Thursday, March 27, 2008

Tip #212: Two Models of Adult Education

1. Expert Presenter

There are two models of adult instruction. The first model is the formal instructional approach that is found on most college campuses: an educational expert presents his or her wisdom and experience. The learners come to be educated by the expert, so they expect to listen while the expert talks. The focus is on the expert. We will refer to this model as the Expert Presenter.

Expert Presenter

Approach: Expert presents wisdom and experience
Method: Lecture with PowerPoint slides
Role of Learner: Listen and absorb
Learner's Prior Experience: Limited source of information
Learning: A passive process of being educated
Focus: The expert

Expert Presenters are typically highly competent and credible, extremely knowledgeable, and clearly committed to their subject areas. They frequently exhibit a great generosity of spirit, anxious to share everything they know with their audiences.

They tend to bring huge amounts of reference information for the learners to take back with them. They provide PowerPoint visuals to clarify concepts. They do most of the talking, rather than the learners.

Master Expert Presenters are also excellent storytellers, able to verbally create imaginative and realistic scenarios that bring concepts alive and engage their listeners. They provide examples that are effective and useful.

In addition, they establish a positive rapport with their audiences through their credentials, personalities, humorous anecdotes, and responses to questions.

They occasionally involve their audiences by posing questions and scenarios, and sometimes even reward respondents with prizes.

2. Learning Facilitator

The second model of adult instruction is a more informal adult learning approach that is found in many organizations: the instructor facilitates opportunities for the learners to discover and then practice new skills. The learners are active participants in their own learning, so they expect to offer information and demonstrate what they have learned. The focus is on the learner. We will refer to this model as the Learning Facilitator.

Learning Facilitator

Approach: Learners discover and practice new skills
Method: Participatory and hands on activities
Role of Learner: Offer information and demonstrate learning
Learner's Prior Experience: Source of information and meaning
Learning: An active process of involvement
Focus: The learner

Learning Facilitators must also be highly competent and credible. However, they are aware that adults can learn only so much information at one time, so they focus in on key concepts and skills. They also make sure that these concepts are understood before moving on to the next topic area.

Although they provide reference materials, they are generally incorporated into the participants' workbooks, which also contain worksheets for learning activities. They recognize that PowerPoint is an audiovisual aid intended only to supplement but not replace the learning materials or activities.

Learning Facilitators need excellent presentation skills, so they are also masterful storytellers. However, they often call on participants to share their stories, because they know that will keep everyone more engaged.

They also realize that learners have different learning styles, so they make sure there is a variety of learning activities that will satisfy the aural, the visual, and the kinesthetic learner (who needs to move physically in order to learn).

The key focus is on enabling the learners to actively discover what they need to learn. So the learners do most of the talking, rather than the Learning Facilitator. This does not mean that the learners control the class. The Learning Facilitator knows when to assign activities, how to debrief them, and how to handle questions that arise so they don't pull the content off track.

3. Which Model is Better?

Is one model of adult instruction better than the other? It depends on what the desired learning outcome is.

There are six progressive levels, or building blocks, of learning. The first level of learning is knowledge, which can be transmitted through lecture and audiovisual aids.

If the desired outcome is an awareness of and exposure to brand new knowledge, the instructional methods of the Expert Presenter can achieve that goal.

However, knowledge is meaningless without comprehension. Comprehension is also essential for affecting attitudinal change. That is why the second level of learning is comprehension.

If the desired outcome is new learning or a change in attitude or behavior, lecture alone cannot accomplish this. A good story can engage the senses, but the learners still need to do something to demonstrate their understanding.

To achieve comprehension, the instructional methods of the Learning Facilitator will be necessary. The Learning Facilitator will use case studies or role plays or games (methods that involve as many senses as possible) to enable the learners to experience, articulate or demonstrate their new learning.

The third level of learning is application, which is essential for building new skills and changing behavior. The Learning Facilitator will use hands on, problem solving, or simulation activities (again, methods that involve as many senses as possible) to enable the learners to practice what they have learned.

The fourth level is analysis, where the learners can break down what they have learned and sort it into subcategories. The fifth level is synthesis, where the learners create something entirely new. And the sixth level is evaluation, where the learners apply criteria to make judgments.

The Learning Facilitator will use hands on, problem solving and simulation activities that are increasingly more complex to help the learners achieve, practice, and demonstrate these higher levels of learning.

Active practice is the only way that learners will develop confidence in their new competence. Their confidence will increase the probability that the learners will use their new skills outside of the classroom.

An expert lecture builds learner confidence in the expert's competence. It cannot build learner confidence in their own competence.

The Learning Facilitator educational model is derived from adult learning principles that brain studies have proven to increase the likelihood of learning and retention. Next week, we will examine these principles.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Tip #211: A Kinesthetic Learner

We've focused the past two Tips on kinesthetic objects. Three days ago, I had a wonderful experience with a kinesthetic learner.

