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Intelligent
Learning™:
Getting Smarter About Teaching
Written by: Brett Richards, M.A.
President, Connective Intelligence Inc.
Published in AQP Journal, (Association of Quality and Participation,
Winter, 2003
In the Fall 2003 issue of The Journal for Quality and Participation,
I explored the topic of team collaboration. In that issue I argued
that real collaboration and improved performance would not happen
without effective individual and team learning. The theme for this
issue in my mind cuts to the root of the performance equation within
organizations – the task of learning. No doubt people as well as
whole organizations must learn continuously to keep pace with change.
Given that it is such an important task, how much time and focused
attention do organizations give to the learning process?
My daily challenge as a professional trainer, facilitator and coach
revolves around, yes, teaching new skills, but by far the more challenging
(and interesting) task as an educator is assisting others to learn
new habits of thought and behavior. The theory and discipline of
learning is a tremendously vast and interesting topic, ranging from
psychologically based motivation theories to neuro-scientific theories
that explore the plasticity of the brain’s neural pathways. In this
issue, I will grapple with what learning is and how it is best achieved.
I will also focus on the interface between the art and science of
learning by exploring the qualities that facilitate and stimulate
the task of learning.
Learn First, Adapt Second
Learning is at the root of successful adaptation. Thinking in terms
of the Darwinian perspective, we all know what happens if we do
not adapt. Single-celled organisms and complex human systems alike
are in a continuous process of learning and adaptation. Our quality
of life and survival depends on it. Learning, then, is a universal
task. By universal I mean that it underlies much of what we do,
and, therefore, it is a process that none of us can entirely escape.
We all must do it. Indeed, some would argue that it is an innate
drive, hard-wired into us. For example, how do children make the
monumental shift from crawling on all fours to walking gracefully
on two legs? Children do not wake up one day and express (as many
cannot yet talk) to their parents that they want to sign up for
an on-line course on “learning how to walk”. There must be some
tremendous inner drive to learn how to walk otherwise they wouldn’t
carry out such a difficult task.
By describing learning as a task I mean that it is something we
do. We must intentionally engage and direct our mind’s energies
at it, whatever, it is; learning is an active process. As
such, it can be very helpful to understand learning as a task to
be accomplished like any other task we face during the course of
a day, such as washing dishes or solving problems. In other words,
if we conceive of learning as a task to be done, we can in fact
learn to be better learners. Learning is indeed a skill that can
be learned and developed.
Core Dimensions of Learning
There are three fundamental dimensions to consider as we reflect
on the Task of Learning: the content, the learner, and the medium.
Figure 1 shows that each of these core dimensions is fundamental
to the learning task. For example, the task of learning will not
be fulfilled without a learner, someone or something must
be doing the learning; there must be some form of content,
the learner must learn something (know-what or know-how); and there
must be a vehicle or medium to transfer the content to the
learner.
Figure 1
The key questions
to be answered within each of the three core dimensions of the learning
task are:
Learner: Who is doing the learning?
Content: What do they need or want to learn?
Medium: What vehicle or process is best suited
to deliver the content to the learner?
The answers to each of these questions must be viewed holistically
because one set of answers can either support or pose challenges
to the others. Each of these dimensions must be addressed well to
support the successful fulfillment of the learning task. For example,
e-based or on-line learning is a particular “medium” through which
the task of learning can be achieved; however, some learners and
some forms of content cannot be taught over the web. The web may
be the desired medium, but what if the learners are mature adults
who were not brought up on computers or the internet? Or what if
the content to be learned was ballroom dancing? No doubt someone
might challenge that one could learn ballroom dancing over the web,
but how effective would that medium of learning be for that particular
learning task? The issue of effectiveness, then, adds another
level of dimensionality to the overall task of learning and moves
us into the realm of learning design.
The Art of Learning Design
A creative tension lies at the interface between the art and science
of learning design. The creative tension is experienced as we attempt
to balance the interplay between three additional dimensions that
affect learning. As we explore the learning task we either tacitly
or explicitly wrestle with its purpose, quality and effectiveness.
