b. Next for people who are auditory,
I will employ the learning strategies of using verbal instructions. The reasons
are auditory-oriented learning style people learn better and faster through
content they received through their ears. It is through this opportunity that I
can relate the content and reinforce the content with examples and stories to
further strengthen their understanding.
c. Third for people who are tactile,
I will employ the learning strategies of using their fingers to write, draw or
touch the information that is being communicated to them. The reasons are
tactile-oriented learning style people learn better when their hands move while
the information is being processed. Tactile people can be seen in classes when
they flip their pens while listening or notes are deliberately written in their
books.
d. Finally for people who are
kinaesthetic, I will employ the learning strategies of engaging them via
experiences such as practices, role play or peer teaching. The reasons are
kinaesthetic-oriented learning style people learn better and faster through
experiencing ‘doing it first’, having a hands-on approach towards learning.
Below is an image of our class
learning styles. All the learners either fall under Auditory or Tactile
learning style. We will learn best when the trainer explains verbally to us on
the content, using videos or sharing on the best approach to learn easily.
5. Barriers to learning
In my organisation, the most common
barriers faced by learners are ‘Do not have the time’ and ‘Unfamiliar with how
to apply what they have learnt '.
Reasons being there’s a very strict
control on hiring of staff globally, as a result, each staff need to cover a
few roles concurrently. On top of that, there’s also an equal emphasis of
work-life balance, the evenings and weekends are spent with family instead of
on work (contrast that to Japanese-culture organizations). The delivery
contents for Project Management and Six Sigma that we follow are align with
corporate standard materials which are mainly theory and engineering focused.
The Asia Pacific staffs are mainly sales offices, thus they find difficulty in
bridging between what was taught and how they can apply in their daily work.
Some methods to overcome them are as
what our CEO has mentioned in the 2015 corporate video is “How can we be more
effective in our work.” There is a need to relook at our organizational
processes and responsibilities to review on how we can do work more effective,
thus be able to free up time to learn and in turn improve the productivity in
work. To do that, we will have to deliver our content in a more relevant way.
A number of barriers to learning was
discussed in class below.
6. Wlodkowski’s
Motivational Framework
Wlodkowski's 4 foundational
principles of motivation were explained to us in class. The picture below shows
what the main motivation principles.
When I'm conducting training, I am
more inclined to employ Inclusion and Competence. This is because the learners
are able to share their considerable experiences with the rest of the class. It
allows students from other functional areas in the company to also understand
the experiences of working in another department. An important element for my
learners is how they can improve the work they are doing through the training
sessions. Many of the learners explained that they have too much work to do and
there’s not enough time. If the training is able to help them conduct their
work more effectively, that will be of great interests to them.
7. Retention Strategies
In my observation, there are a good
number of retention strategies to help staff in my organisation to recall and
apply their learning.
a. Of these, the first is
Organization. I find the first to be of particular importance to my
organization due to the values it expounds – individualism and freedom. As such,
information and content might get a bit disorganized sometimes. The act of
sorting out information and relating how they all link together will strengthen
the learners’ ability to link seemingly independent content together.
b. Rehearsal is the next important
point. We as adults’ learners get bombarded with lots of information both
online and with fellow colleagues. The importance of each content is diluted
due to the vast amount of information. The only way to distinguish normal
information from important must remember and know points are to keep repeating
the message.
c. Meaningful Learning is the final
retention strategies in which learning do not stop in the classroom. But it
continues via a quarterly online forum where new applications from the learners
are shared with other learners in this Community of Practice.
We walked through 6 factors that
contribution to retention below and using the I MPROVE method, it will easily
allow us to map the words out.
Continuing with the second segment
of Module 1, we touched on the professional roles and moral obligations of
trainers as well as the difference between them. 6 common ethical issues were
highlighted and we were guided through a 5-step process in managing
them.
1. Being a
professional trainer
In my organisation, a professional
trainer is deemed as someone who has experience in
a) The subject of delivery (offer knowledge and expertise), so they are able to
deliver the content base on their actual experience and they do not have to
spend as much time reading up the content before hand.
b) Able to communicate the content with clarity and is this is an important
prerequisite due to the multinational cross-cultural nature of the company. The
message need to be communicated across consistently.
c) They need to show enthusiasm in the content they are delivering (be open and
approachable). It is because there is a cultural perception in the company that
trainers from the US are enthusiastic and able to bring up the interests of the
learners. The trainers need to be able to relate interesting anecdotes and
stories to captivate the learners, and thereby creating a conducive learning
environment for learners.
