Reflecting on my Blog
At the beginning of the course, I thought writing a blog would be a valuable exercise, but I really never got into it. I am not sure if it was because I never got motivated to do it or what. Like I said, I understood the value in it, but never got into it.
To me, I took whatever the topic was as just another discussion topic almost. Although the difference between the discussion boards and the blog is that people were likely not going to respond to it, so it was rather one-sided most of the time.
The other kind of annoying thing is that I had to check everyone’s blog several times a week to see if they had posted. On a discussion board though, as soon as I logged on I could tell if someone had posted. Although, I am sure I could have subscribed to the classmate’s blogs so I could be notified when they posted.
I think in a couple of the posts I did find out something new about myself or the way I like to learn. I think that especially happened in Week 2, which I think was my favorite blog post (involved Houle’s 3 groups). I didn’t think I really fell into any of those 3 groups as they were written. It really got me thinking about how those groups may be a bit out of date and how I would update them to fit me (and probably my generation) better.
After this class is over…I am not sure I will continue posting on this blog. I think with a blog you have to be highly intrinsically motivated in order to write and post at any frequency. Plus, I think you have to kind of write what you want to write and what you are interested in writing about. Like I said, though, I see the value of writing a blog and I think it may be something I want to do in the future. I think it would be great to reflect on the progression of my career.
Resiliency & Emotional Intelligence
I think I am fairly resilient person. I think I’ve actually become more resilient as I’ve aged. When I used to hit a setback I would dwell on it for way too long. Then, I used to go to the other extreme and if I hit a setback I would react too hastily and often over react. Now, though, I tend to take an appropriate amount of time to think about the issue and then start to proceed with the action plan. I can only hope that I continue to be resilient as I’m sure that I’ll experience more setbacks in the future.
Really…I don’t see how my resiliency affects the way I learn today. I guess I am able to compartmentalize pretty well. I did have some negative personal experiences when I was a child, but I continued to do well in school despite this.
I do think emotional intelligence does influence my training and work. I think I need a relatively high emotional intelligence to do well in my position as I have to be able to read people well. I found this document that is a compilation of other articles (http://www.talentsmart.com/media/uploads/pdfs/The_Business_Case_For_EQ.pdf ) that had a lot of good information about Emotional Intelligence in business and a lot of thought-provoking data. I think the idea of EQ is becoming more well-known and think businesses will place a greater emphasis for years to come. I think it is interesting how people in positions above “director” tend to have lower EQs. As the document states it is likely because they are good financial managers and not people managers. I think this trend will change and EQ will make a bigger impact in the future.
I have seen more and more courses available on Emotional Intelligence. I would like to take one just to see exactly what type of information they cover and how they make it applicable to your job/life. It may be a course we’d like to offer to other leaders in my organization.
Learning Preferences
Thanks Bridget, for recommending that we find another mode to communicate through our blogs. I happened upon this voki tool and gave it a shot and it is pretty cool. I could make an avatar, and then either record my voice using my computer microphone, phone or even do text to speech. I can see myself using this tool in the future because it was so easy, plus it is FREE! Nice new tool to spice things up a little bit ever so often.
P.S. I do apologize for the way I sound though. I am trying to get over a cold, but it is lingering.
Talkin’ bout my generation!
I interviewed my mother, a Baby Boomer, and asked her how she prefer to learn. I don’t think anyone has ever asked her that before because she seemed to not understand my question. Once I reworded it a couple of times to coax it out of her, she said she is a visual learner and likes hands on learning. She said she likes someone to demonstrate a task and then have her practice until she’s comfortable doing it on her own. For more informational type training she says she likes to know the reason behind the procedure or process, etc. If she knows the reasoning behind it she’s more likely to accept and retain it.
I actually don’t find my mom learning’s style much different than my own (Millennial). I too like a task demonstrated and then let me get in some hands on practice. However, I think my mother would prefer step by step instructions and I think I would prefer general ideas, let me get in there and look around, and then if I don’t understand, show me. We got a Learning Management System last year and instead of people demonstrating it for me, I just wanted to get in there and click around; become familiar with it first. Then once I have some foundational comfort, I’d like to get more detailed instruction of things I’m not automatically picking up.
