Great Organizations are Constantly Learning and Improving

I would like to challenge you this new year to learn something new to improve your craft and organization. Two often, we become comfortable with what has worked for us in the past, and we are hesitant to try something new. We are afraid of failing. We are afraid what others think of us when we try and fail.

Great organizations become great organizations because the learn and adapt to an ever changing environment. There are many organizations and programs that failed to adapt and as a result are now extinct. Here is a list of good stores that never adapted quickly enough. These stores failed because they were content to doing it the same way.

I am interested in education. I am interested in my personal education, informal education, corporate education, extension education, higher education, non-profit education, adult education, technology in education, etc. What is fascinating is the more I read about education and learning, and the more I am involved in education and learning, the more disconnection I am finding. Dewey, Lindeman, Knowles, and others have been admonishing educators for over 80 years that the lecture method is not the best method for instruction, yet, it is the most common method in our schools today. We need to listen to their advice and make changes.

There are three areas I would like you to look at when you look for something new to try: subject matter improvement, instruction methods improvement, technology implementation improvement. As an educator, these are the three areas I consider most important. Presently, I am looking at it from the vantage point of extension.  Here are some ideas you might want to consider:

• Stay abreast of changes in your field of study by subscribing to or creating a Paper.li newsletter. More.
• Reflect on what you learn using a blog or podcast.
• Improve support to your courses with performance support and job aids. More.
• Make your course more engaging by flipping your instruction. More.
• Use QR Codes to enrich your physical documents. More.
• Use tools like Evernote, Diigo, Zotero, and Dropbox to become more organized in your research. More.
• Read a book on improving your instruction.
• Read a book on implementing new technology.
• Teach a class in a way that you never have before.
• Let others know what you are reading and why. More.
• Keep an eye out for what others are doing well and benchmark the ideas. More.
• Add fun and engagement to your class through gamification. More.
• Improve your operations by creating a checklist. More.
• Make time for learning, attend a Webinar, read a book, explore a program, just do it.

One of the most frustrating things I face is when people dismiss something on heresay instead of investigating it for themselves. I challenge you to honestly explore new methods, techniques, and technologies for yourself before dismissing them, you may be pleasantly surprised.

Make a commitment to yourself this new year to go out and learn something new. Try something new in your classes, your students will appreciate it, especially if you are not lecturing.

Book Review: The Six Disciplines of Breakthrough Learning

What if you were successful only 15% of the time? Would you continue  working in that line of work? Here is an example from the book The Six Disciplines of Breakthrough Learning by Calhoun Wick, Roy Pollock, and Andrew Jefferson, what if FedEx only got 15% of their packages to their destinations on time… would you consider FedEx successful? Probably not, yet, typical corporate training departments only have a 15% success rate for participants applying what they learned to the job.

I had the pleasure to see Wick and Jefferson speak at the 2011 ASTD conference. This is where I first heard about the dismal success rate in regards to training. Since I am an instructional technologist responsible for conducting training on various topics, what Wick and Jefferson spoke about certainly resonated with me. As a result, I purchased their book. The book goes in much more detail about what trainers can do about improving learning transfer, and it will be within my arms reach as I prepare upcoming courses.

The book is 360 pages with an introduction, a coda, and six chapters; each chapter focuses on a different discipline.

• D1 – Define Business Outcomes
• D2 – Design the Complete Experience
• D3 – Deliver for Application
• D4 – Drive Learning Transfer
• D5 – Deploy Performance Support
• D6 – Document Results

Typically, we do a good job when teaching courses; however, we need to do a better job before and after the course. We need to improve learning transfer.

The first chapter, Discipline 1 – Defining business outcomes,  highlights the difference of how we normally decide upon a training topic compared to using business objectives and outcomes to define training needs. Typical courses have learning objectives which indicate what a individual will do at the completion of the course. Business objectives indicate the improve performance desired on the job. If managers are not satisfied with the results or find training to be worthless, then there will be resistance to applying new skills. Having manager input and support is critical to success. This is a theme that was repeated often throughout the book.

Chapter 2 focuses on Discipline 2 -designing the complete experience. Wick et al. stress that all parts of a training event are important to include the pre-training, training, and post training segments. In the pre-training phase, we need to manage expectations. Participants want to know “What’s in it for me?” This is another recurring theme throughout the book. Participants come to a training event with expectations. These expectations may be shaped by previous participants. These expectations may also be shaped by their manager’s attitudes about the training. Participant expectations help determine if they will participate or not. We need to clearly explain what the benefit is to the participants as well as the managers. Wick et al. also stress that we need to move the finish line by at least three months. Participants should demonstrate mastery before being recognized as completing the course.