Often some or all of these dimensions are overlooked because they
create an unwanted level of complexity to implementation and learning
design decisions. Indeed, these added dimensions compel us to really
think through the best approach to achieve the learning task. In
schools as well as in organizations it is difficult to ignore the
important interplay between the content, process and quality
dimensions embedded within the task of learning. Being able
to effectively balance these tensions is where decision-making regarding
learning design becomes both an art and a science. Figure 2, then,
completes our model of learning by including a deeper level of sophistication
to the overall task. The key questions to be answered with this
added dimensionality include:
Quality: How well do you want the learner to learn
the subject?
Purpose: What is the purpose of the learning task?
Effectiveness: What is the best approach to maximize
the effectiveness of the learning?
Figure 2
Quality, purpose
and effectiveness dimensions create an important context around
the learning task and provide further criteria that will help shape
other related decisions. For example, decisions around quality and
effectiveness will impact the way in which you engage the learner,
what you choose as the most effective medium to use and how you
will select the right depth, breadth and scope of the content to
be learned. The above learning task model provides a template of
helpful questions that should be considered when any person, team,
or organization is serious about learning.
If We Teach It, Will They Learn?
If organizations are going to get serious about learning they must
get serious about teaching. It’s simply not enough for an organization
to espouse continuous learning or even support a healthy training
budget. Too many organizations are still either too interested in
getting bums in the seats, or they do not have the know-how (or
the interest) to develop meaningful learning experiences that are
practical, relevant and easily shown to improve the bottom line
for the organization. Often we here managers say that they want
bottom line impact and a good return on their training budget, but
how many are willing to dedicate the time and energy required to
develop high quality learning experiences? Quality teaching is hard
work because it demands that we address the challenges posed by
the tough questions embedded within the task of learning. I would
argue that ineffective learning experiences are usually a result
of not paying adequate attention to the tough design-related questions
within the learning task model.
Is Good Teaching Enough?
One of the key challenges for those that are serious about teaching
is getting others to be serious about learning. A good proportion
of supervisors, managers and executives still believe that learning
is a perk, as witnessed by the reduction in training dollars with
each downturn of the economy. But it does not stop there. There
is still a healthy proportion of participants who do not take training
and development time seriously when they are there in the classroom.
Of course there are many who do, but I am surprised with the percentage
of individuals who still take a half-baked approach to the task
of learning and development. There are numerous reasons why that
is, such as, their manager is not serious about the learning program,
so why should they be? Or, “I’m too busy, I should be doing my real
work!” We could come up with all sorts of examples that “blame”
those seemingly unappreciative, unmotivated and unresponsive learners,
but when you get right down to it, much of the time it has to do
with the fact that they have not experienced good training in the
past. They do not expect to gain much value from the program. In
other words, past training experiences have been too light and fluffy
and have failed to provide an obvious link to improve bottom line
performance and results.
It is a bit of a chicken and egg type thing. What comes first, bad
training programs or unmotivated learners? My bias is that bad training
programs comes first for the simple reason that people are so surprised
(myself included) when they learn something that they can actually
use the next day. Why should participants be so surprised that they’ve
learned something meaningful? Perhaps it’s because of their past
experiences! I believe good teaching and good program design is
often enough to transform any naysayer into a motivated learner.
Ask any experienced teacher the type of learning moments they cherish
most, often it will include transforming a skeptical learner into
a motivated advocate. Now that, in my books, is good teaching! Good
teaching can make all the difference in the world. Think of that
one kid in school who was magically transformed by a special teacher.
Who knows, it may have been you.
Learning is the Fuel
The tasks of learning and teaching share an interdependent relationship.
Both feed and influence each other to such a degree that it often
difficult to distinguish where teaching ends and learning begins.
The task of learning and the task of helping others to learn is
indeed a sophisticated business, not to be taken lightly. As anyone
who explores the task of learning seriously knows, it takes a tremendous
amount of experience, skill and creativity to address it, well.
As with so many other disciplines and professions, the criteria
of quality and effectiveness make all the difference in the world.
Quality learning is at the root of sustained high performance and
successful adaptation. Organizations who are serious about quality
results must consider how much quality thinking they are giving
to their learning processes. Effective learning experiences result
in successes for both the individual and the organization alike.
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About Brett Richards:
Brett Richards is an innovator, performance coach and energizing
facilitator. In addition to being a master trainer in the Effective Intelligence™
System of Effective Intelligence, he also holds certifications in
EQi (emotional intelligence) and executive coaching. He can be contacted
at 866-848-6548 or via e-mail at brett@connectiveintelligence.com.
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