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.

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!

What techniques do you use to begin a lesson?

Last week in my Teaching Adults class, Dr. Day began class by setting a xylophone on the table. While he did not immediately use it, it did make use wonder how it would be used in the class. He stirred a sense of curiosity in us.

This particular lesson seemed to focus on strategies for gaining attention. Dr. Day explained that there were a number of ways to start a class. He outlined a number of methods that he used such as social action theater and story problems, items such as the xylophone, and short video clips.

I had not used social action theater and story problems in a class, but the idea was interesting. Here is what I discovered about this method of teaching.

Social action theater uses short skits to introduce a topic for further discussion. The skits are written by the performers and may include audience participation. The University of Wisconsin group entertains questions while the performers stay in character.  The topics are typically social issues such as racism, discrimination, homophobia, sexism, etc. Here is a list of topics from the University of Wisconsin.

I did a quick search in Google on “using theater to teach.” I was pleased to find examples discussing how to use theater to teach math, sciences, history, English, teen topics, political rights, clinical empathy, etc.  The possibilities seem endless. I personally would like to see it in action.

By using strategies such as social action theater, video clips, and unique items such as a xylophone, educators can make learning interesting. As I mentioned in a previous post, if learners are interested, they will engagement, and engagement leads to learning.

As for the xylophone, Dr. Day used it to have us think about how we would use it in one of our lessons.