Education and Learning

 Lenka has been involved in educational projects since 1999 and Rökstólar since 2010.

Our domain is the creation and implementation of EMPOWERING LEARNING SPACES or LEARNING LABS, serving the needs of the knowledge society in the 21 st century through our educational modules that we offer in various forms: trainings, seminars, webinars, educational events, platforms for dialogue, workshops, etc.

The framework  that we use (with very clear set of principles, including empowerment and experiential learning) and necessary know how enables us to work with any kind of target group (from children, through youngsters to adult learners and / or institutions. 

Our approach and service is a great source for all institutions interested in transformations and improvements, particularly in the areas such as: inclusion, work with diversity, work in multicultural contexts, empowerment, employability, communiaction, leadership, etc.

In this field of our expertise we offer the following to our potential customers:

• design of learning activities on various topics (organization, carrying out and evaluation). For more details, please see the trainer´s profile here.
• advice on learning possibilities out of formal school system, using the EU grant schemes
• help youth groups or those who work with youth groups create their own projects, based on their needs, thus creating change through participative processes that support people in using their strengths and talents
• training and consultancy for those who organize learning activities, mainly outside the formal education system
• private language teaching, using innovative teaching methods (we teach English, Slovak and Icelandic for beginners),

In our work we follow a principle of empowering the learner to take ownwership over his own learning process - so called Self-directed learning concept.

We have been exploring this concept, both from a position of a learner and an educator. On top of this we enjoy exploring and learning about:

• the latest insights into how people learn and how we can best support their learning
• what education and learning could be and what it actualy is

We BELIEVE and ADVOCATE for educational systems where learning is about:

• following rhythms of inquiry and learning rather than rhythms of compartmentalised structures and times,
• moving away from memorising and teaching towards exploring and learning by doing,
• turning away from sitting and listening passively to constructing and collaborating actively,
• facilitating learning from failure instead of punishing every little mistake,
• accepting uncertainty as the only certainty there is within the complexity of learning,
• relating learning and living in ways that are fruitful and enriching both ways,
• not teaching what to learn and think, but by teaching how to learn and think,
• inventing and facilitating new and integrated learning formats, combining subjects and approaches,
• turning away from instruction and control towards facilitation and support,
• moving away from spaces controlled by educators towards spaces controlled by learners,
• providing encouragement and support instead of criticism and barriers.

A multitude of reforms have been going on in formal education to incorporate elements of non-formal education such as individualized curricula approaches, self-directed learning, etc. allowing students to choose subjects according to their inclination. In knowledge-based societies intrinsic motivation is an absolute necessity as this helps the learner  to  acquire learning skills which keep on motivating her or him for lifelong learning.

By incorporating the above concepts in our educational work, Rökstólar help individuals find their potential and figure out available resources by themselves, helping them find the solution to their challenges, using experiential learning and non-formal education methods as vital tools.
Since we´ve been located in rural area of northern Iceland, we are very motivated to spread and multiply the knowledge we´ve been gaining through European projects to the local level of small villages of Iceland.