Author: Jack Flanagan <jflanagan@llbean.com> at Internet
Date: 9/10/98 8:16 PM
Inspired by Jack Flanagan's post, the following Object is
coded:
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Goal: Is effective LEARNING caused by training, teaching, or facilitating
between a group of learners and "expert'?
Fact: Knowledge, Techniques and Skills
Fact: System Thinking
Fact: Feedback loop
Fact: Learning
Fact: Training and Teaching
Symptom: There are a lot of intellectual debate on the subject of
"Training" "Teaching" etc. with respect to Effective Learning.
Symptom: Training is sometimes viewed as more sophisticated in terms of
the use of activities to generate learning,
Symptom: In both training and teaching, the designer/teacher/trainer
attempts to tightly control the outcomes of the experience through the use
of design techniques involving "outcomes" and "learning objectives", and
time driven agendas and activity sequencing.
Symptom: In the case of business training, this is often a marketing
imperative..."what are the deliverables?" must be cleanly answered in
order to make the sale.
Symptom: Typically, the instructor experiences stress if the group
curiosity moves off in directions not included in the planning process
of the teaching or training.
Symptom: Learning is another complex system that cannot be fully
engaged or understood if we attempt to truly control its direction and
outcomes.
Symptom: In attempting to tightly control the outcome, we generate
conformity rather than learning.
Symptom: It is concluded that teaching and training cannot tap into the
greatest of all learning motivators ... curiosity.
Symptom: The alternative is to view design and planning as a seed rather
than a blueprint, and to create structures that support dialogue.
Symptom: The need of the concept of "Facilitating Learning".
Symptom: Facilitating Learning means setting the direction of a learning
conversation, and being capable of providing expert insight, while allowing
the group to follow the paths of its own curiosity.
Symptom: It's a balancing act. Too much structure and you are still in the
cat-birds seat, directing rather than facilitating. Too little and learners
become very grumpy indeed in the void of unmet expectation.
Cause: In intellectual debate, there are always many convincing theories.
Cause: Logic thinking compels us to think "This or That or Both" or
"Another Factor"
Fix: There are many factors causing effective or in-effective Learning. When
intellectual debate narrow down to a few factors, with vigorous logic
application, we move away from the real interacting forces and
relationship that produce the final outcome, in this case, effective
or in-effective learning.
Fix: It is possible to expound many other contributing factors like
coaching, motivating, learning environment setting, self esteem etc.
Some are relevant, others of no consequences in certain situation.
Fix: Whatever may be the contributing factors, dependent also on the
level of intelligence / maturity of the interacting parties, it could
be more fruitful to design a feedback loop mechanism, to continuously
learn and improve based on the feedback signals from all interacting
parties.
Fix: Coaching Principles: Apply disicpline of System Thinking and
pay attention to Feedback signals.
Ref: <a href="http://www.geocities.com/Athens/5621/coach.html">Personal Coach &
Organization Coach</a>
===================================================================
Andrew Wong
Organisation Observer and Thinker
Personal Coach & Organisation Coach
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/5621
An associate of Outsights
http://www.outsights.com
--andreww@petronas.com.my (Andrew Wong Hee Sing)
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>