This is best described elsewhere on this website: http://www.mtalearning.com/mta/our-approach.html

We want our activities to be used effectively so we are more than happy to discuss any aspect of our materials and their use - just call us and ask for Jamie or Martin +44 (0) 1937 844800. Experiential learning is new to our organisation. We have a lot of trainers so could MTa come to us to run a workshop to develop their knowledge and skills? We are always keen to help organisations make the best of our materials so we often work with organisations to develop their facilitators. We are based in the UK but have run facilitator development programmes elsewhere in Europe, USA, Asia and Australia. Please contact us if you would like to discuss the options.

The business case will vary from organisation to organisation, but the key points are:

• The packages:
  • are supplied complete: ready for use by local facilitators
  • contain comprehensive manuals including quick-start guides, essential documents and background information. (The complete MTa Insights contains over 160,000 words!)
  • are cost effective: all the development has been done
  • can be used over and over again at no additional cost. We have some customers who have used the same package with literally 1,000s of individuals
• The activities:
  • work! most are sold on recommendation
  • are used successfully in over 100 countries
  • were written by a facilitator who has been working in the field of team working and leadership since 1982
  • are very flexible: they can be used to introduce concepts and skills as well as developing them to a very high level
  • cover over 150 facets of leading and working within teams
  • are unique: most are based on components that are purpose made by us
• The participants:
  • become fully engaged with the tasks and the learning process
  • learn what is important to them in their context (rather than general theories)
  • understand the benefits of applying their learning
  • develop commitment to improve the use of their personal potential
  • improve their performance
• MTa Learning:
  • was established in 1982
  • is family owned and run
  • specialise in designing and supplying experiential learning packages
  • provide a personal service
  • care about our customers' success
    

There is some overlap, but these are the key differences:
The MTa Team KIT is excellent for introducing and developing a broad range of team skills and introducing some aspects of leadership. The large scale materials are very easy to use and suck everyone into the tasks. Because of the length of the tasks (approximately 30 – 60 minutes) it is very easy for participants to recognise areas for personal improvement as they participate in the tasks. This makes it very easy to facilitate participant learning with MTa Team KIT activities. The consequent downside is that the activities take upwards of two hours to run including the reviews.
MTa Team KIT tasks need about 10 sq m of free floor space per working group.
MTa Insights is our most flexible package offering insights into and development in almost all of the qualities required by team members and team leaders. Most of the activities are short, so often 2 or 3 activities can be run back to back, providing a repeating cycle of do, review, learn, test, review, learn etc. The introductory activities are easy to facilitate, but some of the more conceptually advanced activities demand more skilled facilitation skills.
Even though the components are large about half of the tasks are designed to be done on a small table (approx 0.75 sq m.).
MTa Mini is ideal when space is at a real premium. It offers the opportunity to introduce all the basics of team skills with minimal space, but the scale of the components mean that they do not create the same initial impact as the MTa Insights or MTa Team KIT. The other real benefit of the MTa Mini is that it’s scale allows several teams to interact in a normal sized training room, we have therefore used these materials as the basis for several activities that focus on working across boundaries.

All of MTa’s packages are supplied complete with

• A facilitator’s manual containing:
  • A comprehensive facilitator’s guide
  • Facilitator’s notes specific to each activity
  • Re-usable participants’ briefs
  • Participants’ worksheets to help; develop the learning, transfer the learning into daily life
• Access to worksheets online
• The materials needed to run the task, usually polypropylene components.

So for example, if you buy a Standard MTa KIT you will receive 2 holdalls (bags) of polypropylene components together with 3 manuals which contain facilitator guides, encapsulated participants' briefs, review sheets and learning transfer documentation.

No. All of the tasks have been designed and tested in conjunction with specific components. We have tried to use some of the tasks with different components, but the briefs do not transfer.

