Meet MetaGroup
We’re a South African organisation that facilitates communication among educators and learners of all ages to achieve mutual goals. We help people to come together in collaboration and productive ways to explore new possibilities in education. We invite you to engage with us to exchange ideas, raise issues and share innovations so we can all learn and support one another in our common work as educators.
MetaGroup Communications helps educators become more effective facilitators of active and complex learning. Based on sound group dynamic theory and practice we teach a facilitation approach that enables groups of people to maximise their ability to learn and work together in collaborative and productive ways. Educators who attend our workshops enhance their ability to design and implement creative and stimulating curriculum that puts learners in the centre of the learning process.
Our Vision is for the classroom and school to thrive as a supportive community of learners where relationships are based on trust, respect, care and co-operation.
Our Mission is to unleash the learning potential of the group by enabling people to connect through co-operation and open communication. We strive to support personal development through the constructive power of the group.
The Key Role of Educators
We recognize the key role that educators and administrators play in any educational renewal program. To be able to model a love for lifelong learning and foster a similar love in learners requires nurturing support for the educators and caregivers. Personal growth and development takes time and a secure space, within oneself and in the external environment. To support this endeavour, we are offering this website as a medium to develop a community of teachers who would like to mingle with others and perhaps find good company as they explore new possibilities for teaching, connecting and education.
What We Do
MetaGroup Communications offers all educators, teachers, principals and administrators, government officials, curriculum planners and developers, trainers, facilitators, corporate managers and executives highly interactive programs that walk the talk of a learning community and organisation. Participants live the theory, principles and practices of creating a positive learning environment, Co-operative Learning (CL), Multiple Intelligences and Outcomes-Based Education (OBE), and thus experience how to translate brain research into best teaching and learning practice.
- Group dynamic theory provides guidelines for promoting a supportive, trusting and caring environment that fosters respect
- Co-operative Learning offers the principles and practices for designing creative and collaborative groupwork for any learning or meeting situation.
- Outcomes-Based Education offers principles to maximize the human resource potential within the group.
Within this framework, participants enjoy interactive experiences that enable them to effectively design and promote collaborative learning.
MetaGroup Communications offers a variety of products and services and workshops and courses for professional development. The interactive learning approaches are seen in real classrooms in our two professional development DVD’s.
Client List
Our educational clients include the Universities of Cape Town, Western Cape and Stellenbosch, former Cape and Peninsula Technikons, Western Cape Education Department, Scientific and Industrial Leadership Initiative (SAILI), Peninsula After School Care Programme, former Teacher Colleges of Cape Town and Good Hope (Khayelitsha), Former Teacher Learning and Resource Centre (at UCT), Zonnebloem Nest Senior School, Cape Town and Portland High Schools, Ocean View, Jamaica, Chumisa, St Agnes, Parkhurst, The Grove, Llandudno, Sweet Valley and Herzlia Primaries, Sid G Rule, Liwa, and Groote Schuur Primaries.
Our corporate clients include Allan Gray, Southern Life, Old Mutual, Board of Executors, ESKOM, Computer Society of South Africa, Synergy Computing, Wildlife Society of South Africa, Catholic Archdiocese of Cape Town, University of Cape Town, South African Institute of Race Relations
Meet Who We Are
Alyce Miller
Alyce Miller created MetaGroup Communications in 1989. Prior to that she taught for several years at an inner-city high school in New York City. There in the early ’70’s she first started practicing Co-operative Learning in large classes of mixed ability students. When she came to South Africa in 1978 she joined the UCT drama department. She continued applying and developing the co-operative learning way of teaching in several departments at UCT including psychology, music, and education and the Graduate School of Business.
From there she applied her knowledge of group dynamics in workshops presented for the corporate sector where she found a close correlation between the Learning Organisation and Co-operative Learning in the classroom. Alyce continues to inspire the constructive and nurturing power of the group. She has published teacher training DVD’s with Educator’s Guides that present actual classrooms implementing Co-operative Learning, Multiple Intelligences, while achieving learning area outcomes. Recently she has applied her expertise to teaching reading and has developed curriculum programmes for establishing the Co-operative Learning classroom while teaching for all language area outcomes and metacognition.