Discipline 3 – delivering for application. The selection of examples, simulations, exercises, instruction activities all help to bridge the gap between learning and doing. Poor presentations and passive listening does not help to close the gap of learning and doing. The brain wants hands on activities, typically we provide passive lecture activities. The most notable quote in the book is ”Teaching skiing in the classroom with PowerPoint was never an option” (Wick et al., 2010, p.119). Additionally, participants should walk out of the course with concrete goals to achieve based on the training. These goals should be shared with their managers. Again, managers and instructors are key to learning transfer.

The next two sections really resonated with me: Discipline 4  -driving learning transfer and Discipline 5 – deploy performance support.

Discipline 4 –  driving learning transfer stresses the need to stay in contact with course participants after the course to help them apply what they have learned. Corporations spend $100 billion on training with a 10-15% transfer of learning. This means 85-90% is learning scrap… basically, a waste of time and effort for trainers and participants. I don’t know about you, but I do not like to have my time wasted. According to Wick et al. training typically fails post-training (75%). The greatest opportunity to improve learning transfer is after the training event. The authors recommend scheduling post training activities to assess learning transfer as well as provide regular feedback. Participants must also be aware of a hard finish line for the course.

Discipline 5 – deploy performance support focuses on supporting the learner once they are back in the work environment. As Wick et al. pointed out when you buy a refrigerator, you are provided with more support than when you typically complete a training course. If customers are satisfied, they will tend to continue with a product. However, people become frustrated and quit when they are not able to make something work, for example, when they can not remember what to do after training. People often struggle doing something on their own for the first time. Wick et al. recommend  making performance support easily accessible and available 24/7 with information necessary to succeed. Provide trainees with job aids to help them work through a task rather than require them to do it by memory. A job aid is a physical memory. Performance support can be materials, systems, or people. For example, participants want access to their instructors. They want continued contact. Instructors should have time and capability to interact with students even after courses. When instructors actively communicate with participants after the course, there is a greater chance of learning transfer.

Discipline 6 – Document results really focuses on answering the question: Has the program made a difference? An important part of this section is measuring the right things. Business results indicate a change in behavior, typical learning organization metrics do not. ”The fact that the participants completed the course, or rated it highly, or even learned a lot, is irrelevant if the initiative did not improve performance in the target areas” (Wick et al., 2010, p. 264).  If you measure to see if the course is enjoyable, you will end up with an enjoyable course. We must measure to see if it made a difference in what we decided in Discipline 1 – Defining business outcomes.  As Wick et al. point out if you are spending $1 on training but not getting results, you are overspending. By documenting results, you can find areas to improve.

If you are involved in training or education, I would strongly recommend this book. It is important we make our instruction count.

My many methods of note taking.

Note taking

I just finished reading an interesting article Social media & learning – note taking on steroids by Donald Clark. He discusses the benefits of note taking and using social media tools. After reading his post, I realized I was using similar strategies.

Clark comments on note taking at conferences, and questioned why many professionals did not. I personally am an avid note taker at conferences. Lately, I have been using Evernote as my primary tool. You can read more about this strategy here. Evernote has been a great tool for collecting and later finding notes and ideas.  My friend, Deb Beck recently wrote about taking notes with pen and paper. While I appreciate her need to do this, I personally can not make the connection. My connection is with technology – having a digital record that I can quickly retrieve.

I also use Twitter to get the word out about items I find interesting. If I happen to be retweeting a link, I often capture the link into my Diigo account. Diigo is my actual note taking tool for keeping track of great finds in the wilds of the Internet. Most importantly, I use the Diigo’s tagging system to organize and make sense of all the links. Diigo’s search feature is also extremely useful.

For my academic and professional research, I use Zotero. I have gotten into the habit of reading books with a note taking focus. Once I have read a book, and scribbled notes in the margins, I then spend the time to add it to my Zotero library. When I started my library, I would only add notes regarding my academic research. I now add notes about all the books and journal articles I read. This has helped me on a number of occasions when putting together articles, reports, and grants. It has increased the breadth of my research. Here is a little more on Zotero.

Finally, I use this blog to pull my ideas and notes together. This blog helps me make sense of things I have read or discussed. Again, as Clark points out, it allows me to search through my writings, which I have had to do on a number of occasions.

I would be interested to hear how you use social media for your note taking, or even, why you don’t.

Does your instruction stop at the classroom door?

