Autumn is starting to return to southern Maine, my favorite time of year. Time to refocus. It is time to start working, preparing for the end of the year. This year is looking to be pretty challenging. I am enrolled in a graduate class at USM. I am working of two separate professional certification programs through work, Synchronous Learning Expert and CTT+ Certified Technical Trainer. I am also learning a whole new system at work with the expectation of training a class starting at the end of September. If that was not enough to keep me busy, I will be helping my parents as they deal with some medical issues.
What am I thinking!
This is why I have a renewed appreciation for the summer vacation from school. I initially chose not to enroll in a summer session course because there was a possibility that I would be traveling for my job. I traveled to Bangor for three days and two nights. The best laid plans....
Taking the summer off has been refreshing. There is no way I could face these upcoming challenges if I had not taken the summer to recharge by batteries.
Just like all great vacations, they end. It's nice to be busy again.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Education or Performance?
There is a big push at work to update the written curriculum we use for customer service. It was written four years ago but like many companies, the content has been in constant flux. It takes constant editorial work to keep the curriculum updated but as trainers, we have been too busy facilitating classes to keep up with the editing.
The workload has changed in the past couple of months. The service centers we support have not been hiring new employees as often as the past few years. We have been facilitating refresher and new skills training classes. This is also our opportunity to get on those much needed curriculum updates.
Our curriculum is designed with learners' manuals and corresponding facilitator's manuals. The facilitator's manuals match up the learners' manual with training aids, presentations and exercises. They even provide the facilitator with recommended scripting for use in the classroom.
The manuals are designed to provide complete support for a trainer as well as guarantee consistency in the training classes. With the rapidly changing topics for a new-hire training class, it is an advantage to be able to take these pre-written guides from an electronic library, print them out and quickly prepare for the assigned class. Yet, something about them makes me cringe.
I hate the idea of using the suggested scripting. I do not mean to speak against those who utilize the tools they are provided. They are there for a purpose. There was a great deal of thought that went into creating them. I hate using a script to train a class.
I had a training manager several years ago that had the philosophy of, "Training is training. Anyone can do it." He had no idea how offensive that comment was to me. He felt that you could pull anyone into a classroom, give them the training materials and they could successfully train a class. There were no skills needed to do this job.
Over the years, I have worked with several trainers. I have noticed a couple different approaches of training a class. One approach is rooted in performance while the other is based in education. They are matters of style in presenting content. Performance is focused on making sure the content is presented correctly while education is making sure the content is understood. Trainers are rarely pure in their approach and have elements of each in their style. I won't even try to hide which approach I prefer. My feelings are that scripting leads more towards performance than education. I feel it is important to be able to present using my own words. I need to know the topic well enough to explain it for the learners, and sometimes that means finding multiple ways to explain one topic. Scripting only provides one explanation.
I'd like to hear what you have to say about this idea.
The workload has changed in the past couple of months. The service centers we support have not been hiring new employees as often as the past few years. We have been facilitating refresher and new skills training classes. This is also our opportunity to get on those much needed curriculum updates.
Our curriculum is designed with learners' manuals and corresponding facilitator's manuals. The facilitator's manuals match up the learners' manual with training aids, presentations and exercises. They even provide the facilitator with recommended scripting for use in the classroom.
The manuals are designed to provide complete support for a trainer as well as guarantee consistency in the training classes. With the rapidly changing topics for a new-hire training class, it is an advantage to be able to take these pre-written guides from an electronic library, print them out and quickly prepare for the assigned class. Yet, something about them makes me cringe.
I hate the idea of using the suggested scripting. I do not mean to speak against those who utilize the tools they are provided. They are there for a purpose. There was a great deal of thought that went into creating them. I hate using a script to train a class.
I had a training manager several years ago that had the philosophy of, "Training is training. Anyone can do it." He had no idea how offensive that comment was to me. He felt that you could pull anyone into a classroom, give them the training materials and they could successfully train a class. There were no skills needed to do this job.
Over the years, I have worked with several trainers. I have noticed a couple different approaches of training a class. One approach is rooted in performance while the other is based in education. They are matters of style in presenting content. Performance is focused on making sure the content is presented correctly while education is making sure the content is understood. Trainers are rarely pure in their approach and have elements of each in their style. I won't even try to hide which approach I prefer. My feelings are that scripting leads more towards performance than education. I feel it is important to be able to present using my own words. I need to know the topic well enough to explain it for the learners, and sometimes that means finding multiple ways to explain one topic. Scripting only provides one explanation.
I'd like to hear what you have to say about this idea.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
How Is This Class Graded?
I had a couple of coworkers over for dinner last night and my friend Sandra came across my class materials for the course I am taking at USM. Sandra and I are both corporate trainers and we share similar ideas about learning in the corporate world. She pulled out the syllabus for my graduate class on facilitating adult education and started reviewing the 14-page document. As she poured through all the details, she asked how the class was graded. The syllabus clearly outlined the assignments and required presentations but had no information about grades. She looked up from her reading and asked, "How is this class graded?" I just smiled back. She caught on and said, "This is the kind I class I like!"
Many classes provide a syllabus where the focal point is what the learner needs to accomplish to get a grade. It takes the focus off what the course is looking instruct and places on behaviors needed to get a certain reward. As a corporate trainer, I am used to the idea of measuring learning. In business, anything that can be measured will be measured. There is a need for this constant measurement and I don't mean to imply that it is not a vital part of the job. The item that Sandra and I were noticing with this syllabus is that it allows the learner to focus on the learning.
