What is experiential learning? Part 2

Just presenting a 'hands-on' exercise does not mean you’re using an experiential learning tool. The activity has to have an element of unexpected learning within it. The trainer must take a backstep from the learning environment and become a challenger or a last resort consultant. The trainees direct the learning environment.

A simple example is a game I designed for trainees learning about marketing for the first time. There were some important concepts we needed to get across to them without using the time-honoured PowerPoint-Talking-Heads scenario they were so used to. Instead, I designed a game that took a number of production and employee faults/issues/challenges and created them as obstacles on a classic roll-the-dice board game. I controlled all the ‘issues’ so it was far from experiential learning.

I added an extra learning challenge, however, in that the rules insisted that counters on each lane of the double-track could not get further apart than three spaces. The learning outcome from that would come out in discussion – employee skills and production rates are interlinked. But it was still not experiential learning.

In a group more open to different types of learning, I could have turned this into an experiential learning challenge. Sure, I would have given the board, and the basic rules/format, to the teams but I could have left the teams to come up with their own version of the game to illustrate given goals.

Let’s look at how that would have fitted into the parameters of experiential learning:

• A process of thinking – They would have had to use the KWL (What I Know,/What I want to know/What we learned) process to research and test the process


• Team work and good communication – They would need plenty of team work to do the research and design the rest of the game


• Role recognition – They would have had to acknowledge team member skills and assign roles


• Time and project management – They would have had to apportion time to tasks
  
• Managing conflict – They would need to manage conflict if there were disagreements about what needed to be included


• Group decision-making – And of course they would have to use good decision-making to come to a successful conclusion

If you would like to use the boardgame as a method of teaching about productivity issues I have arranged a generic set with blank cards that you can download free. You will need some light card to stick the boardgame onto, and to create the cards, plus dice and counters.

The set gives some examples of issues you might adapt to suit your industry. Then you can decide whether you want to control the learning about the issues or let your trainees use their own knowledge about production issues to create a game.

What is experiential learning? Part 1

Experiential learning can best be described as 'learning by doing' in a safe environment where failure is okay and leads to new learning.

Experiential learning exercises parallel real life roles and result in learning that can be applied to real life work situations.

The exercises are designed with specific goals to be achieved, but few ‘rules’ so that the teams participating can tackle the exercises in any way that achieves the goals. Well-designed tasks set the bar high but are known to be achievable, although ‘second-goes’ are common and allowed.

Experiential learning is more to do with:

• A process of thinking
• Team work and good communication
• Role recognition
• Time and project management
• Managing conflict
• Group decision-making

The actual outcome/task achievement is a secondary consideration and is used more as a tool to change behaviour.

Experiential learning for the trainer is often fraught with tension because you have to stand back and let things happen, even bad things like communication breakdown, arguments and defections. On the plus side you will watch as participants have ‘Eureka’ moments. Above all, participants should learn that they already have answers, or at least one part of an answer; their task is to uncover the answers and contribute them to the improvement of the group.

The intensity of the learning rests on how well you handle the wash-up session; discussing the ‘what went wrongs’; analyzing what could have been done differently; touching on the emotions of team dynamics. The latter area of learning will succeed best if you, the trainer, are comfortable with talking about such issues, and depends on how entrenched the ‘anti-soft’ site culture is. For this reason experiential learning works best with a group that has worked together for a while and built up some trust between members.

9-day fortnight a reality but day 10 missing cash and training

My comment: The New Zealand Government has made a tactical error in removing the incentive for training in its 9-day fortnight. The country had an invaluable opportunity to upskill its workforce without impinging on productivity. Instead employees WILL enjoy an extra day off but won't enjoy the day's lost pay. Basically the small recompense is 'pay to do nothing'. Employees are being asked to underwrite a shaky economy instead of stretching the grey-matter and using the chance to improve their effectiveness at work.
9-day fortnight a reality but day 10 missing cash and training

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Lessons from Canada Geese, Part 2

If you come from a large organisation don’t under-value the knowledge of an on-site trainer. An on-site trainer sees employees when they’re being stretched and even put under stress. These observations build up into a clear picture of the capabilities of the person. These trainers ought to be involved in any consultation about promotion and restructuring. Why? Because they’ll know who will cope with added responsibilities if roles must be amalgamated.