Resume of Alyce Miller
ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS
B.A. (Secondary Education) (Queens College, City University of New York)
B.A. Honours (Clinical Psychology) (University of Cape Town)
M.A. (Theatre) (Hunter College, City University of New York)
Licensed Teacher and Psychometrist
METAGROUP COMMUNICATIONS
1989- Founded MetaGroup Communications consultancy. Assists profit and not-for-profit organisations in managing group dynamics in the decision making process, team empowerment, Co-operative Learning and Multiple Intelligences. Conducts corporate policy workshops to enable creative problem definition, innovative solutions and high motivation to achieve successful implementation. Offers courses in teaching Reading Comprehension across the curriculum, Co-operative Learning, Multiple Intelligences, Differentiated Instruction, Continuous Assessment, Peer Mediation and Conflict Resolution Skills, Facilitation Skills for Interactive Meetings and Team Management, Course and Workshop Design.
Presenter at national /international conferences: South African Association for Conflict Intervention, Power of Potential Conference, Peace Education in the Future South Africa, 1996 IASCE International Convention on Cooperative Learning, 1997 Internet and Educational Computing Conference.
CLIENTS INCLUDE:
| Educational Organisations & NGEO’s | Primary | Secondary | Tertiary | Corporate |
| Western Cape Education Department, EMEP (Extra Murals Education Project); Scientific and Industrial Leadership South African Institute of Race Relations; Peninsula After Thousand Schools Project |
Groote Schuur
Sid G Rule Liwa; Chumisa; Good Hope Seminary; The Grove; Herzlia Primary Schools (Southern Suburbs, Pinelands (Red); Parkhurst, St. Agnes, Sumerset West, Sweet Valley, |
Hout Bay Secondary,
Buren High; Cape, Town High, Die Christelike en Nasionale Sekondere, Holy Cross Convent High, Portland High; Tafelsig; Zonnebloem Nest |
University of Cape Town,
UCT Graduate School of Business, University of Stellenbosch, University |
Allan Gray,
Southern Life, Old Mutual, Medical Research Council, University of Cape Town, Computer Society Juta Publishers (Writers’ Workshop) |
Consulting Assignments
- Western Cape Education Department
- Teacher Training DVD’s:
- Thinking Powers for Reading Comprehension: How to integrate reading into learning area teaching (2008). Sponsored by publishers: Maskew Miller Longman (Pty) Ltd., Cape Town, produced by Edumedia, WCED.
- Co-operative Learning for OBE & C2005 (2000), produced by Edumedia.
- Learning Programme: Lesson plans for unit on Inclusion
- Getting Connected with Co-operative learning: Creating learning communities for literacy in Foundation Phase (2008) published by Edumedia, WCED
- Reading intervention pilot programme for primary, intermediate and senior phases: Literate and Loving it (2006): EMDC North, EMDC South
- Training the Trainer Programme for Curriculum Planners and Advisors (2008)
- Multiple Intelligences: Exploring New Possibilities (2002)
- Teacher Training DVD’s:
- EMEP (Extra Murals Education Project): Co-operative Learning-by-Doing specialist (2000-2003)
- University of Cape Town: Business Science Programme (2000-2003) on developing positive Group Dynamics in learning teams
- University of Western Cape (Education Policy Unit) on National Survey on Information Technology in education
- Workshops on teaching reading and continuous assessment for editors at Cambridge University Press and Juta Publishers
- Advisor to architect Chris de Hart for the Western Cape Education Department’s Millenium School Project, on designing a classroom that enables successful implementation of OBE and C-2005.
OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Prepared critique and recommendations for Norms and Standards and Governance Structures for Teacher Education (compiled by Committee on Teacher Education Policy, headed by Andre le Roux, 1994) on behalf of PETF Working Group on Teacher Education.
1978-1991: University of Cape Town Senior Lecturer at the Drama School.
Contract lecturer in group dynamics for Graduate School of Business, Psychology and Music Education Departments.
1970-1978: Teacher of Secondary Education: English, Theatre, Communications Skills, Speech Therapist. Director of plays within schools and privately. Workshop facilitator on such themes as: “Ways to Enhance Self-Esteem in the Classroom,” “Teaching People to Love Themselves.” Chairperson for the revision of the New York City Public School Speech Curriculum incorporating humanistic and holistic educational approaches.