrangements in Facilitation

[#facilitation + seating arrangements] Spot the difference in the photos: before, mid, and then after. In day 2 of 4 of my workshops...

Strategies for Enhancing Wellbeing in Teaching Workshops

Sumbella

Mar 302 min read

Strategies for Enhancing Wellbeing in Teaching Workshops

[#teaching, learning & #wellbeing] Let’s talk about feeeeeelings! They are a most important ingredient affecting motivation and...

Sumbella

Mar 282 min read

Creative Room Arrangements for Facilitation

[#facilitation: rethink the room] When I enter a classroom or new workshop room, one of the first things I do is to scope them out....

Sumbella

Mar 281 min read

What does facilitation mean?

[#facilitation] What does facilitation actually mean to you? When I met up with Alex Gray to record an episode for the...

Sumbella

Mar 282 min read

Choosing Between Online and In-Person Workshops

[#facilitation👩🏻‍🏫] What’s more impactful: online or in person workshops? For me, the answer isn’t always one or the other. Like so...

Sumbella

Mar 282 min read

Indicators of a Good Online Workshop

[#facilitation] ‘So what does a good online workshop look like for you?’ - I was asked this question the weekend before by Alex Gray for...

Sumbella

Mar 251 min read

Fostering Growth Through Mistakes

[#facilitation + #mistakes] A couple of ideas and quotes I shared this week were about the importance of questions - and making it safe...

Tech Success: Enhancing Training Sessions with Teams

Sumbella

Mar 252 min read

Tech Success: Enhancing Training Sessions with Teams

[#facilitation + #tech] Hello fellow #teachers in #MENA who are working today (Sunday) too! I just finished delivering two training...

Sumbella

Mar 252 min read

A Traveler's Tale of Furry Surprises

[#facilitation + #travel 🙀] Back on my #Saudi trip last month, my colleague Ahmed, his wife and I got into the car to head off for our...

Sumbella

Mar 252 min read

Misconceptions about Facilitation

[#facilitation] Some misconceptions about facilitation: 1 - The hero is the facilitator 2 - It’s a “loud” skill for extroverts 3 - The...

Mic Mischief: Finding Humour in Facilitation

Sumbella

Mar 182 min read

Mic Mischief: Finding Humour in Facilitation

[#facilitation + #humour] At one of our Network & Learn events in #SaudiArabia last week, the ICT Manager was helping us set up the...

Blog: Blog2