Attribute 6: Analyse relevant adult education and cognitive theory and draw on this in practice
There are 5 theories I would specifically like to identify that have significantly influenced my teaching practice:
- Knowles' Adult Learning Principles
- Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning
- Fleming's VARK Inventory
- Kirkpatrick's 4 Levels of Evaluation
- Summative and Formative Asessment
Knowles' Adult Learning Principles
As previously identified in Attribute 1, Knowles' study of andragogy (adult education) and the principles he identified have heavily influenced my teaching practice. As outlined in that section, I highlighted the six principles identified by Knowles (2012):
As previously identified in Attribute 1, Knowles' study of andragogy (adult education) and the principles he identified have heavily influenced my teaching practice. As outlined in that section, I highlighted the six principles identified by Knowles (2012):
- Adults are internally motivated and self-directed
- Adults bring life experiences and knowledge to learning experiences
- Adults are goal oriented
- Adults are relevancy oriented
- Adults are practical
- Adult learners like to be respected
To elaborate more on how these influence my teaching practice, I would like to use a practical example, and will use the short course that I run in my current workplace: Effective Workplace Communication.
Course participants are self-selected for this course with the support of their line managers, ensuring a course participant profile that sees a relevance to the course material for their work practice. So that participants can make an informed decision, a copy of the course description and objectives are made available through the in-house course catalog and Learning Management System, and participants can ensure that the course aligns with what they need and their own work goals. Below is an extract from the Learning Management System entry for this course:
Course participants are self-selected for this course with the support of their line managers, ensuring a course participant profile that sees a relevance to the course material for their work practice. So that participants can make an informed decision, a copy of the course description and objectives are made available through the in-house course catalog and Learning Management System, and participants can ensure that the course aligns with what they need and their own work goals. Below is an extract from the Learning Management System entry for this course:
During the course I not only deliver content, but also get participants to talk about experiences they have had in the workplace. An early part of my presentation is to share the following acronym as an expectation of how we work together:
When talking about 'say something', I share the saying that I am looking to 'unlock the collective wisdom in the room', and that my job is to not only teach content, but to facilitate discussion that draws off participants' experiences so that we can all learn from each other. In this way I show respect for the past experience of my learners and have course discussions that are focused on real-life situations that the participants face to ensure relevance.
Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning
Bloom's (1994) Taxonomy of Learning has informed my teaching practice significantly as it has provided a framework for me to think deeply about the learning objectives I am working towards.
Bloom's (1994) Taxonomy of Learning has informed my teaching practice significantly as it has provided a framework for me to think deeply about the learning objectives I am working towards.
Images sourced from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloom%27s_taxonomy
Bloom's Taxonomy outlines six different levels of learning and the type of learning objectives that you could expect at these various levels. Again to outline how this theory has influenced my practice I would like to give a practical example from my current organisation, where I have designed courses in the area of Influencing and Negotiation Skills.
As part of our organisation's strategy to increase accessibility to learning, in addition to the in-classroom courses we run, we also look to provide supporting eLearning. That way learners who don't have the opportunity to attend a classroom session at least have access to some learning resources, but also if they find the content of eLearning tools relevant to them, they can make more informed decisions about whether or not they want to attend the more in-depth classroom session. On our Learning Management System, learners have access to what we call an eBite, which is a quick item of eLearning. An extract from our Learning Management System on the eBite I designed in collaboration with our e-learning developers is below:
Bloom's Taxonomy outlines six different levels of learning and the type of learning objectives that you could expect at these various levels. Again to outline how this theory has influenced my practice I would like to give a practical example from my current organisation, where I have designed courses in the area of Influencing and Negotiation Skills.
As part of our organisation's strategy to increase accessibility to learning, in addition to the in-classroom courses we run, we also look to provide supporting eLearning. That way learners who don't have the opportunity to attend a classroom session at least have access to some learning resources, but also if they find the content of eLearning tools relevant to them, they can make more informed decisions about whether or not they want to attend the more in-depth classroom session. On our Learning Management System, learners have access to what we call an eBite, which is a quick item of eLearning. An extract from our Learning Management System on the eBite I designed in collaboration with our e-learning developers is below:
As a brief item of learning that is intended to take no more than 10 minutes to complete, the target objective is for learners to be about to identify the type of negotiation they may need to use based on a matrix developed by Lewicki and Hiam. Application is not the immediate objective of this course, but rather to introduce a tool and to increase knowledge of different negotiation styles, at level 1 of knowledge in Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning. Learners also have access to register and attend the short course which is classroom based, titled Influencing and Negotiation Skills Fundamentals. In this course learners are reintroduced to this model and other models relating to Influencing and Negotiation skills, but then also have an opportunity to plan the use of these and apply it through roleplay. This is why the classroom course has as one of it's objectives:
- Apply general strategies for successful negotiation and influencing
As a course that provides opportunities not just to present information, but provides opportunities for practice, this course is designed to look at opportunities for application, or those objectives in level 3 of Bloom's Taxonomy. What I have identified through my practical use of Bloom's Taxonomy, is that I need to be aware of what my learning objectives are, and how I plan to deliver this, to ensure I am working towards appropriate learning objectives for my target audience.
Fleming's VARK Inventory
Fleming (1987) developed the VARK Learning Style inventory to show the different ways people prefer to process information. The elements of this inventory include:
Fleming (1987) developed the VARK Learning Style inventory to show the different ways people prefer to process information. The elements of this inventory include:
- V - Visual: People who process information better if they can see it, for example with images and graphs
- A - Aural: People who process information better if they hear it, for example listening to lectures and audio recordings
- R - Read/Write: People who process information by reading or writing, for example taking notes to reread or reading textbooks
- K - Kinesthetic/Tactile: People who process information through experience, activity and practice, for example simulation or on-the-job learning
People are unlikely to sit entirely in one category, but may prefer a blend of different modes, and given the diversity of not only individual learners, but also all the preferences of the learners in a particular group, this theory has been particularly relevant to my teaching practice as I look to cater to a variety of different information processing preferences. I will now outline a practical example of this through the course I have designed and delivered: Time and Priority Management.
I have looked to cater to different learners in a variety of different means through this course. First I rely on visuals to reinforce key messages. Examples of some of the slides used in this course can be found below.
I have looked to cater to different learners in a variety of different means through this course. First I rely on visuals to reinforce key messages. Examples of some of the slides used in this course can be found below.
These slides are typical of the visuals I like to use in classes I run. Simple, using graphs or models to illustrate points, having few words, or using only imagery to demonstrate a point. For aural learners, my talking supports these slides. In addition for those who prefer reading, supporting resources are given to all learners in the form of a coursebook, which also gives people space to write down their own notes for those who prefer to do so. The Time and Priority Management coursebook can be found below:
time_and_priority_management_workbook.docx | |
File Size: | 2817 kb |
File Type: | docx |
In addition for Kinesthetic learners the workbook is full of practical activities, like an exercise where people place objects of varying sizes into a jar to demonstrate the difficulties of managing differing priorities, and another activity where learners use a week planner to actively plan their next working week. I have learnt significantly from the use of the VARK inventory to ensure I cater to all different types of learners in my classes.
Kirkpatrick's 4 Levels of Evaluation
An example of how Kirkpatrick's work has influenced my teaching practice can be found in Attribute 2, where I outline how I have changed our organisation's approach to learning evaluation. Going beyond simple reaction evaluation, to evaluating changes in behaviour and corresponding results is particularly important for my practice as an educator within a corporate environment.
Summative and Formative Assessment
Please refer to Attribute 8 where I further outline theory around summative and formative assessment and how I apply this to my teaching practice.