KEYZINE: An e-zine for LEADERS:
   ABOUT THE PEOPLE PART OF BUSINESS
             Volume 82, January 2008
  Publisher: © Key Associates, 2008
              ISSN # 1545-8873
           http://www.mkkey.com/

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This Issue: "The Adult Learner"

Contents:

"Joy in learning comes not so much from what is learned, 
but from learning.”
                                        - W. Edwards Deming

 "Real learning gets at the heart of what it means to be human.  
Through learning we recreate ourselves.  Through learning 
we become able to do something we were never able to do. 
Through learning we re-perceive the world and our relationship to it.”
                              - Peter Senge

"When we teach someone what we've learned, we learn twice.”
                              - Stephen Covey
 
"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”
                               - William Butler Yeats
 
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WHAT'S HOT IN LEADERSHIP
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BEING A LIFE-LONG LEARNER.

COMMITMENT TO THE LEARNING OF 
OTHERS.

THE ABILITY TO TEACH IN ORDER 
TO ADVANCE YOUR OWN LEARNING.

MAKING THE LEARNING JOURNEY 
PART OF EVERYONE'S JOB.

MAKING SURE THAT TRAINING IS RELEVANT,
USEFUL, AND PROBLEM-FOCUSED.

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MAINTAINING YOURSELF AS A LEADER
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Many times, when leaders make it to "the top,"
they neglect their continued learning, in service 
to the organization's daily business.

Have you stalled out in your learning?  If so,

1. Start reading.  Seek sources outside your field.
2. Start talking.  Dialogue is a wonderful way to learn.
3. Keep a journal (start talking to yourself).
4. Start drawing.  Open up both sides of your brain.
5. Commit to the learning of others.  Learn by teaching.
6. Commit to a life-long learning plan.

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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How do adults learn best?

They:

      - Expect training to be relevant, immediately useful and problem-focused.
- Have valuable past experience and can serve as resources to a group.
- Expect high participation and enjoy experiential learning.
- Function best in a collaborative environment.
- See the trainer(s) as their equal(s); will not be talked down to.
- Learn at different rates.
- Are self-directed learners, choosing what is important to learn for them 
  and how they wish to contribute to others’ learning.
- Have the ability to help and teach others.
- Possess unique learning styles, suggesting that the trainer engage 
  multiple senses, different channels.
- Benefit from trial, error, and feedback, if given support and a chance for success.

 


I have lectured and taught college classes, and I am a good presenter.  
Why does this approach feel awkward with my staff?

In a classroom situation, adult learners like to manage their own 
experience.  Try shifting your role to that of facilitator, the process 
owner of the learning space.  You are the host and guide, but they 
learn from each other.  Training becomes a dialogue, a conversation, 
not a monologue.

Use methods of high involvement and participation, such as case studies, 
story-telling, buzz groups, role play, fishbowls.  See Bob Pike (2003) 
to learn more about participatory methods.


Do you follow an outline?

Yes, generally: 

I.    An OPENER--something that requires participation and links to the material.
II.  Presentation of a CONCEPT or SKILL.
III. PROCESSING or APPLICATION, both personally and organizationally.
       (Discussion, Practice)
IV. FEEDBACK on the application of the concept.

 

EXERCISES AND ACTION ITEMS:

* Practice the Behavioral Modeling Method in skills training.  
-  Describe the skill being taught.  
-  Demonstrate or model the use of the skill.  
-  Have the learners Practice using the skill.  
-  Provide Feedback on their use of the skill. 

* Make "evaluation" part of every learning experience.
List DID WELLS and COULD IMPROVES.

* Collaboratively create Learning Plans for all 
of your employees. 


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EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
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Adults as learners, and how to motivate them:
http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/adults-2.htm

From the Yale Library
http://www.library.yale.edu/training/stod/principles.html

More principles of adult learning
http://www.teachermentors.com/RSOD%20Site/StaffDev/adultLrng.HTML

Key Associates offers Train-the-Trainer on all courses, 
and a special course for trainers called "Facilitating the 
Learning Journey."  We also create customized training 
packages for organizations.
http://www.mkkey.com/courses.htm
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OTHER USEFUL WEBSITES 
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 Many links on adult learning theory and CE
http://adulted.about.com/cs/learningtheory/

Distant Learning sites
http://learningdistant.net/

Developers of customized, multi-media curricula
http://www.topicseducation.com/print-new-media/print-new-media.cfm?gclid=CJfG4Kzrm5ECFQMRlwodqmmEOg

Former Keyzines on related topics:
Volume 14, May 2002 - Learning Organizations
Volume 24, March 2003 - The Leader as Storyteller
Volume 37, April 2004 - Dialogue: Thinking Together
Volume 42, September 2004 - Convening People
Volume 81, December 2007 - Inspirational Speaking


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ARTICLES/PUBLICATIONS                              
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 Argyris, Chris & Shon, Donald A. Organizational 
Learning: A Theory of  Action Perspective. Reading, 
MA: Addison-Wesley, 1978. 

Beckhard, Richard & Pritchard, Wendy. Changing the Essence. 
(Chapter 2). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1992.

Dibella, Anthony J.  Learning Practices: Assessment 
and Action for Organizational Improvement. Prentice 
Hall, 2000.

Galbraith, Michael W.  Adult Learning Methods: 
A Guide for Effective Instruction.  Krieger Publishing 
Company, 2003.

Garvin, David A. Building a Learning Organization. 
Harvard Business Review, July-August, 1993, 78-91.

Knowles, Malcolm. The Adult Learner, Sixth Edition: 
The Definitive Classic in Adult Education and 
Human Resource Development.  Butterworth-Heinemann, 
2005.

Knowles, Malcolm. The Modern Practice of Adult Education. 
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1980.

Kolb, David A. Experiential Learning: Experience as the 
Source of Learning & Development. Englewood Cliffs, JN: 
Prentice-Hall, 1983.

Mager, Robert. Preparing Instructional Objectives: A Critical 
Tool in the Development of Effective Instruction. Center for 
Effective Performance, 1997.

Merriam, Sharan B., Rosemary S. Caffarella, and Lisa M. Baumgartner.  
Learning in Adulthood: A Comprehensive Guide.  Jossey-Bass, 2006.

Peoples, David.  Presentations Plus: David Peoples' Proven 
Techniques.  John Wiley & Sons, 1996.

Pike, Bob.  Creative Training Techniques Handbook: Tips, 
Tactics, and How-To's for Delivering Effective Training.  
Human Resource Development Press, 2003.

Renesch, John & Chawla, Sarita (Eds.) Learning 
Organizations: Developing Cultures for Tomorrow's 
Workplace. Productivity Press, 2006.

Senge, Peter M. The Fifth Discipline: The Art and 
Practice of the Learning Organization.  Currency/Doubleday, 
2006.

Senge, Peter M & Kleiner, Art (Eds.) et al.  The Fifth 
Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies and Tools for Building 
a Learning Organization. Currency/Doubleday, 1994.

Senge, Peter M. et.al.  The Dance of Change: The Challenges 
to Sustaining Momentum in Learning Organizations.  
New York: Doubleday, 1999.

Watkins, Karen E. & Marsick, Victoria J. 
Sculpting the Learning Organization. 
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1993.

Vella, Jane.  Learning to Listen, Learning to Teach: 
The Power of Dialogue in Educating Adults.  Jossey-Bass, 
2002.