Today's blog is inspired by a quotation I recently posted on Twitter by Marva Collins:
'The essence of teaching is to make learning contagious, to have one idea spark another.'
To be a great teacher or trainer you could do worse than let your audience teach you. To do that, you must create opportunities to interact with them, and them with you.
The more you can interact with your audience, the more you will learn from them. They will spark off new ideas in you and enhance your teaching a thousand fold.
Teaching is not about filling someone's head with facts - such as the seven different leadership styles.
Teaching is about inspiring people - about setting off a spark in them - a curiosity to learn more, to observe others, to reflect on their own experiences, to help them see through new eyes the world that has always been around them.
One of my favourite lecturers was a man who rarely gave me information, or answers. He almost always posed questions and let us debate our views. When we stated our point of view (so confidently, awaiting his agreement, for him to validate our position), he normally responded with a counterpoint- another question. He made me think more deeply, made me go beyond the obvious, the superficial and really work things out for myself.
He sparked more thoughts in me than he could ever have managed by telling me things.
Ask questions.
* Open questions.
* Controversial questions.
* Challenging questions.
Treat all your students as teachers and you will be amazed at how much more everyone will learn as a result.
Showing posts with label inspired teaching. Show all posts
Showing posts with label inspired teaching. Show all posts
Monday, 10 August 2009
Friday, 29 May 2009
Sparkie's Ten Commandments #8
Neither shalt thou get thine audience jumping around after lunch, nor shalt thou put on a long video in the dark
As a facilitator or presenter, one of your core jobs is the manage the energy of both the group and yourself.
To do this well, you need to be able to assess energy levels: to know when your audience are bouncing and when they are slumping. Here are a few signs to look out for:
1) Body language - are they slumped, doodling, eyes vacant? Or are they alert, engaged and following your movements with their eyes?
2) Level of interaction and engagement - what happens when you ask a question or set a task?
3) Your own energy levels - if the room has low energy you might find your own levels are drained as you try to raise theirs.... Conversely when their energy is full-on it tends to make you feel great too!
There is always a balance to be struck, as reflected in the title. After lunch there can be a significant lull in energy levels, as blood moves to the digestive system (if you can, choose a lunch with less stodge). Don't put the lights out and show a video unless you want them to have a snooze. After lunch is a great time to get them working on a case study or interactive exercise.
What signs and evidence can you find or have you noticed that reflects the energy levels of your audience when you are presenting? Post your comments here....
As a facilitator or presenter, one of your core jobs is the manage the energy of both the group and yourself.
To do this well, you need to be able to assess energy levels: to know when your audience are bouncing and when they are slumping. Here are a few signs to look out for:
1) Body language - are they slumped, doodling, eyes vacant? Or are they alert, engaged and following your movements with their eyes?
2) Level of interaction and engagement - what happens when you ask a question or set a task?
3) Your own energy levels - if the room has low energy you might find your own levels are drained as you try to raise theirs.... Conversely when their energy is full-on it tends to make you feel great too!
There is always a balance to be struck, as reflected in the title. After lunch there can be a significant lull in energy levels, as blood moves to the digestive system (if you can, choose a lunch with less stodge). Don't put the lights out and show a video unless you want them to have a snooze. After lunch is a great time to get them working on a case study or interactive exercise.
What signs and evidence can you find or have you noticed that reflects the energy levels of your audience when you are presenting? Post your comments here....
Tuesday, 26 May 2009
Sparkie's Ten Commandments #7
Thou shalt not show thine audience how much thou knowest.
No-one likes a show off. Not since school days.
There's a saying that seems appropriate here...
People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care.
Really, I couldn't care less what celebrities you have coached, until you have shown me a simple tip that will make my life better.
I don't want to know how many qualifications you have, or letters after your name, unless you can give me a piece of sage advice that I can use straight away.
An expert knows alot.
A teacher knows how to break down something complex into simple steps that anyone can master. A teacher can take something other people find hard and make it easy.
Be both an expert in your topic and a great teacher - so that your audience can benefit from your years of experience in a way that will transform their life.
No-one likes a show off. Not since school days.
There's a saying that seems appropriate here...