I was auditing a Lighting Fixture Maintenance workshop for Southern California Edison to assess whether effective learning was occurring. This workshop was advertised as a hands on program. Before the workshop began, one participant (I'll call him John) asked about other hands on workshops offered by Southern California Edison. I really didn't think anything of the question. I just assumed that he was interested in very practical workshops on how to install, maintain, or fix energy-related items and appliances.

Then the class began. The room was set in classroom style and the tables were bare of any kinesthetic objects.

The learning activities involved a constant dialogue between the facilitator and the participants, as well as visual demonstrations in a lighting laboratory. The facilitator was highly interactive and worked with each participant in the small class to ensure learning and then check for comprehension. There was a lot of good-natured banter and constructive give and take between the facilitator and the participants.

I sat right next to John and noticed that he didn't participate in the banter, or offer answers to questions, or even ask questions. When pressed for a response, John would give a one or two word answer that was almost inaudible. He had no affect and no emotion in his face. He seemed supremely stiff, uncomfortable, and tentative.

After the second morning break, John asked when the hands on portion of the workshop would occur. He explained that he really didn't learn by reading and listening. It finally dawned on me that John was a kinesthetic learner.

Caught without any koosh in my pocket book, I scrounged around until I found a wide purple rubber band. I gave John the rubber band and explained that it might help his ability to learn if he kept his hands busy. I suggested he just play with the rubber band during the rest of the class.

If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed it. Within a minute, John was animated, joking around, making constructive suggestions, answering questions, and completely engaged. The transformation was immediate and amazing! That simple rubber band enabled him to focus and participate.

When we broke for lunch, John thanked me and then carefully placed the rubber band in his materials so he wouldn't lose it. The facilitator also encouraged him to hold on to the rubber band, since its effect on him was so positive!

After lunch, out came the rubber band and John continued to be highly engaged, offering thoughtful insights, asking clear questions, and giving confident, clearly articulated responses.

At the end of the day, John shook my hand and thanked me profusely. He told me that he was going to attend a three day class that he had been dreading, because it was likely to be a lecture with PowerPoint. We discussed making sure that he had something to keep his hands busy. John left with a plan to buy something that he could squeeze in his hand, like the stress relievers they sell in drugstores.

Who knew that a rubber band could be such a significant learning aid?

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Tip #210: How to Handle Kinesthetic Objects

Hi Deborah,

I recently conducted a train the trainer and placed a nice variety of colorful kinesthetic objects on the table. What really surprised me was that out of 6 participants, half of them literally "turned their noses up" at the objects and one participant went so far to verbally say that the objects were of no use to her. With such a small group we were all at one large table, and being a very kinesthetic learner myself, I made the decision to ignore the turned up noses and verbal objections. During day one the kinesthetic learners had made wonderful creations and were very engaged in the learning process while I miraculously watch a metamorphous take place with the other half of the learners. The "non-kinesthetic" group began to inquire and admire the creations made by the other half. On day two of the training my "non-kinesthetic" learners cautiously started fiddling with the pipe cleaners and by the end of the day, they were equally engaged in the learning process and had also made some wonderful creations.

Additionally, one of the original "non-kinesthetic" participants delivered the training at her site and incorporated some her own kinesthetic objects in her classroom. Her learners were a combination of supervisors, managers and trainers, and feedback from her training survey, included the following from a trainer:

"I loved the "things to do"(clay, play doh, markers etc.) It is not my personal thing but I did notice how much of an impact it had on some of the others in keeping there focus. I will probably steal that one from you J.

Bottom line: keep doing what you're doing and for those that do not feel the need to utilize the kinesthetic objects, it's always optional.

I hope this helps.

Andrea Simmons
T-Mobile USA

I was in that Train the Trainer class that you are referring to. I happen to be very kinesthetic (as evident by the many pipe cleaner creations) and I think that the idea to split up the different tables as you have mentioned is a good one. I think it should be mentioned of the differences in the tables in the beginning as everyone is arriving as some may be focused on other items and not realize the difference in the tables.

My personal opinion on why there were still some non-kinesthetic people at the tables with lots of stuff would be that our focus was trying to sit with different people rather than being concerned with what was on the table to play with. With that said, when it is asked of the participants to sit with new people, they may be forced to move to a table that has more "stuff" on it. So then the question becomes is it better to have people sit at a table where they may not be happy kinesthetically or is it more valuable to have them sit with different learners to gain different perspectives?