Mechanic using job aid

The past month has been a rich learning experience that has caused me to pause and look closer at the idea of learning transfer and performance support. This has led me to ask, where does your instruction on a topic stop, at the classroom door or weeks later when the learner has demonstrate proficiency? Do we support the learner enough once they have left the classroom? Have we done our job if we do not ensure they can demonstrate proficiency weeks after the lesson?

This line of thought originated at a recent American Society for Training and Development conference I attended. During this conference, I sat in on a number of fascinating sessions. During the sessions, folks like Tony Bingham and Bob Mosher talked about extending the classroom and providing performance support through mobile devices. Andrew Jefferson and Cal Wick talked about performance support and learning transfer using tools, job aids, and checklists.

These sessions resonated with me so much that I was compelled to pick up some books to learn more. If you are interested in this topic, I recommend that you read The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawande; The Six Disciplines of Breakthrough Learning: How to Turn Training and Development into Business Results by Calhoun W. Wick, Roy V. H. Pollock, and Andy Jefferson; Job Aids and Performance Support: Moving From Knowledge in the Classroom to Knowledge Everywhere by Allison Rossett and Lisa Schafer; and Designing mLearning: Tapping into the Mobile Revolution for Organizational Performance by Clark N. Quinn.

Here are some of the take aways I picked up regarding learning transfer.

The discussion of learning transfer was a central topic throughout the conference. It seems we do a good job training; however, we need to improve how we ensure learning transfer has occurred. Wick and Jefferson stressed improving instruction from the very beginning with the invitation to the training session. In the invitation, you should address what is in it for the learner, what is in it for organization, what is the learner expected to transfer. They recommend providing a timeline for the complete experience. This include time when learners are at their office. Training doesn’t end with the completion of the formal session but should extend through a learning transfer period. One of the more novel thoughts was changing the course completion certificate from certificate of completion to certificate of commencement. A certificate of completion indicates that training is done. Home Depot hands out certificates and trophies only when learners report back on how they improved operations based on the training. Educators can also support learning transfer by providing support content in both push and pull formats. With pull formats, learners visit your content and download it. With push content, you send it to learners. For example, it is possible to schedule email messages to go out to trainees on regular intervals reminding them or encouraging them to work on different tasks. Finally, training and support must also be provided to managers and supervisors. Basically, everyone stressed that organization leadership had to have buy-in and be directly involved or learning was going to suffer.

I believe closely related to the idea of learning transfer is the idea of performance support; a key piece being mobile support. Performance support can take the shape of planners, job aids, checklists, or software help screens. These performance support aids can be print or digital depending on the need. Expect to see an increased emphasis on mobile learning in the coming years. Mobile learning in the United States is on the rise. There were 1.6 billion mobile devices sold in 2010. More time is spent outside of the classrooms, yet only 15% of organizations are supporting mobile learning. Mobile devices are so important that business leaders would rather lose their wallet than their phone.

“You can’t teach people everything they need to know. The best you can do is position them where they can find what they need to know.” ~ Papert

Mobile learning should support formal and informal learning before, during, and after a learning session. Mobile learning is a great tool to augment learning and tasks. Checklists are an example. In order for learners to use performance support upport aids outside of the classroom, they should be used during  the entire lesson from beginning to end.

Mosher points out that there are five moments of need when learners need job aids or performance support. The first two are used primarily in the classroom; however, most learners are using the last three items. Disney, for example, designs for three through five and back fills with one and two.

• When learning for the first time
• When wanting to learn more
• When trying to remember and or apply
• When things change
• When something goes wrong

We should be pushing out reminders, new content, and collaboration opportunities to subscribed learners. We need to be flexible because learners are gathering information through a number of different devices and programs. When people list tools, none of the tools listed were specific learning tools, e.g., Twitter, YouTube, Google, Evernote, etc.; however, they were used for the purpose of learning.

Clark Quinn, a leader in mobile learning, stresses that the key to supporting mobile learning and mobile support is to start designing and implementing now. We can build native applications, web applications, or both. Quinn recommends starting slowly with pilot projects and then design for a specific platform. He does not recommend designing courses specifically for mobile devices. Instead, he recommends crating mini lessons or modularize content.

After listening to others and reading what others had to say, I came to the conclusion that I need to do a better job providing performance support.  What are your thoughts?

May issue of Geeks and Speaks is out

Geeks and Speaks

Here is the May 2011 issue of Geeks and Speaks, the monthly newsletter which highlights the great finds of the previous month. This issue introduces two new learning guide: Foursquare and Poll Everywhere. It also provides some great ideas relating to instruction, blogging, Foursquare, and Twitter. It also highlights the Rapid E-Learning Blog.