In this particular example, I think the main difference is that I am a lot more comfortable with technology than my mother. I think for my mother you would need to show her step by step of how to do something in the system before she would even login to the system. I am sure if any of you have taught a millennial a computer application they usually jump 5 steps ahead (even if they aren’t the correct steps!).
Also, here is a youtube video that discusses Millennials in the workplace. In case you want to know more about this new generation in the workplace, you should watch it. I agreed with many of the statements. One of the most interesting things I learned was that of Millennials surveyed, 90% said they had a close relationship with their parents. Just shows you how important Baby Boomers are in a Millennial’s life. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDAdaaupMno
Doing what’s comfortable (Week 5)
As I think back over the courses I have created or instructed I think most if not all have fallen under 2 strategies, behavioral and cognitive. I think about why that may be and I think it may be because most of our training falls under these two concepts. At my employer, a group of 20 healthcare facilities, what are the most important training that we need to give them. Most of the time we want to teach them new skills (CPR, how to check vital signs) or we need to give them information. I think these 2 also feel the “safest” and “easiest” sometimes. Everyone more or less knows the behavioral and cognitive strategies from their own training experiences through school.
Now, just because we use these strategies doesn’t mean we necessarily use them “properly” or think about how to use these strategies effectively. Doing more research and more studying on these strategies will allow me to think about them in an in-depth manner and use them more effectively.
So when will I start using these other strategies? I think there will be opportunities for me to use these strategies when our foundational courses are finalized. Then we can start building and designing other courses that are less cognitive or behavioral based. Most of our courses are just one day courses and some of the other strategies really require material that will be covered over a longer period of time. I like knowing that I now will have more tools in my toolbox. Whenever I do need to design another course, I will look at which strategy would best fit the course instead of falling back on my old faithfuls, cognitive and behavioral.
Competence in Learning Situations
One course I felt competent when I took it was the Learning & Development class in University College in the Strategic Human Resources Management program. I had experience in training, so I felt fairly comfortable speaking from experience and was able to easily understand the theories. I can’t think of a specific experience where I felt incompetent, but I could probably say anything involving math or science. I walk in the door feeling incompetent and doubt my attitude will change much.
How can instructors reach these people who have this preconceived notion that they are just not good at a certain subject?
1) Feedback – Giving proper feedback and often would really help learners perform better. I remember in classes where I was lacking competence that I didn’t receive as much feedback as needed. With frequent feedback, I would know how I’m doing and make adjustments and know what areas I need to concentrate further on.
2) Connect to Real Life – As Wlodkowski states in Strategy 51, “Use Authentic Performance Tasks to Deepen New Learning and Help Learners Proficiently Apply This Learning to Their Real Lives” (pg. 326) Making it connect with the learner more realistically rather than abstractly will help a learner’s confidence in using the skill or knowledge.
3) Self-Assessments – I really like Wlodkowski’s suggestion of “Note-Taking Pairs” I love this idea. It is great for 2 learners to work together to review and modify their notes. It allows students to cooperatively reflect on the material. I think this would really help summarize the pertinent content and bring about and solve any issues or concerns. I think this would help someone from feeling “left behind.”
Week 3: Takeaways & Self-Awareness
I must say I didn’t think so much could be written about adult motivation to learn. I thought “Wow, 50 pages just on Establishing Inclusion?!” I was definitely wrong, though. Every bit of information, example, strategy is all relevant and important and so far I am getting a lot of great ideas from the Wlodkowski book.
Wlodkowski offers so many great strategies and gives great examples that demonstrate the strategy in a real life situation. He gives concrete ideas. For example, I really like the different types of groups he listed and described from special interest groups to simulation groups. Really helps me think out of the box and figure out which group structure will work best for the task at hand.
I also liked how he organized attitudes into 4 directions (1) toward the instructor (2) toward the subject (3) toward their self-efficacy for learning, and (4) toward the specific learning goal or performance. Understanding all of these different factors can help you better diagnose or address an issue or problem. His quote “We want adults to respect us, to find the subject appealing, and to feel confident that they can successfully learn the specific task before them.” (Wlodkowski, 173) really summarized what an instructor’s intent should be. He then follows this by providing strategies to ensure that this statement becomes reality.