The graduate course is open to learners with various backgrounds. There are no prerequisites for taking the class. I came into the class with several years experience facilitating classes for adults. Other classmates came in with more experience. Some were trying this for the first time. There were standard texts that we needed to read but there was also the opportunity to select a text that you could share with the class. We learned from each other and worked to progress our individual skills.
This provides the professor with a challenge to "grade" the efforts of each learner. Do you set one benchmark level that each person needs to achieve to earn an "A" grade? This makes the course too easy for the most experienced or too difficult for the less-experienced. Do you set individual benchmarks for learners to achieve? This could mean that the most skilled person could get a lower grade since they did not show as much improvement as the person that is trying this for the first time.
The decision not to focus on the grade takes the focus away from comparing one learner to another. It allows the learner to focus on their own progress and effort. This is a true learner-centric approach that my coworker and I rarely get to experience in the corporate world. It makes for a refreshing and inspiring approach to education.
Many classes provide a syllabus where the focal point is what the learner needs to accomplish to get a grade. It takes the focus off what the course is looking instruct and places on behaviors needed to get a certain reward. As a corporate trainer, I am used to the idea of measuring learning. In business, anything that can be measured will be measured. There is a need for this constant measurement and I don't mean to imply that it is not a vital part of the job. The item that Sandra and I were noticing with this syllabus is that it allows the learner to focus on the learning.
The graduate course is open to learners with various backgrounds. There are no prerequisites for taking the class. I came into the class with several years experience facilitating classes for adults. Other classmates came in with more experience. Some were trying this for the first time. There were standard texts that we needed to read but there was also the opportunity to select a text that you could share with the class. We learned from each other and worked to progress our individual skills.
This provides the professor with a challenge to "grade" the efforts of each learner. Do you set one benchmark level that each person needs to achieve to earn an "A" grade? This makes the course too easy for the most experienced or too difficult for the less-experienced. Do you set individual benchmarks for learners to achieve? This could mean that the most skilled person could get a lower grade since they did not show as much improvement as the person that is trying this for the first time.
The decision not to focus on the grade takes the focus away from comparing one learner to another. It allows the learner to focus on their own progress and effort. This is a true learner-centric approach that my coworker and I rarely get to experience in the corporate world. It makes for a refreshing and inspiring approach to education.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Experimenting With Group Discussions
I am taking a class called Facilitating Adult Education at USM and last Saturday I facilitated a group discussion as part of the class. This class is fun for me since I facilitate classes all day at work. This is one of the few times I could select the topics I want to present and have complete freedom in my content selection. It was also challenging thinking about having a different audience. The presentations are also video taped so I can analyze it at home (the most painful part of the class!) .
At the last minute, I changed the outline. I had to rework the opening in my head just before starting the discussion. It didn't feel right but yet the discussion was on its way. The discussion moved along steadily fo the next 20 minutes. People were contributing opinions freely. I was albe to keep the group on track and work in the information I wanted to convey. It wasn't quite the way I planned it but it worked.
The discussion was on the use of questions to facilitate discussions. I wanted to present different styles of questions and discuss how they could be used by a facilitator. I wanted to discuss how how questions are ways to share control in a discussion. I didn't get the chance to make my full case but I was able to learn from the other people in the discussion.
I like these presentations. They give me a chance to try techniques that I have not used in my job. At work I have to be a subject matter expert and provide answers for learners. During this presentation, one of the participants asked me a direct question and I almost blurted out an answer. Instead, I choked back the response and turned the question around for the rest of the class to answer. I was surprised at the effect it had on the group. The conversation took on a life of its own. I found that I could let go of the control and still have the facilitation work. I never did answer her question.
I'll end this entry with a question but not an answer. Can a good group discussion ever go exactly as planned?
At the last minute, I changed the outline. I had to rework the opening in my head just before starting the discussion. It didn't feel right but yet the discussion was on its way. The discussion moved along steadily fo the next 20 minutes. People were contributing opinions freely. I was albe to keep the group on track and work in the information I wanted to convey. It wasn't quite the way I planned it but it worked.
The discussion was on the use of questions to facilitate discussions. I wanted to present different styles of questions and discuss how they could be used by a facilitator. I wanted to discuss how how questions are ways to share control in a discussion. I didn't get the chance to make my full case but I was able to learn from the other people in the discussion.
I like these presentations. They give me a chance to try techniques that I have not used in my job. At work I have to be a subject matter expert and provide answers for learners. During this presentation, one of the participants asked me a direct question and I almost blurted out an answer. Instead, I choked back the response and turned the question around for the rest of the class to answer. I was surprised at the effect it had on the group. The conversation took on a life of its own. I found that I could let go of the control and still have the facilitation work. I never did answer her question.
I'll end this entry with a question but not an answer. Can a good group discussion ever go exactly as planned?
Saturday, April 11, 2009
A New Adventure Starts With a First Step
Sometimes you need to shake things up. Today is a great day to try something new.
I am a corporate trainer for an insurance company trying to learn more about my passion. No, not insurance. My passion is education, working with adults to help them learn skills that provide them with a living, helping them learn to help customers, and helping them to represent a corporation and industry. I have been working as a corporate trainer for seven years and have trained hundreds of customer service representatives.
I am also a student. I am enrolled in a Master's of Science program in Adult Education at the University of Southern Maine. It is a program designed to look at adult education from multiple perspectives including public adult education programs, college and university learning, and corporate training.
My sister started her own blog since 2006 and she has inspired me to go out on my own. I want to use this blog to share my ideas and observations on adult education. I hope that my writing might strike a chord with you. I also am looking to receive feedback on my ideas so I can learn from you.
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