You can find your copy of Geeks and Speaks at http://www.uwyo.edu/cessupport/support/shownewsletter.asp?letterid=3441

If you are looking for past issues, you can find them at http://www.uwyo.edu/cessupport/Learning_Support/Geeks_and_Speaks.html

An if you would like to subscribe for a future issue, go to http://www.uwyo.edu/cessupport/support/emailsignup2.asp

Keep on learning!

April issue of Geeks and Speaks is out

Geeks and Speaks

Here is the April 2011 issue of Geeks and Speaks, the monthly newsletter which highlights the great finds of the previous month. This issue introduces two new learning guide: Learning Objectives and Screenscasting. It also provides some great ideas relating to instruction, self-publishing,  and QR codes. It also highlights the Wyoming AgriAbility blog.

You can find your copy of Geeks and Speaks at http://www.uwyo.edu/cessupport/support/shownewsletter.asp?letterid=3421

If you are looking for past issues, you can find them at http://www.uwyo.edu/cessupport/linkslist.asp?linktype=Geeks%20and%20Speaks%20Newsletters

An if you would like to subscribe for a future issue, go to http://www.uwyo.edu/cessupport/emailsignup2.asp

Keep on learning!

Book review: From Telling to Teaching: A dialogue approach to adult learning

From Telling to Teaching: A dialogue approach to adult learning by Joye Norris, Ed.D.

Yesterday, I received this book in the mail and I was pleasantly surprised by what I read. Joye Norris has described a learning design approach for adult learners that just makes sense. In From Telling to Teaching: A dialogue approach to adult learning, she outlines a strategy for developing interactive learning lessons and workshops.

While learning a little bit more about Norris, it was interesting to discover that Norris’ method has been explored by Cooperative Extension agencies across the nation to include the University of Wyoming’s Cooperative Extension Service.

From Telling to Teaching is divided into three sections: laying the foundation for teaching instead of telling, lesson or workshop design, and resources.

In section one, Norris provides clear explanations why the common method of instruction does produce the best results and she explains why a dialogue approach should be adopted. Throughout the book, she leverages advice from other works such as Quantum Teaching by DePorter, Reardon, and Singer-Nourie, as well as, Learning to Listen, Learning to Teach by Vella. She uses these works to describe how she implements her method for lesson and workshop design. For example, she notes Quantum Teaching when she describes setting the learning environment. She points out you should prepare your learning environment just as you would your house when receiving special guests. Perhaps the most important piece of section one focuses on how you asked questions when conducting warm-up exercises, lesson activities, and closure activities. She advises to ask reflective rather than recall questions. This shifts learning from teacher to the learner.

Section two is devoted to the actual design of a lesson or workshop. Norris begins with instructional basics of needs assessment and objective development. She stresses, “We should be teaching half as much in twice the time” (Norris, 2003, p. 80). Norris demonstrates how to weave the needs assessment, learner objectives, and learner activities into a lesson using a storyboard. I personally found this to be an effective strategy. When developing the learner activities to address the learner objectives, she uses a learning task model. While I have never seen this model, it seems to have great potential to drive home a lesson; I will be exploring it in future lessons. At the end of section two, Norris describes how to actually use the dialogue approach. She focuses on asking questions the right way, waiting for answers to be formed, acknowledging the participants, and  turning the results into a learning moment.

Section three focuses on resources. Norris provides two lists of recommended reading materials; the first list highlights books referenced in the text, and the other is additional recommended readings. She also provides a second example of how the storyboard is used for a lesson.

Norris’ book From Telling to Teaching readily complements other books focusing on learner-centered teaching such as Enhancing Adult Motivation to Learn by Wlodkowski. While Norris does not explicitly address what makes an adult learner tick, she does take this into account with her method of instruction. I certainly  recommend this book to other adult educators.

Norris, J. (2003). From telling to teaching: A dialogue approach to adult learning. North Myrtle Beach  SC: Learning By Dialogue.

Informal learning – how to satisfy your thirst for more knowledge

Last week, I had an amazingly powerful informal learning week. In short, I have been working on a Web project that uses a database to query data. When planning the project, the group I was working with wanted to present this information on a Google map. Well, I finally got to that part of the project, and I was not as smart on the subject as I should have been. After spending a number of hours on this learning project, and a lot of time on Google and Youtube, I was able to sort out my problems. The greatest majority of learning projects start with a problem to solve.