In addition, the moral obligations
expected are
a) Ensuring safety and well-being of the learners. As trainers, we should also
check the training facility to ensure that the learning environment is safe for
the learners. An example of which at the start of a class, trainers will need
to explain on the emergency evacuation route from the training room to the
learners.
b) The second moral obligation is to be culturally sensitive to the learners in
each country. The speed and interaction with the students in each country
varies. In China and Japan, the students are less out-spoken and thus are more
willing to engage in lecture-style delivering. While India, Australia and
Singapore can be more interactive and driven from students.
c) The last moral obligation is to give due credit to the quotes, delivery
style or unique perspectives that are shared by different trainers and
learners. This is in appreciation to the efforts and creativity that the
respective trainers and learners contributed to the training.
In class, we learnt about 35 for the first time. And almost everyone come to
the same conclusion on what is meant by Professional Role and what is Moral
Obligations in less than 10 words as seen below.
The qualities of professional role
is again emphasized to us via play cards.
2. Common ethical dilemmas
Of all the ethical dilemmas as seen
in the image below that we have learnt in class, the 2 most common issues that
could potentially happen in my organisation are
a) Learner-trainer relationship - It is because the learners are also fellow
colleagues with the trainer. The learners maybe in a more senior position than
the trainer or in other work context, the role of the learner-trainer may havw
swap. Thus it is sometimes difficult to maintain professional learner-trainer
relationships.
b) The second issue is course attendance. As courses are typically held in the
office, learners may arrive back late to class after breaks due to the demand
of their work. They will miss out on the content that was delivered and may not
be proficient in some contents which they have missed out.
Of these, I will choose one of the
ethical dilemma to resolve using the 5-Step Ethical Decision Making Framework
as follows:
Step 1:Ethical issue identified is
a) learner-trainer relationship
Step 2:It arises because learners
are also fellow colleagues. The learners themselves maybe in a more senior
position or there are cross dependency with the work they are doing.
Step 3: It is a training environment
where I am the main facilitator and I have expertise in certain areas which I
could share with them. Even though the learners may come from different
departments or different positions, in class all learners should be regarded to
be equal. The alternative actions chosen should be Rights approach and Fairness
/ Justice Approach. These two approaches are chosen because all the learners
attend the course, sacrificing their time, is to learn and bring back what was
taught. And as learners in classroom context, a meritocratic approach should be
taken in evaluating the learners.
Step 4: On the first day of the
training delivery, the context and mindset should be set right. This can be
piloted in one of the shorter duration courses (2-days or 3-days long). The
trainer will explain on the context and mindset so the learners can understand.
Step 5: After the training, conduct
an After Action Review to evaluate the effectiveness of this approach. Conduct
a survey with the learners to gauge their perception.
3. My own CET
Professional Values and Ethics
After reflecting on my ACTA
learning, I find that the 2 most applicable values and ethics to me as a
Continuing Education and Training (CET) Professional (as seen in the picture
below) are:
a) Aware - As an in-house trainer
communicating with learners from India, China, Japan, Australia and Singapore,
there is a need to be aware of the diverse cultural backgrounds. At the
sametime, I have to explain and align them to the company mission and
strategies. Thus the 'Aware' value is most applicable in my context.
b) Innovative - As someone who
drives Continuous Improvement and Excellence mindset in the company, I find
'Innovative' value to resound closely with my area of work. The way learners
learn and the way trainers deliver the training need to be constantly improved
each time it is done.
Reflection-On-Action
After completing Module 1, my most
significant take-away is the exposure to the different facilitation techniques.
I'm amazed on how the modules are delivered almost in an entirely
facilitation-driven manner. Prior to each lesson, the trainer will need to
spend a lot of time in preparing for a facilitation-centered class. At the same
time, there is a need to understand the learners profile and how the trainer
can best structured the lessons to their profile.