The grading of an activity refers to the level of skills, attitudes, approaches and behaviours that an activity is designed to address. For example an introductory communication activity might address the basics of effective communication within a team, whereas an advanced communication activity will require effective communication within a team but it may also address communication across multiple, remote teams. The level of activity does not refer to the physical complexity of putting components together. None of our activities favour or require “engineering ability”. We have had feedback that facilitators often look at activities and think they will be too easy for their participants, particularly for high fliers, experienced or senior staff. In our experience it is often appropriate to use introductory activities with people who are very experienced: it is amazing how often people know what they should do, and perhaps think that they do it, but in reality they don’t do it all. Our advice: if in doubt do an activity that looks too easy, the worst thing that can happen is that positive attitudes and behaviours are reinforced, but be assured even the most able people will learn how they can improve. As an aside, when we run our demonstration workshops for facilitators of experiential learning, we always run a couple introductory activities to start off the day and typically people are amazed how much they learn.

There are several criteria to bear in mind:

• the over all purpose of the event
• the learning objectives: the participants’ and if relevant their managers’ and the organisation’s
• the relevant experience and skills of the participants’ (both with experiential learning and the subject in hand) and the diversity of the group
• the context of the learning (what is happening before and after the activity)
• the number of participants
• the time and space available.

When the facilitator has a clear understanding of these elements, that can be compared with the information provided within the facilitators manual. Alternatively facilitators are welcome to call MTa Learning to discuss options.

Usually nothing but observing and making notes of incidents and actions that are most likely to offer learning for the group. The facilitator should however police the rules: the rules are there specifically to help develop the learning opportunities so they should be enforced. Additionally in some tasks there is a role for a customer. If so the facilitator is asked to take this role (full details are provided in the facilitators notes).

No. MTa Learning supply everything that is required by the facilitator and the participants, however the facilitator does have to print the required number of copies of the chosen worksheets. The only other resources that are needed are the standard support materials, flip chart, pens etc.

The facilitator should:

• have a clear understanding of the learning objectives (the participants’ and if relevant their managers’ and the organisation’s)
• decide which activity will best meet these learning objectives (information to help make this decision is provided in the facilitator’s manuals)
• read and follow the advice given in the appropriate facilitator’s notes
• decide how the learning will be drawn out and developed during the learning review
• check that they have all the necessary support materials, components, briefs, worksheets etc.

The materials are designed to be used by any competent facilitator who understands the principles behind experiential learning and is able to help participants:

• draw out and develop their own learning during a group discussion
• make links between their learning and their daily life and or work.

The manuals have been written to provide the appropriate background information as well as the details needed to run each activity. Consequently competent facilitators should not need additional training. We can however provide training if appropriate and are always happy to discuss any aspect of our materials and their use. Please just call + 44 1937 844 800

When a customer buys a MTa Package they become a licensed user of that package and can display a ‘licensed user badge’ on their website. If you would like to display this badge please contact us and we will supply you with the relevant code. There is no formal training or further cost involved.

No; the materials are designed for use by facilitators who are competent facilitators of experiential learning.

We want our activities to be used effectively so we are more than happy to provide personal service, offer free support and share our ideas - just call us.

During most tasks everyone works to an identical brief. Sometimes groups choose to allocate roles to individuals, but whether they do or not should be left entirely up to them. However, when focusing on some specific learning outcomes, it is very useful to allocate roles. When, for example, it is appropriate to have a nominated leader, the task MTa’s tasks have both a leader’s brief and a team members’ brief. These differentiate the role of the leader from the other members of their team. In this situation the different, but complementary briefs, can replicate ‘real world’ team leader / team member’ situations and therefore generate targeted learning. Using specific leaders’ and team members’ briefs is very different from just giving a brief designed for a team to one person someone saying, ‘you are the leader’. Using the latter approach leaves the roles unclear, is likely cause confusion and reduce the learning potential. (There would be no defined leadership role or responsibilities and team members would be unsure about what would and would not be expected of them.) It should be remembered that most team activities give useful insights into the fundamental aspects of leadership without there being a formal leader.)

No – emphatically! The whole basis of the learning process is that people get involved in the activities as themselves. If any role play is introduced individuals can always face up to learning opportunities by using an excuse like ‘I only did that because I was playing a role’ etc.

When working with larger groups it is usually possible to run several groups in parallel. For these users we are happy to supply an ‘expansion pack’ of components which doubles the potential number of participants.

No, this varies from activity to activity. Sometimes there is a single large group of, for example, 12 working together, but more usually a group of 12 would be split into sub-groups of 3, 4 or 6.