Ross Thomas, CRP
Learning Specialist
Prudential Relocation

Ross, Thanks for writing. And a very good end question. Since the important thing is to have people sit with new folks, to increase their connections and possibility of learning, then- after people have seated themselves, I can remind them it is fine to remove stuff from the tables if it distracts them. Then they can make the table comfortable for themselves. Deb

I think that is a great idea. The learners will get all the positives of sitting with new people and they can still take their toys with them if they so choose. Ross

Even in the most active classes, I think it is good to not let the tables get too overgrown with items that are just there for kinesthetic stimulation. If I have nothing else going on in the class, I will have just one item (koosh ball, stuffed toy or set of pipe cleaners) per participant, and I often set them as a group in the middle front of the table so that only those who want to play can disburse them.

I always think it is most effective if kinesthetic items are tied to actual learning. In that case, you may want to keep them off to the side (but maybe in view) or even hidden until you are ready to use them. Even if they are out from the beginning, people tend to not get so put off by them, because they realize they have a purpose other than creating visual noise.

Also, keep in mind that movement itself can substitute in part for having kinesthetic objects about. So if you can plan to have learners move - change seats, go in group to flip charts, do a physical activity - having a huge number of kinesthetic objects should not be necessary.

Here's another approach: Rather than having things out and about, even in none/some/lots configurations, how about having a central "toy chest" or "goody barrel" from which learners can choose to select something(s) to have with them if they wish. You can have it by the entrance door or sign-in sheet, and they can be instructed to pick something if they wish. I am often teaching in situations where people are at assigned tables, so the none/some/lots approach doesn't really work.

Hope these are helpful.

Tracy Adams, CTP.CD
First Vice President, Product Communications for Sales Enablement
Bank of America

I would suggest that a good way to introduce a wide variety of kinesthetic objects without overwhelming the participants would be to start with a few, then add additional items throughout the training session, at breaks, lunch, etc. That way they don't have too much at once and will be excited by the new items when returning from breaks, therefore paying them more attention than if everything is out at the beginning.

I feel that people tend to choose where to sit by people they know or by position in the room rather than by what is on the table.

Lois Walton
MORE Program Trainer
Hazelden Springbrook

Deborah,

I took a train the trainer class from you in Rochester, NY a couple of years ago and have very much enjoyed your Learning Tips every since. But I've never written you back - I know how hugely busy you are. But I'm always impressed with your tips and the work you put into them. Thank you for all of that.

Your invite for input on this one got me. A research project! There are a lot of variables that effect a person's comfort level and where they might choose to sit - position in the room, being able to hear, lighting, where friends sit, distance to the coffee (or the bathroom) .. . . But I think that if you ran your experiment for long enough, and got feedback from participants, you might learn some really useful things. I wonder, too, what portion of participants would prefer which table choice. What if 2/3 wanted to sit at a table with half the stuff? Maybe, if there's room, some extra tables set up, or ready at hand ways of adjusting the amount of stuff on the table - a side table to put extra or to get more?

At the class I took, all of the tables had tons of stuff. I'm not very kinetic and hardly touched it, but I did not find it distracting either- in fact, I kinda enjoyed it just being there - it set a more relaxed, creative, and fun tone for the class.

I'll be curious to hear how your experiment goes.

Lou Litchison
Program Evaluation
Hutchings Psychiatric Center

Monday, March 3, 2008

Tip #209: How to Avoid Overwhelming Participants

f you have read many of these Tips, you will know that I am a strong proponent of placing a variety of colorful kinesthetic objects on training tables. However, when participants came into a train the trainer class a few weeks ago, a few of them were overwhelmed by everything on the table.

I discovered this fact when I read the evaluations from the first day. So that evening, I removed almost everything from one table, left half of the objects on the second table, and left everything on the third table. Since the participants in this three day training class were told to sit with new folks the next day, my thinking was that they would choose to sit at a table that was more comfortable for them. Some did, and surprisingly, some still sat at a table with everything on it. I'm not sure what that means.

My intent in a train the trainer class is to expand the awareness of trainers to the needs of kinesthetic learners and a variety of ways to satisfy them.. This may, indeed, require that the trainers move beyond their own comfort levels. Sometimes, that comfort level is simply a belief that training should be a more formal situation where "playing"does not belong. Other times, that comfort level relates to their own learning preferences, which may not be kinesthetic at all. For some folks, all of those materials on the table seems like unnecessary "clutter.Ó

In other, non train the trainer classes, my intent is to provide sufficient stimulation for the kinesthetic learners. I always tell participants that they can feel free to remove materials from the table if they find it distracting- and sometimes, they do.

So, I have a question for you. I really want my participants to feel comfortable and not overwhelmed. I am thinking that I should change my approach so that I always set up the tables so that 1/3 have everything on them, 1/3 have half of the kinesthetic objects on them, and 1/3 have no kinesthetic objects on them. That way, people can gravitate to the place they feel most comfortable- yet they can notice that other participants may become actively engaged in using the pipe cleaners or clay.