When you’re training a group of people, especially if you use experiential learning methods, you learn how people react under pressure, whether they’re prepared to step into a leadership role, how they think (laterally or linear), and whether they’re a group player or a prima donna. An HR manager removed from practical training may miss out on learning these attributes of employees.

The on-site trainer can also be instrumental in bringing about culture changes, provided their role is clearly supported and valued by the organisation. The best worksite health and safety policy will not reduce accidents or injuries unless it's entrenched in worksite practice. ‘Big stick’ techniques are often less effective than culture change. Threats lead to clever concealment; culture change leads to a change in belief about self and the relationship with the organisation. Culture change takes time and management commitment. It needs to be led by the trainer with a positive, reward focus.

Imagine if those small groups of Canada geese decided to leave at different times of the year and didn’t bother to practice their vee-formation flying before they left? Not many of them would be around to return the following spring. It’s their commitment to the larger group, their willingness to share leadership, and their constant calls of encouragement that keep them a cohesive group flying through the nights and the rough ocean weather until they reach the next sanctuary on their journey.

When times are tough, as they are for organisations around the globe, culture change is a vital ingredient to ensure you’re a survivor. If you’re a trainer you can make a huge impact on the survival chances of your group.

• Avoid the negativity – train only the employees who see learning as valuable for them


• Focus training on the wider picture – convince employees of their role in creating a lean, efficient and well-functioning team


• Challenge the grey-matter – use unusual training tools to keep people on their toes and thinking – you’re training the whole person


• Spread the message that solutions are right within us – we just have to have the confidence to think outside the box


• Reward employees who show initiative – even if it is only to point them out to management as potential for promotion (but let them know you have done so)


• See other trainers as resources to share new techniques and tools – share your own ideas and borrow others

Survival in today’s climate will be about the organisations that learn to work for the greater good, the ones that look for new leaders from within their ranks and support each other strive for excellence. Divisive cultures will only lead to poor performance and inevitable disaster.

- Heather Sylvawood, Educational Designer, Edutech KM Ltd

Lessons from Canada Geese, Part 1

This morning as I took the dog for her usual morning walk, the sun was washing the clouds with pinks and oranges above an aquamarine shimmering sea. My ears registered the plaintive honks of Canada geese and I looked up to see several pairs and small family groups flapping above me. I knew that each of these pairs would eventually join up with the main group until, later in Autumn, the sky would be full of their plaintive cries as they called their farewells and left for the warmth of a northern summer.

Then, as they left our shores, the more senior or experienced geese would take their turns at heading the vee-formation, each taking a rest and passing over that important role to another equally experienced goose. The less experienced would be flanked by buddies and guided by the honks of the geese who had made the journey before.

I was struck by the similarities between their preparations for flight and an organisation’s journey toward success. When a new recruit is brought into the organisation they struggle to find their place, to work out the rules and to keep up. What they need to know most is:
1. What is safe practice that won’t ‘get me into trouble’?
2. What does everyone else do when …?
3. How can I find out about this task/option?

Like the young geese on their first flight north, new recruits do need to be guided, but they also need to learn to grow into a leadership role. They need to practise with a buddy sharing the lead role, then when they are confident they join the larger group and find their place in the formation, and finally they can move up the group and take their place sharing leadership.