People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care.
Really, I couldn't care less what celebrities you have coached, until you have shown me a simple tip that will make my life better.
I don't want to know how many qualifications you have, or letters after your name, unless you can give me a piece of sage advice that I can use straight away.
An expert knows alot.
A teacher knows how to break down something complex into simple steps that anyone can master. A teacher can take something other people find hard and make it easy.
Be both an expert in your topic and a great teacher - so that your audience can benefit from your years of experience in a way that will transform their life.
Sunday, 17 May 2009
Sparkie's Ten Commandments #3
Thou shalt not talk to thine listeners or treat them as if they are your troublesome children
It is amazing what adults can do. They hold down a job, run a household, pay into a retirement fund, look after their parents and children... So why is that some presenters treat them like they are four years' old?
A smatter of condescension, some "guidelines" (read rules) at the start to keep everyone in their place... It's enough to bring out the worst in your learners. Drone on like a school master of old and watch as people start to fiddle and play up!
Your adults know an incredible amount and have decades of life experience. They might not be experts at what you do, but they are experts in their own right. If you choose to treat them as experts (in another field) then your focus grows. Not only do you think of how you can help them, but also, what you can learn from them.
I used to teach a short module on data protection - despite knowing very little about it. At the start of each session I would get groups of around six people to write down everything they knew or thought they knew about Data Protection. Without fail someone in each team would have plenty to say, because either it was or had been part of their role. All I had to do then was to correct any misunderstandings and draw out their own expertise.
The best way to use the experience and knowledge already present in your audience is to ask them questions, set them tasks and get them working in groups. The person with the most relevant knowledge then teaches the rest of the group and you simply correct or add in where there are gaps.
Plus, you treat them like the knowledgeable experts they are.
It is amazing what adults can do. They hold down a job, run a household, pay into a retirement fund, look after their parents and children... So why is that some presenters treat them like they are four years' old?
A smatter of condescension, some "guidelines" (read rules) at the start to keep everyone in their place... It's enough to bring out the worst in your learners. Drone on like a school master of old and watch as people start to fiddle and play up!
Your adults know an incredible amount and have decades of life experience. They might not be experts at what you do, but they are experts in their own right. If you choose to treat them as experts (in another field) then your focus grows. Not only do you think of how you can help them, but also, what you can learn from them.
I used to teach a short module on data protection - despite knowing very little about it. At the start of each session I would get groups of around six people to write down everything they knew or thought they knew about Data Protection. Without fail someone in each team would have plenty to say, because either it was or had been part of their role. All I had to do then was to correct any misunderstandings and draw out their own expertise.
The best way to use the experience and knowledge already present in your audience is to ask them questions, set them tasks and get them working in groups. The person with the most relevant knowledge then teaches the rest of the group and you simply correct or add in where there are gaps.
Plus, you treat them like the knowledgeable experts they are.
Wednesday, 1 October 2008
Beyond PowerPoint
Today I have been pulling together some tips on Beyond PowerPoint. In mentioning creative training and the need to avoid PowerPoint, one person reacted by saying "I'd be interested to see what she does instead"....
Are we really so wedded to this software that we cannot think of anything else?
Do we really believe that the best way for people to learn is to absorb facts and information through their eyeballs?
So here are my suggestions when it comes to taking your training Beyond PowerPoint:
* firstly aim only to cover NEED TO KNOW information. Think about this in advance and you may find that your event is substantially reduced. The best trainers are ruthless editors.
* next get your learners to tell you what they need to know about the topic. Use a cocktail party style icebreaker where everyone stands up and when they meet someone else, shares one thing they would like to learn from the session. Combining all these at the end on a flipchart gives you a great focus for your session.
* next find out what people already know about your topic. So ask small group of around 3-4 people to brainstorm things that they know (perhaps about specific elements) and to write these on a flipchart. You may be amazed at how much they already know - one person within a group might know quite alot and they will have already taught their colleagues, and by asking each group to summarise their flipchart, they teach the rest of the class. Anything that is inaccurate or wrong, please correct at this point and add key missing items to.
Now you have a clear focus for your event and you haven't even touched your projector.
