SOME APPLICATIONS OF NLP TO EDUCATION

The profound attitude and spirit of NLP, combined with its continually developing models and tools, is being applied successfully to a growing range of human activities to develop -

Ø a constructive understanding about individual, group and organisational behaviour

Ø skills for replicating success and (where appropriate and desired) facilitating change and development.

Initially NLP developed in a therapeutic context - for example, modelling how successful therapists worked and how people overcame their fears and anxieties and, for instance, developing a really fast phobia cure. It is now being applied to many aspects of personal and professional development, including in the commercial and business worlds, health and sport - and to our own specialism, education (education in its widest sense - ie incorporating lifelong learning, ‘special needs’, teaching and training, personal, team and organisational development, coaching and mentoring). Along with our ‘cousin’ organisation, New Oceans, we are probably amongst the leading developers of the applications of NLP to learning and teaching.

Through NLP we can understand and utilise the structure of the internal processes relating to our :

Learning/Teaching Outcomes	knowing what we want to achieve and what it will be like when we’ve achieved it – including our related beliefs (possibility, ability, worthiness) and values (what’ motivates us)
Learning/Teaching Preferences	our unconscious internal thinking preferences that dramatically influence how we perceive ‘our world’	Learning/Teaching STYLES
Learning/Teaching Strategies	the unconscious strategies we utilise inside our minds when we are undertaking any task (eg when learning, remembering, planning, creating, getting upset, etc)
Learning/Teaching States	how we manage our own emotional state – and influence the emotional state of others - in our own unique way
Learning/Teaching Relationships	how we relate to 1: our self (as a learner/teacher - our self-esteem), 2: significant others (our peers & colleagues, parents, etc) and 3: education/school (including aspects of the curriculum)

PRACTICAL EXAMPLES

1. Working with ‘Challenging’ Young People

Ø 2 Projects based in Ealing and Redbridge

Ø A 6-Day Training: Working Inside Out: Resolving Emotional Conflicts-Transforming Challenging Behaviour

Ø Some Experiences Of Working With Vulnerable And Challenging Young People

1. Making Sense of How We Learn – An Introductory Day Workshop

2. Raising Self-Esteem in Primary Pupils – An Introductory Day Workshop

3. The Emotional Dimensions of Teaching and Learning – An Introductory Day Workshop

4. Taming the Dragon: Dealing with Anger, Fear and Distress – An Introductory Day Workshop

5. Teaming with Ideas: Building on Uniqueness and Diversity for Team and Organisation Success – An Introductory Day Workshop

6. Modelling and Transferring Excellence – A positive and supportive approach to developing excellent educational practice

7. Working with Dyslexic Behaviour – An Introductory Day Workshop

8. Short Introductory Workshops (based on ‘Working Inside Out’) on a range of subjects/topics, including:

Ø ‘Knowing what you want: An Introduction to Outcomes and Motivation’

Ø ‘Understanding Rapport: An Introduction to Relationships and Communications’

Ø ‘Preparing for Ofsted: Getting Clear on What You Want and What’s Important to You’

Ø ‘Understanding Ourselves: So – Every Behaviour has a Positive Intention?’

Ø ‘Understanding Ourselves: It’s not just what you do - it’s the way that you do it’

Ø ‘Understanding Ourselves: It’s not just what you think - it’s the way that you think it’

Ø ‘Understanding Ourselves: Emotions at Work’

Ø ‘Understanding Ourselves: An Introduction to Anger Management’

Ø ‘Ideas for Developing a Multi-Sensory Approach to Learning and Teaching’

Ø ‘On the Subject of Self-Esteem’

Ø ‘Values-Based Education’

Ø ‘An Overview of NLP and its Applications to Education’

© Jeff Lewis