Induction training from the organisation’s perspective is often more to do with:
1. Health and safety rules and regulations (so the organisation doesn’t get into trouble)
2. The history of the organisation (seen as ‘passing on the culture’)
3. Who’s who in the organisation?
4. How to set yourself up in ‘our’ system

Do you see the difference?
The individual wants to do right and fit in but the organisation tends to offer information that exacerbates the divide between the new individual and the organisation. The only area of commonality is “What is safe practice that won’t ‘get them into trouble’?“

If your organisation has an intranet, or even an information kiosk, where new employees can refer to basic information about site rules and regulations, and a list of ‘who to go to when’ you empower the new employee. Chances are that a large part of the information they received during induction training went out of their minds the minute they were told it.

The first few days on the job are often so filled with personal tensions and doubts about whether they can succeed, that there’s little room for retaining much of the information in an induction programme. Providing an easily searchable reference site, so they can access the answers without appearing ignorant, in the long run is a more user-friendly tool. Induction manuals get lost, but access to an intranet or information kiosk is always there.

Where Does Training Fit Now?

Today I added an RSS feed from a site that some of you may have already come across HRM – the Social Network For Today’s HR professionals.

I like this blog because it focuses so much on the positive. The writer understands that when the chips are down there are two ways for a company to go:
1. Inward looking, concentrating on cost cutting, losses and fear
2.Upward looking, building on the team that remains and the values they can share

The first is a recipe for disaster; the second keeps everyone focused on possibilities and invention. I know the type of business I want to be in.

HR managers on many sites must be facing some tricky situations if they're dealing with redundancies and a shrinking workforce, a shrinking market and little time for keeping that important training going. Actually the need for training becomes even more important in a shrinking workforce, because the employees who are left are often expected to become multi-skilled.

In these times, the businesses that paid attention to upskilling and training will be benefiting from their foresight. They’ll have employees ready to step (even if reluctantly) into the shoes of employees who have left. Other businesses will struggle to quickly upskill staff and may even have difficulty finding the information that was so efficiently catalogued in the minds of the employees who have left. Inevitably employees who leave disgruntled often make sure that vital information is NOT made easily available – “’cos whatcha going do about it?”

Assuming you have staff who are able to pick up the pieces and continue production/trading/creating services at a reduced level, you cannot, even in a recession, forget the importance of training. You may need, however, to review the type of training you’re providing. Fewer employees on the job will mean fewer opportunities to take them off the floor or away from clients in order to attend courses. It may be time to look at alternative training opportunities.

We have designed resources for a number of clients who had to deliver training at a distance. In today’s financial climate the ‘distance’ may only be from your desk to theirs. Self-directed learning can be a cost-effective and easily adapted option as it allows learning to take place in small bursts, at a time to suit the learner.

The Mayonnaise Jar

A long time ago a family member sent me an email with the story of The Mayonnaise Jar and the Two Cups of Coffee. It still sits in my Inbox. Every few months I clear out unwanted emails so this item has gravitated to the bottom (the oldest item), because I just don’t want to get rid of it. I don’t get to see it often, but I always smile when I do.

The reason I do see it is that occasionally one of those no-subject spam items arrives in my Inbox and Outlook drops it down to the bottom. I know where I have to go to send it packing to the trash can, but instead of getting mad at the spammer I’m delighted once again because as the spam is deleted from the Inbox the story of The Mayonnaise Jar and the Two Cups of Coffee comes back up on screen. Click this link and I’ll share it with you. Have a great day and at least one cup of coffee with a friend.

Bring in the Clowns

How do you handle the scoffers ... the cynics who are on your course but don’t really believe they’ll learn anything new?

I’d really like to know, because I find I use a lot of energy devising ways of avoiding coming up against them.

I was co-presenting with an industry tutor who was learning new methods of presenting material. He'd been doing well until he tossed a whiteboard marker to a participant (the course clown and vocal critic) and asked him to come up to the front to record the group discussion points.

This role had been shared around among a number of participants as a way of grooming them to be more confident as presenters themselves. The clown participant point-blank refused and threw the marker back. An embarrassed silence followed until another trainee stood up and grabbed a marker pen.

