This behind-the-scenes look at how we design our practice may be of particular interest to those who teach Nonviolent Communication (NVC) or conscious communication. Participants in our NVC community often tells us that they actually experience the power and potential of NVC in our practice group sessions. We are very intentional in every aspect of our curriculum design and delivery, and in this blog post, Shoko Miyagi shares the details. If you would like to know more, explore our website, download our worksheets, and attend our virtual practice group sessions to experience this approach for yourself.
Does our practice group session feel easy to participate in? Have you been to other NVC workshops and noticed that something we do is different?
That ease is not an accident. It is the result of careful design rooted in a particular teaching and learning philosophy, grounded in respect for adult learners. Learning does not happen through lecture in our community. It happens when people actively practice and experience NVC themselves.
Think of it like a restaurant. The web designer is the restaurant itself, ensuring the space is accessible to everyone who walks in, with the right infrastructure and entry points so all participants can fully take part. The main facilitator is the host, greeting participants, creating a welcoming entry, setting the tone for the entire experience, and holding the space so everyone feels they belong before the real work begins. The small group facilitators are the waiters, tending to learners at the table, noticing what is needed, and supporting the practice. The curriculum designers are the cooks. They work from Marshall Rosenberg’s foundational recipe and adapt it for relevance, accessibility, and scalability.
Our design draws from several traditions in adult learning—backward design, cognitive load theory, andragogy, and experiential learning—to create sessions where practice is the heart of the work. We also use a flipped classroom approach, which means we remove lecture from the live session so that breakout room practice becomes the main event. Each session is built around a few learning objectives—what participants will be able to do in ninety minutes—and lofty goals—what two to three deeper skills they can develop over a year of consistent practice. Every activity flows up to those learning objectives. Nothing is jam-packed. This invisible work—the careful removal of excess content, the precise timing of activities, the attention to pacing—is what makes the worksheets feel effortless in the moment. They have been carefully crafted to mitigate cognitive overload, so participants can stay present and actually practice rather than scramble to keep up.
The monthly facilitator circle ensures small group facilitators can rehearse and refine. Worksheets are finalized by that circle so everyone has time to genuinely prepare. The chapter works with six weeks lead time before sessions. Both our website and our worksheets are designed with accessibility in mind. Because of this careful planning, participants across time zones and language backgrounds can show up, settle in, and practice together. Anyone with internet access can drop in and participate in our learning community. While the sessions are designed with newcomers in mind, experienced practitioners are welcome and often return to deepen their practice.
If something in this resonates, come as a participant. Experience how it actually works from the inside, settle into a breakout room, and practice alongside others. The success of our sessions hinges on meticulous planning, ownership, and deep respect for the community members who make this possible behind the scenes. That is the invitation: come and practice with us. We would love to see you there.
Some background on what shapes our design
Those who would like to learn more about our teaching and learning philosophy can explore the following principles. These are the foundation of our approach to NVC practice.
- Cognitive load theory (Sweller) → Don’t overload the page or the brain.
- Andragogy, or adult learning theory (Knowles) → Treat participants as capable adults with their own experience to bring.
- Experiential learning (Kolb) → People learn by doing, not by being told.
- Understanding by Design, or backward design (Wiggins and McTighe) → Start with the outcome and work backward.
- Action Mapping (Moore) → Focus on real-world practice instead of information dumps.
- Flipped classroom (Bergmann and Sams) → The breakout room, not the lecture, is the main event.
- Learning Centered (Vella) → Rather than teacher-centered, learners’ experience is respected. Learning engages the head, heart, and body.
These ideas have been around for decades, but they still hold up because they describe how humans actually learn.