Collaborative Group Learning and the Birth of the FECit© Model

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Before training to be a counsellor, I was a Learning and Development Officer, completing post-graduate training with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. I will be forever indebted to one of my first tutors on that course who taught a module on “How People Learn.” Up to this point (at age 28), I knew that I seemed not to learn in the way that school had wanted me to learn: exam results which did not represent the amount of effort I had put in; essays earned me better grades than any exam I took and, post-college, I started and dropped out of three different qualifying studies.

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Studying how people learn opened up a new world for me and did wonders for my self-concept. I finally understood how I learn and why I process information and retain knowledge in the way that I do – I am a bottom-up thinker1 who relies heavily on sensory-driven data to inform perception and understanding. Over the past 27 years of my lifelong learning studies, I have written assignments about either the theory of how people learn or to reflect on my own learning processes. Why? (1) To understand myself, (2) to understand my learning motivations and personal barriers to learning and (3) as a means to understand how I can best collaborate with others so that they can move towards their personal and professional development goals.  This may mean considering how therapeutic participants2 access new ways of being and can or cannot open up to new opportunities.

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The willingness to listen is important. How else are we to hear the needs, wants and voices of the learner so that we can collaboratively adapt processes and accommodate difference at a meaningful level?  The training we do here at TfC has been so rewarding to me as a facilitator. The benefits of collaborative group learning, which relies on compassionate cooperation between learners3 are plentiful. Mutuality4, enhanced communication3, interdependence5, social interaction6, and facilitation of critical thinking5,7 are included amongst the advantages cited in research on the topic. Personally, collaborative learning helps me to retain, understand, apply and synthesise contextual and conceptual knowledge1. Being in the company of other therapists to make shared meaning8 from theory and practice, to ask questions3, explore and compare1,3 understanding and to have a space where new knowledge can emerge3, has been so rewarding to my personal and professional development.

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Recently, in a cohort of our popular CPD course, Working with the Functionality of Neurodivergent Children and Young People I noticed the collaborative learning process playing out beautifully.

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The session included ten learning participants – the number included two lead facilitators. Effort had been made in the course to encourage a mutual environment, valuing everyone’s contribution of knowledge and experiences. During one particular conversation exploring the concept of how three lenses – context, functionality and environment – can inform our practice when working therapeutically within neurodiversity. The presentation had already been referred to in its acronym and then, considering its application to practice, a group member contributed9 – FEC it! Instantly, the FECit© model and the entire group intuitively joined together10 to celebrate it! It was an important and joyous moment and it has quickly integrated into the language of our practice in this field.

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What is the FECit© model?

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An overview is that FEC is an acronym for Functionality, Environment and Context where:

1. Each component of the model contributes towards a person’s way of being in the world.

2. Changes in the environment are recognised to impact the way a person functions in the world. 

3. It is recognised that changes in the context may contribute to changes in the environment. 

4. A person’s functionality adapts to the environment.

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The model’s name is now attributed to Zara Winstanley8, the lead facilitator on the course in recognition of her contribution to understanding in this field.

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Fig.1: The FECit© model, © Zara Winstanley, 2025.

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Why the FECit© model has therapeutic value when working with the functionality of neurodivergent children and young people.

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Everything, consciously or unconsciously, has a positive purpose. Combine this with the principle of the client being their own expert, we can use the FECit© model to support a person’s self-awareness, communication, problem-solving and other self-advocacy skills.

 

Want to know more about the FECit© model? The model is integrated throughout the 30-hour, 6-day training course, which provides a collaborative and experiential approach to gaining a practicable understanding of offering neuro-affirming therapeutic practice by Working with the Functionality of Neurodivergent Children and Young People.

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References

1. Burns, E.A. (2003). Bathroom Politics: Introducing Students to Sociological Thinking from the Bottom Up. American Sociological Association. 31(1), 110-118. https://doi.org/10.2307/3211429 

2. Mullan, J. (2023) Decolonising Therapy.: Oppression, Historical Trauma and Politicising Your Practice. W.W. Norton & Company.

3. Basu, A. & Middendorf, J. (2018). Discovering New Knowledge Through Collaborative Learning in Groups. Journal of Geological Education. 43(4), 317-321. https://doi.org/10.5408/0022-1368-43.4.317 

4. O’Donnell, A.M. & Hmelo-Silver, C.E. (2013). The International Handbook of Collaborative Learning, Routledge.

5. Kasimovna, K.G. (2024). Theory of Collaborative Learning in the History of Pedagogical Teachings. International Journal of Pedagogics. 4(05),37-41. https://doi.org/10.37547/ijp/Volume 04Issue05-08

6. Laal, M. & Laal, M. (2012). Collaborative learning: what is it?. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences. 31, 491-495. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.12.092 

7. Loes, C.N. & Pascarella, E.T. (2015). Collaborative Learning and Critical Thinking: Testing the Link. The Journal of Higher Education. 88(5), 726-753. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2017.1291257 

8. Palincsar, A.S. & Herrenkohl, L.R. (2002). Designing Collaborative Learning Contexts. Theory Into Practice. 41(1), 26-32. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15430421tip4101_5

9. Laal, M. (2013). Collaborative Larning; Elements. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences. 83, 814-818. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.06.153 

10. Laal, M. & Ghodsi, S.M. (2012) Benefits of collaborative learning. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences. 31, 486-490. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.12.091

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