In this article, we are going to focus on meta programmes which is a technique we cover in our teacher training courses. In short, meta programmes are not to do with what you think they are more about how you think. One of the ways we process information from the outside world but they are very context dependent, meaning that, they change depending on the situation that you are in and the area of your life that you are dealing with.
Meta prgrammes focus on the way you filter and pick out the information from the outside world. Whether it’s your memories or the meaning that you give to certain circumstances or the experiences that you have. Your meta programmes are some what like a child shape sort of toy because when you know what shapes are in somebody template you can then pick the right shape to slot into their shape source.
However, if they have a shape in their head which is a square and you try to slot in an idea which is a shape of a circle, it’s just not going to fit for them. As the teacher communicating to the pupil, you need to adjust what you say so that it fits in with the pupils meta programmes and therefore gets the best possible result from them, influences them and motivates them to do the things we would like them to do.
There are in fact 19 different sets of meta programmes and these change depending on the context that somebody’s finds themselves in and depending on the situation you find yourself in with the pupils. Today, I will give you an example of a meta programme and how you can use it where you have have to get your pupils working in groups to create an school event.
The benefit about knowing about meta programmes is that once you acknowledge someone meta programme you are in a position to speak their language and to communicate effectively with them. This will also help to inspire and motivate your pupils within the classroom environment. It is a great tool to get your pupils to focus and concentrate in their class work.
This meta programme focuses on how we can get our pupils working together, it may be a group project on organising a school event. It can be a challenge when their is a group of people who want the same outcome but have quite different personalities and qualities to bring to the table. How do we divide the tasks to that will best fit the pupils skills? By using the ‘chunk size filter’.
The first question we need to asked the group of pupils “if we are going to organised an event for the school do you want to know the big picture first or the details first?” And their options for answering are:
A) They want to know the details first
B) They want to know the big picture first
C) They want the details first then immediately after the big picture
D) They want the big picture first then immediately after the details
Depending on the tasks available to the pupils and their skills, you will need to decide which pupil to allocate each tasks too. If you are organising an school event, you would put your specific pupils in charge of making name badges, posters, invitations because they are very good about the details. With your global pupils, they will access on how much money will need to be raise on the day and what kind of atmosphere do we want to create to the other pupils and teachers within the school. Your specific to global pupils, they will need to know about all the nitty-gritty details in order to build the bigger picture.
Finally, your global to specific pupils, are the pupils that need to know what the general feel of the day is going to be and then what individual steps they need to take in order to make that happened.
This one out of the many other meta programmes that exist. If you would like to learn more you can join us on our NLP Practitioner training course and our NLP Master Practitioner course which is held in Hertfordshire.
For more information about our courses designed to reduce stress in teachers and avoid ‘teacher burn-out’, contact us on 0345 3192 666
By Gemma Bailey
www.peoplebuilding.co.uk