In experiential learning it is critical that everyone has, and feels that they have a useful role to play. There is a lot of flexibility with the numbers but almost every activity can be used with groups that vary in size of between 8 and 16. Some can be used with groups as few as 3, others with as many as 24. The facilitator’s guides provide full details.

We have materials that are designed for use with anyone aged between 8 and 80 although the majority are used with people aged 15 and over. They are designed to appeal to people from all walks of life, no matter their culture or creed. Remarkably the same tasks can totally engage 15 year olds and senior managers / professors, but obviously the style and content of the learning review processes are different.

Yes, we run and / or supply activities for company away days, graduate inductions etc. Contact us for more details as we have specific activities that work well with very large groups.

Normally, yes, but you may need an expansion pack and / or create multiple teams. Please contact us for further guidance. All our activities are designed so that every participant has the opportunity to be fully involved. If you run an activity with teams that are too large, participants may have a legitimate excuse for not being fully involved, reducing learning opportunities.

Participants may be working as one team, as small competing teams or sub teams working towards the same brief. Please contact us for further guidance on specific activities.

This varies with each training package, please see the individual product pages for more details or contact us.

MTa Team KIT There are two lengths of tube tubes are 35 and 15cm long, 5 cm in diameter. The square panels are 40 x 40 cm Each holdall (bag) of MTa Team KIT components weighs about 10kg.Two holdalls of components make up 1 MTa team KIT. MTa Insights There are 5 lengths girder, the longest is 72cm. Each holdall (bag) of MTa Insights components weighs about 8kg.Two holdalls of components make up 1 MTa Insights. MTa Pass The components type and mix of components in MTa Pass is almost identical to MTa Insights, but only one holdall of components is supplied with MTa Pass. MTa Mini Most of the tubes are 7cm long, some are shorter. MTa KanDo Lean Most of the tubes are 7cm long: the 90º curved tubes form an arc with a 7cm radius. MTa Select There are five lengths of straight tube tubes, varying between 10 and 35cm and 15cm long. The 90º curved tubes form an arc with a 35cm radius. Each holdall (bag) of MTa Select components weighs about 9kg.Two holdalls of components make up 1 MTa Select.

The components are made to exacting standards in either Germany or the UK. They feel good when handled and are very durable. Most are made from high grade plastic (polypropylene or glass-filled polypropylene).

MTa Activities cover a wide range of topics and are targeted at people with diverse needs. Consequently there needs to be a wide range of worksheets. The manuals that contain several activities contain a selection of worksheets written specifically for that manual, whereas the longer activities, which that have their own manual, contain activity-specific worksheets. Despite this variety we recognise that an ‘off the shelf’ worksheets may still need some adaptation to suit a specific groups needs. Consequently we make these worksheets available online to purchasers so that they can be adapted if required, however the MTa ©copyright must be maintained on these copies.

The participants’ briefs detail the tasks that the individuals and groups have to tackle. Each brief has been written carefully to provide learning opportunities. Some are very tight, with clearly defined tasks and parameters, others provide more freedom and scope for group decision making and a few are ambiguous or incomplete, requiring more information from a customer (if so the facilitator has the necessary additional information). Most briefs are quite short and are often more challenging than they appear!

The tasks provide a platform for learning. They are an essential part of the learning process, but do not provide the learning: they must be followed by a learning review. The tasks are designed to appeal to a very diverse range of people. Although the tasks are based on polypropylene components they are not orientated to engineers, the purpose of the polypropylene is to provide a focus, engaging everyone in group work, problem solving and decision making. Consequently the tasks do not require specialist technical skills, but a range of interpersonal skills: the aim is for everyone to engage with the task on an equal footing. Occasionally the task demands that individuals are allocated specific roles (e.g. leader) with individual briefs, but during most tasks everyone has an identical brief.

Each activity is divided into the task (group work that provides the platform for the learning) and the Learning Arena (where the learning is developed through reflection, review and discussion, usually guided by the facilitator but based on worksheets). Each activity is categorised by its conceptual level (e.g. introductory) and its predicted discussion topics and target learning opportunities. The conceptual level of the learning from the activity has no relationship with the technical difficult of the task. Some of the tasks that require the least skill with the components are the most conceptually demanding from a learning perspective.

