I have been away for a while on holiday with the family, so I am late in getting this out there. We are coming to a close with the first round of sessions with my client. So we are looking at new aspect, a new post.
When does learning occur? When does it matter? These are the questions I ask myself and look to embrace each and every day I face a learner. I follow and believe in the Kirkpatrick model. The facilitator causes the reaction and the learning is the responsibility of the learner. This must transition into behavior or some sort of “doing-ness”. Again, this is the responsibility of the learner and is also the responsibility of the facilitator as direction and implementation must be given. “Hey boss, I need to know where to go.” If all is said and done with a large degree of awareness, a result will follow…good or bad. That is how I look at learning.
There is more. That model fits a general construct. As far as any and all sessions or workshop…think experiential learning. This means I let the session in many ways dictate the learning. In other words, the learner in many ways dictates the learning direction. They ask a question and things change. The role-play causes “x” to happen, then we all follow it accordingly. The learner has the keys to the car. My job is to PROVOKE learning. It is intended to cause a learner to say “oww”, “yep”, “wow”, “what” or “oh my goodness”. Then we go deeper into the learning. You say “wow” and then I go into the learning associated with the learning and we may very well all go somewhere very relevant.
So what makes a good activity? In some ways it can be just a question. It can be constructed to cause a leaner to think, react or respond to something they have already faced. They reflect and then react. It can also be some type of problem. The learner, or better still a group of learners must collaborate on a decision on how to solve the issue, the problem. It can also be the ubiquitous role-play. It is the thing that no one wants to do and yet the one way everyone learns. It is a form of kinesthetic learning (doing-ness learning). They are the sales rep and the other is the customer and things happen. For me, it is the manager versus the sales rep. We play out the ultimate “what if this happens” situation. We work it and then we discuss.
In the past three months with my client, questions, debates, exercises, problem solving and creative thinking have been the norm. What about your last meeting? What about your last manager’s session? Have you given the group a problem or issue and then let them solve it? That is the hard part; to give away the power of solution to someone else. And yet this does two very distinct things: It allows another viewpoint and allows them to have at a minimum a say in an outcome. They get to have a voice and they get to think about whatever it may be. Oh yeah, and by the way, they may fail. Let me say that again…you let them have a say and they fail (possibly). Good. No, great. Activities are practice. They expand possibilities by what may or may not happen and let the learner try their thoughts or actions. I would rather they practice with me than with my customer. Right?
Cheers