When it comes to covering the information that bridges the gap between you have a number of alternative options:
* Card Exercises. Here small groups (2-3) are given a set of cards with words or phrases on them. They then have to either put them into some sort of order (first to last, most important to least important) or categorise them (true/ false). Even with little prior knowledge of a topic, people will start thinking, discussing and will do most of this without help. You can then coach them on a few cards they are unsure about. This is a powerful way to interact with information and works for a wide range of topics.
* Case Studies. You provide some scenario or case study for small groups to discuss. If need be, you can also give them some summary information, books or reference material, where they can search for further help. This helps people get to grips with what they already know or don't know and you can provide the information or skills they need to improve dramatically.
* Stories. Find someone who has a powerful, emotive story relating to your topic. If you cannot actually invite them to the session, then video their story. Imagine the power of someone who has your widget keeping them alive in their artificial heart to inspire your technicians to tighter manufacturing tolerances. Imagine the impact from a mother who has lost a child to gang violence.
* Quizzes. By setting simple or complex questions, you can test and evaluate what people know. By providing clear answers, you can teach them a whole range of vital information. Quizzes are very flexible and you can ask questions aloud (preferred as you can alter the questions to suit your learners on the day), and then ask teams to hold up cards with their answer, move to somewhere in the room based on a multiple choice answer (a, b or c for instance) or write their answer down.
Here I have shared just a few techniques to help you go Beyond PowerPoint. I hope you are inspired the next time you are designing some training to step back from the keyboard, and write some cards, or a quiz and a case study, to inspire your learners in new ways.
Are we really so wedded to this software that we cannot think of anything else?
Do we really believe that the best way for people to learn is to absorb facts and information through their eyeballs?
So here are my suggestions when it comes to taking your training Beyond PowerPoint:
* firstly aim only to cover NEED TO KNOW information. Think about this in advance and you may find that your event is substantially reduced. The best trainers are ruthless editors.
* next get your learners to tell you what they need to know about the topic. Use a cocktail party style icebreaker where everyone stands up and when they meet someone else, shares one thing they would like to learn from the session. Combining all these at the end on a flipchart gives you a great focus for your session.
* next find out what people already know about your topic. So ask small group of around 3-4 people to brainstorm things that they know (perhaps about specific elements) and to write these on a flipchart. You may be amazed at how much they already know - one person within a group might know quite alot and they will have already taught their colleagues, and by asking each group to summarise their flipchart, they teach the rest of the class. Anything that is inaccurate or wrong, please correct at this point and add key missing items to.
Now you have a clear focus for your event and you haven't even touched your projector.
When it comes to covering the information that bridges the gap between you have a number of alternative options:
* Card Exercises. Here small groups (2-3) are given a set of cards with words or phrases on them. They then have to either put them into some sort of order (first to last, most important to least important) or categorise them (true/ false). Even with little prior knowledge of a topic, people will start thinking, discussing and will do most of this without help. You can then coach them on a few cards they are unsure about. This is a powerful way to interact with information and works for a wide range of topics.
* Case Studies. You provide some scenario or case study for small groups to discuss. If need be, you can also give them some summary information, books or reference material, where they can search for further help. This helps people get to grips with what they already know or don't know and you can provide the information or skills they need to improve dramatically.
* Stories. Find someone who has a powerful, emotive story relating to your topic. If you cannot actually invite them to the session, then video their story. Imagine the power of someone who has your widget keeping them alive in their artificial heart to inspire your technicians to tighter manufacturing tolerances. Imagine the impact from a mother who has lost a child to gang violence.
* Quizzes. By setting simple or complex questions, you can test and evaluate what people know. By providing clear answers, you can teach them a whole range of vital information. Quizzes are very flexible and you can ask questions aloud (preferred as you can alter the questions to suit your learners on the day), and then ask teams to hold up cards with their answer, move to somewhere in the room based on a multiple choice answer (a, b or c for instance) or write their answer down.
Here I have shared just a few techniques to help you go Beyond PowerPoint. I hope you are inspired the next time you are designing some training to step back from the keyboard, and write some cards, or a quiz and a case study, to inspire your learners in new ways.
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