The manuals are written to enable competent facilitators to run the activities with no further training. Each contains:

• A Facilitator’s guide that explains all the key elements of the activity; an overview, the learning objectives of each activity, preparation of the room ( e.g. space required), any support materials (e.g. flip chart), suggested timings, role of the facilitator, suggested review and learning transfer processes

• Re-useable participants' briefs

• Learning review and learning transfer worksheets are supplied in hard copy but can be accessed and download from through ourour website an unlimited number of times by the purchasing organisation.

There are two types of worksheets:

Learning Review worksheets. These begin the process of engaging every participant in the learning process by;

Stimulating individual thought about what happened during the task and why

Raising the discussion topics that are appropriate to the task

Preparing them so that they can participate fully in the discussions that will generate the personal learning

Providing a framework for these group discussions.

Learning Transfer worksheets. These engage every participant in transferring their personal learning from the activities to their daily life / work. They provide a framework for;

Summarising personal learning

Identifying which learning has the most potential benefits (immediate/ long-term/ personal/ organisational etc)

Planning the actions that need to be taken by the participant

Considering what additional help/support may be required

A complete activity will take between 15 minutes and half a day. Facilitators should plan to spend at least as long developing the learning as running the task, and as a general rule, the more able the group the longer the learning will take. The most able groups make very quick and far reaching links between the learning from even the most simple tasks, so the learning review can easily take 3 or 4 times as long as the task! Most tasks take between 10 and 40 minutes, some a little longer.

It's very easy to pack an MTa Team KIT. Click here to see a video which explains it in more detail.  

The facilitator's manuals are written to enable competent facilitators to run the activities with no further training. Each contains:

• A guide that explains all the key elements of the activity; an overview, learning objectives, preparation of the room ( e.g. space required), any support materials (e.g. flip chart), suggested timings, role of the facilitator, suggested review and learning transfer processes
• Re-useable participants' briefs
• Review and learning transfer documentation (can be supplied electronically at no extra cost)

Our materials are supplied as complete packs, so for example if you buy a Standard MTa KIT you will receive 2 holdalls of polypropylene components together with 3 manuals which contain facilitator guides, encapsulated participants' briefs, review sheets and learning transfer documentation. All the components are reusable and the consumables (learning review sheets etc.) can be supplied electronically free of charge for use by the purchasing organisation.

We carry stock of all components so can supply replacements. Please contact us for details.

We are very happy to hire our materials, please contact us for details.

All the components are very durable. Consumable items eg. review sheets, may be copied for use within the purchasing organisation. or we can supply them digitally if required.

Yes - we offer facilitator workshops throughout the UK and occasionally elsewhere. Everyone has the opportunity to get involved as a participant as well as discussing all elements of the materials and their effective use.

We replicate the work place by introducing tasks which participants tackle with, through or in competition with others. The tasks are very different in content, duration and difficulty but all are absorbing, stimulating and challenging. Most are based on plastic components to introduce interest and movement. Sometimes sub teams are given different but complementary briefs, but everyone is always asked to be his or herself, with no role playing or acting of parts.

Through their involvement in tasks participants' generate situations similar to those commonly encountered at work. They create genuine, tangible issues that provide the basis for personal learning. Questionnaires encourage each participant to analyse their performance and think through the impact of their actions before they discuss their answers. Through discussion they develop a greater understanding of what happened and why, and how they as individuals, team members or leaders could have been more effective. Finally participants consider the consequences of their learning and set themselves personal targets for improvement which can either be tested and enhanced in further training activities or transferred immediately to the work place. This process is explained by the Learning Arena™.  

The role is to facilitate personal learning, not provide theory, systems, answers or 'school solutions'. Wherever possible the aim should be 'self teach' therefore facilitators must understand and apply the principles of activity based learning, but they do not need specialist knowledge, certification or training.

Our activities:

• are stimulating, involving, relevant, memorable and fun
• are non-threatening and have wide appeal
• focus attention on and meet specific training needs
• focus on drawing out, developing and applying relevant learning
• are supplied complete with comprehensive manuals
• can be used over and over again: they don't wear out!
• can be run indoors or out
• can be used across all job functions, ages, gender and cultures
• they work!