In 1968, Allen Tough conducted research on learning projects. What was a learning project? Why did people take on learning projects? I like many other people take on a learning project because we need to learn and apply a new skill (Tough, 1968). As Tough explains, a learning project lasts at least seven hours and can be made up of one or more learning episodes typically 10 minutes to 4 hours in length. In one-third of the cases, people wanted to learn so they could help others. The greatest majority of participants indicated they had prior skill with a task, they but they wanted to improve and become more efficient. Tough also noted that learners tend to focus on the practical aspects for learning rather than academic needs. As I reflect on my recent learning project, I would have to concur with his findings.

Earlier this week, I was working on a learning guide for learning objectives. During the class I am taking, we learned about learning objectives; however, the session only skimmed over the material and lasted about 15 minutes. Because I was not totally satisfied with the amount of information I received in class, I started a self-directed learning project. In this project, I explored resources I had on hand such as Mager’s book, Preparing Instructional Objectives: A Critical Tool in the Development of Effective Instruction and the Air Force Manual 36-2236, Guidebook for Air Force Instructors. I also conducted a solid search on Google and Youtube for useful resources relating to learning objectives and Bloom’s Taxonomy. Finally, I revisited resources I had squirreled away in Diigo on learning objectives and Bloom’s Taxonomy. Although, a formal learning class reminded me of the importance of learning objectives, my self-exploration helped my understanding of the topic. The results of my learning resulted in not only a new learning guide but also a lesson on learning objectives.

Also this week, on LinkedIn‘s The eLearning Guild discussion group, Ed Lines asked the question “Have you ever used YouTube to teach yourself something?” While writing this post, I had a moment to reflect on that question. I have to be honest, I often use Youtube to help move my learning forward. I use it for ideas for my martial arts training, when I am stuck on SPSS problems, learning how to use RPGMaker, getting inspired by others who have broken the code, and most recently, I used Youtube to learn more about Google maps, learning objectives, and Bloom’s Taxonomy.

A 1996 report from the US Department of Labor indicates 70% of all learning is informal (Gilmore, 2008). Examining my learning behavior, I would have to concur with this finding. I therefore believe it is important to learn how to learn well. I believe my strategies are pretty solid, I am curious how you go about satisfying your thirst for more knowledge?

References

Gilmore, A. (2008). Hands off: Facilitating informal learning. Certification Magazine, 10(10), 46 – 49. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bch&AN=34615347&site=ehost-live

Tough, A. M. (1968). Why adults learn: A study of the major reasons for beginning and continuing a learning project. Toronto: Ontario Inst. for Studies in Education. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.uwlib.uwyo.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=ED025688&site=ehost-live

Nice when standards are clarified

Over the weekend, I attended the University of Wyoming College of Education EdD Spring Residency 2011. This workshop focused on the graduate students in the Adult Learning and Technology Department. While the agenda was pretty straight forward, learning about the graduate program and its requirements, I walked away with so much more. Most importantly, I came away with a better sense of what needed to complete my degree program. The faculty took time to clarify misconceptions, and stressed not only what the standards were but how to achieve them.

The faculty spent a considerable amount of time going through the doctoral handbook. They went into detail on how to select a committee, get a program of study, the difference between the general exams and the portfolio tracks, and the assessments necessary towards degree completion.

One thing they foot-stomped repeatedly throughout the weekend was that extensive writing and rewriting would be required. Rewriting was essential to degree completion. Rewriting would be necessary in writing the prospectus, possible the preliminary exam, and through the dissertation process. They wanted everyone to be clear that this was strictly business and not personal. I walked away confident that the faculty wanted everyone to succeed.

I was given an opportunity to demonstrate Zotero, a citation management tool. I had fun doing the session, and I am thankful for the opportunity.

Overall, it was a great weekend for both learning and networking. I recommend this workshop to all my graduate classmates.

March issue of Geeks and Speaks is out

Geeks and Speaks

Each month, I put together a newsletter highlighting the great finds from the previous month. I just finished with the March 2011 issue of Geeks and Speaks. This issue introduces a new learning guide: Blogging. It also provides some great ideas relating to instruction, mobile learning,  and QR codes.

You can find your copy of Geeks and Speaks at http://www.uwyo.edu/cessupport/support/shownewsletter.asp?letterid=3401

If you are looking for past issues, you can find them at http://www.uwyo.edu/cessupport/linkslist.asp?linktype=Geeks%20and%20Speaks%20Newsletters

An if you would like to subscribe for a future issue, go to http://www.uwyo.edu/cessupport/emailsignup2.asp

Keep on learning!