From that point on the clown lost his standing in the group. He had gone too far and the mood of the group changed. While the other trainees had been prepared to laugh at his loud asides early in the course, they now shifted their allegiances toward the presenters. It was subtle, but a relief.

I had earlier tried the: “Yes X. That’s a good point and we’ll have to address that later” tactic. After the session I went and discussed his objection and asked him to help redress it by sending in something in writing so we could include it in the next course. He did too!

Some people just need lots of attention, and they resent the focus being on the trainer. What tactics have other trainers found to work well?

Is it worth training reluctant learners?

I don’t think there is a hard rule about that … it really depends on what causes the learner’s reluctance.

If they're reluctant because they’re afraid that they won’t cope with the course, then some confidence building with pre-course material and tutor-to-trainee work can certainly engage them in further studies.

If they just can’t be bothered, but they have to do it for money, because the boss says so, or it keeps them in a job, then it may not be worth the energy you’ll need to spend to keep them focused. You would be better advised to concentrate on the ‘reluctant-because-they’re-afraid’ learners.

Having said all that, sometimes you just can’t tell ahead of the course. One course we trialled included some beginner trainees. When they arrived, they barely said anything; they pulled down their beanies and avoided eye contact at all costs.

The course was full of experiential activities as well as the tutor-directed learning that had to be done for them to learn enough to achieve the performance criteria. The young men played the games, they were forced to join groups and discuss topics, they were forced to lead groups and report back findings. At the end of the course (3 blocks of 2 days) they stood up at the front and delivered a report using presentation aids on a production issue they had researched. It was a major triumph.

One of the tutors knew their manager well and asked how they’d gone since they'd returned to the worksite. The ‘boss’ was delighted to report how much they engaged in work meetings. They asked questions and wanted to know “why?” This manager was not at all fazed by their new-found confidence. He saw it as a plus for the organization because these young men are likely to continue to think laterally and their asking ‘why?” will lead to improvements on site.

So perhaps the answer to the question: “Is it worth training reluctant learners?” is: “It depends on the course and the potential of the trainees.” And that potential you don’t get to see until they’re being forced to move out of their comfort-zone.

The NZ Job Summit

The weekend’s Jobs Summit has come up with a number of proposals that will be considered by the Government prior to the Budget.

One of the most talked about was a proposal for a 9-day working fortnight. Stuff reports that: “The Government seems set to give the green light to a call for a nine-day fortnight which employers and union leaders believe could save 20,000 jobs, at a cost of $60 million. Workers would lose a day of work a fortnight, and receive training or education.”

Sensible move, because the businesses that move out of the recession most quickly are those whose employees understand the reality of good business practice. They’ll be the organisations whose employees are constantly looking for process improvement and product or service opportunities. They’ll be the firms who see that an investment in innovation, against the trend in tough times, is the way forward the minute the market moves into positive territory.

The trick for the country is to sell the concept to employees as more than a sacrifice to save the jobs of their "mates". Solidarity is great, but a long term commitment to improving New Zealand’s competitiveness is even more important if we’re to come out of the recession without major social disaster.

Traditional worker/employer culture has always pitted one against the other, and evidence suggests that the "culture" was born of reality. Incomes on both sides of the divide reflected the relative values given to the people who created the products or services that gave value to the business and the people who took the risk. If that culture continues, training for employees will always be seen as skills training. But there is a huge advantage if you train employees in the so-called 'soft' skills of business.

The knowledge of why things are done a certain way, and the understanding of Return on Investment, helps employees see their role as part of the whole process of business. Instead of looking at the potential one day off a fortnight as a skills training opportunity, employers would be better to ask themselves: "If I wanted someone to step into my shoes, what would I want them to know?"

Raise the bar, avoid the assumptions and the bright sparks of your organisation will help you out of the recession.
- Heather Sylvawood