The grading of an activity refers to the level of skills, attitudes, approaches and behaviours that an activity is designed to address. For example an introductory communication activity might address effective communication within a team, and advanced communication activity will require effective communication within a team but it may also address communication across multiple, remote teams. The level of activity does not refer to the physical complexity of putting components together. None of our activities favour or require “engineering ability”.

An activity includes task and review. The time taken for a learning review varies greatly depending on the aims of the facilitator and participants. With very able participants a short task will often provide a catalyst for an in-depth and challenging discussion.
Level of activity

The stated time accounts for the time required for participants to complete all the typical stages of an activity. This includes completion of any task, answering individual review questionnaires, group discussion and relating learning points back to the workplace.

We aim to carry all goods in stock so they are normally despatched within 24 hours of receipt of payment. Shipping times vary between next day in the UK and approximately 5 days to Asia and the Americas. We provide all of the documentation required by customs’ authorities, and it is unusual for there to be a customs delay, but cannot guarantee times through customs nor be held responsible for any charges.

Yes and Yes. We have shipped goods to well over 100 countries. We provide customers with tracking numbers so that the shipment’s progress can be monitored throughout its journey.

Since launching our first product in 1992 we have been building our business on our reputation for both the quality of our products and our customer service: in 2011 we are still selling products to customers who first came to us in 1992! Our products, which are simple to use, are based on sophisticated designs and used in innumerable situations. Not surprisingly some customers like to discuss their particular needs before purchase and we encourage this. Similarly if customers have any concerns about any aspect of a product they have bought we ask them to contact us so that we can resolve the issue.

Yes: We are happy to rent materials to customers who work with large groups (e.g. 25 – 250). Call us to discuss your needs. This service is usually only available within the UK due to the cost of return carriage, but sometimes arrangements can be made for users elsewhere.

When a customer buys a MTa Package the purchasing company becomes a licensed user of that package. This entitles them to display a ‘licensed user badge’ on their website. If you would like to display this badge please contact us and we will supply you with the relevant code. There is no formal training or further cost involved.

Outright purchase: once you’ve bought the materials you become a licensed user. This entitles you to use them as many times as you like within your organisation at no additional cost: remember everything is durable, the components do not wear out! The only restriction is that they should not be rented out or hired to other people/ organisations.

Our standard invoicing currency is GBPounds Sterling, but we also accept $USD and Euro.

We accept payment via:

• BACS
• Cheque
• Credit Card
  • AMEX
  • VISA
  • Mastercard
  • Delta
  • Maestro

 

Glossary of Terms

Our home language is British English. We try to use terms that are understood internationally, but we know that some terms are used in different ways in different places. To ensure common understanding our definitions of words we commonly use are:

· Experiential or Activity Based Learning: learning through personal experience or activity. See the article on this website which explains experiential learning in more detail. http://www.mtalearning.com/mta/experiential-learning.html

· Task: a problem that a group has to solve as part of a learning activity. The way the group tackles this problem provides the platform for learning.

· Learning Review: time spent reflecting on a task, identifying potential learning opportunities, discussing and developing ideas for improvement and deciding how to test out or implement learning. Tasks are always followed by a learning review.

· Learning Transfer: time spent making links between an individuals’ learning in the ‘classroom’ and their daily life, and planning how to make best use of that learning.

· Learning Arena™: the combination of all aspects of the learning review, learning transfer and testing the learning in ‘daily life’.

· Activity: an ‘activity’ is a complete unit of learning, i.e. a task and the Learning Arena. It will include individual thought, group discussions etc

· Manual: a binder containing all of the support documentation; facilitator guide, briefs, worksheets etc.

· Facilitator Guide: the information needed by a facilitator to enable him/her to make best use of the learning materials.

· Components: the polypropylene (a high grade of plastic) pieces MTa supplies that are used within the tasks.

· Holdalls: the soft-sided bags that contain the components.

· Materials: everything that a facilitator needs to run an activity (components, briefs, worksheets etc.).

· Package: the units that we sell materials in, e.g. MTa Team KIT, MTa Insights, MTa Select, MTa KanDo Lean.