On the 2nd part of this question on what makes me different… I try to avoid having any one characteristic define me. I think who makes me ME is a combination of many things and may experiences I have gone through. I think having 2 older brothers makes me somewhat different from someone who was an only child or has 1 sibling. I also think me having a stay at home mom makes me different from those who had working parents. There are all these little things that add up to make you who you are.
I think I’m evolving and changing too, so 10 years from now I could be different or hold different views then I have now. I think who I am does influence my learning, but I also try to understand myself to a certain degree so that I continue to be open-minded and realize any biases I may have. I think understanding your background can help you become a better learner because you are more aware of possible biases. I think instructors should point this fact out that different experiences have shaped you as a person and learner and that these experiences influence your perspective. I think self-awareness can help learners realize their own deficiencies and strengths and keep an open mind.
Week 2: Houle’s 3 Groups
After reading Houle’s piece and considering my own experiences, I would say overall I am fairly goal-oriented. When I take training or pursue more formal educational opportunities there is always a goal in mind. I tend to take courses when I intend to put the knowledge to use. I think in most circumstances I would not devote time to a course unless there was a clear need for me to learn it.
I would also like to point out there may be a generational difference involved here and one reason why Houle’s ideas may be a bit out of date. Being a person from Generation Y, the internet is my tool of choice. If I want to learn about cooking, I’ll look it up online. Maybe watch some YouTube clips or read a short article. It would be very abnormal for me to go and take a formal course on the subject, especially when the internet is at my finger tips and FREE. Sometimes I’ll see something on TV that piques my interest so I’ll go read the Wikipedia page or some other online resource on the subject, but I wouldn’t go out and buy a book about that subject. I think that many Gen Yers are the same way. Instead of going out and reading a book on the subject matter, they’ll just spend an hour or so reading about it online.
So does this make me learning oriented then? On a daily basis, I find myself becoming interested in something I heard during the day and then spending time researching it further online. Now granted, I don’t check out a book to read more about it or take a course on it, but then again there is no “purpose” or “need” for me to know this information, so is that learning oriented?
I think it may be fair to say that when it comes to formal learning I’m goal oriented and for informal learning experiences I am learning oriented.
Week 1: Introduction
Who are you and how do your future plans (career/personal/etc.) involve knowledge about adult learning?
I graduated from the University of Virginia in 2006 and I majored in Psychology and Anthropology. I currently live in Austin, TX although I was born and raised in Virginia. My interests include eating (I love food), being with my dogs, watching sports, and hanging out with my husband, family and friends.
I currently work as a staff development specialist in healthcare and prior to this job I was a training coordinator in the high-tech field. I have been in the learning and development industry for about 3 years and have definitely come to realize that it is my niche and I would like to continue my career in the field.
As I intend to stay in the learning and development field, adult education will always be a large component in my position. As I create training material and develop programs, having knowledge of effective ways to instruct and teach adults will positively impact the quality of my work.
How would you rate your current knowledge of adult learning theories? What are some things you already know about adult learning theory (theories/theorists/general concepts)?
I was a Psychology major in undergrad so I do know some of the general theories (or at least I somewhat still do). I am hoping that by revisiting them now I will be able to actually apply them this time around. I have also taken a “Train the Trainer” class so I picked up some techniques and best practices from that class. Also, I have learned a lot from my colleagues. When I took the training coordinator position I didn’t have any experience in training, so I picked up a lot from my coworkers. Now granted, I’m not sure if their method was “right”, but if it was effective I took notice!
What do you already know about yourself, or not know about yourself, as an adult learner?
A couple of things I do know about myself is that I learn by doing. If I am learning a new task, I’d rather actually do the task rather than watching someone else do it. I also thrive on examples. Give me a good example of how I can apply what I am learning or tell me an experience when you used it, I am far more likely to remember and use it myself.
I also like to come away from a training with a tool. For example, if you are teaching me a Meeting Skills class I want to walk away with an example of a meeting agenda format or several formats. Don’t just tell me how to effectively hold a meeting. I want to walk out of that course with tools to hold an effective meeting.
What do you hope to get out of this course?
I think this goes along with my last statement in the previous question. I want to come out of this course with some ammunition (so to speak). Some tools, interventions, strategies, and general knowledge about adult education that I can apply to my work. I want to know how to engage the students better and also how to ensure that after these students leave the classroom (or leave their computer) their behaviors change to what I intended.
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