Five ways to find context in training

I heard it recently said that learning is not about the content, but the conversation. I understand the sentiment, but think it misses the point. Learning is about context. The content and the conversation are but parts of this. The best of content delivered to in a format that is unable to be interpreted by its receiver is useless. Likewise a fantastic conversation can be had with out a scarric of useful information changing hands.

To say that learning is about the conversation is to confuse the medium with end goal, learning. It comes back to the idea of right place, right person, right time, right information and right tools. There are many different things to get right for the learner to be engaged and for real learning to take place. Valuable learning occurs with the information being given has relevance and meaning to the one it is being given. The context of the overall learning scenario determines how a learner is connected to learning they are attempting to embark upon. Below I look at 5 ways to find the context of learning environment and how to connect to your learners when training.

Avoid Assumption

I’ve always loved the saying, “Never assume anything. It makes an ass out of u & me!” and it is true. Unfortunately, like most people, it is one I can very easily fall foul to.

The easiest way to have meaningless conversations and provide ineffective training is to be on a completely different wavelength to the people with which you are trying to communicate. Nothing makes this quite so easy as assuming that I know where the person is coming from. It makes it too easy to sprout information, and provide a whole heap of advice that completely misses the mark at best or totally confuses and agitates at worst. One sure fire way to alienate a person is to have them think you are not listening or understanding their needs. Assumption will mean you miss the context of the training everytime be it f2f, online or distance training.

One of the common misassumptions is that current school leaders are computer literate and completely at home on the Internet and by extension should be completely able to operate in the online world. It simply is not true. Most will know how to check their facebook and send an email. They will probably be able to send and receive MMS messages. They will likely be under the assumption that Google knows all. However, you will also find kids that can’t turn on a computer. That wouldn’t know how to use the Internet. Kids that still can’t read properly and have trouble with writing. That are happy working on an engine or helping care for a sick person, but would  happily condemn all computers to be thrown by trebuchets. Engaging these people online would probably be disastrous and the context of their situation will determine how we learn together. Stopping to check your assumptions saves a great deal of angst for all.

Make assumptions at your own peril.

Find the right time

Sometimes this very much defined for you, especially in a face to face institutional environment where classes are 2-4 on Thursdays. In the workplace or in a flexible environment – online or otherwise – there is more scope for movement. There will be certain times during the days and weeks you can engage the learners fully and others that just won’t work. Finding what works for you and them will be part of the negotiations. For road transport workers, you may find that after hours on a Wednesday works, but certain days are shot because everybody is in every direction. Mondays and Fridays in an office can be a bad time to engage someone as the pressure of starting a new week or ending it with all tasks completed will drive the concentration from the minds of those you wish to train.

In every case it will be slightly different and the only way to find what works is to open the lines of communication and be aware of your students actions and what they are telling you. When you pick the right time, the learner will be alert and ready to engage with where they are about to travel. Sometimes though, there is no right time. In these cases any time is right and making it work will be about separating the individual from the rest of their environment for the period of the learning sessions. In these cases you as a trainer may need to take the lead.

Finding the right time is about what works and when it works.  Be flexible and alert to your learners and you will find it.

Find the right medium

What works best with the student for them to learn. If a student learns better face to face, classes or group sessions may work best. If the learner is time poor and wishes to study from home a distance or blended model might be better for them. Even further if they are studying at home, the might want to operate online or feel more comfortable with paper. Finding the right tool for the job is about removing barriers to learning and empowering a person to learn in their way that suits them.

But what tool should I use? There may be dozens of tools that work for the situation and and example is online conferencing: four fantastic web conferencing tools are Elluminate, Wimba, DimDim and Adobe Connect. They all do approximately the same thing. They look a little different and have different pricing models and structures, but when push comes to shove they all work. The question becomes not what works, but which is going to work best for me and my student. It may even be a case of use whichever is your preference and if that doesn’t work move onto to another tool. There are no right answers here.

The big trick to finding the right tools for the job are to use the ones you have at hand. If they don’t work, don’t clasp them tight. Find another tool that works. If text chat isn’t working, use Skype or VOIP and if that doesn’t work pick up the phone. The tools to use are the ones that work.

Bring the right information and know when to bring others into the conversation

Your learner knows what they want to learn and in most case you will know what they will need to learn. The best thing you can do is prepare adequately and be ready to give of what you have. The old adage of preparation being the most important thing you can do still holds true in the modern training environment. The most flexible trainers are those prepared for most eventualities. Prepare early and move as you need to when your train. Your learners will be better for it.

It goes without saying that one person can’t know everything. You will have gaps in your knowledge, and if you don’t you are not human. When you hit something that you can’t answer, bring in the help you need to address the issue. Most successful people aim to surround themselves with smarter people then they are, why should trainers be any different? Hubris is the fortitude of the week and humbleness the refuge of the strong. Admitting to a knowledge gap doesn’t diminish a person, nothing robs credibility faster than trying to bluff through a topic you know little about. Finding the right person or information for a student when they need it, even if that person isn’t you, increases your connection to the learner and meets them where they need to be met.

Listen

It’s been said that we have two ears and one mouth and we should use them in that ratio. Funnily enough in training one of the hardest things to learn is when to shut the one tool we are used to using. One of the things I’ve observed is that the most effective trainers help learners train, tutor and teach each other. The knack they have is hearing exactly what they are being asked then drawing it out of those around them. Context is gained from the  subtext of the conversation. Reading between the lines and finding the story behind the questions.

One of the most effective tools here is the art of reflective listening. For the uninitiated reflective listening is where you reflect your learners statements back to them slightly paraphrased to determine that you understand what they are saying eg “So you mean…” or “He made you feel…” You can then employ a series of questions to get the learner thinking in the right direction or to find the heart of the matter and address the real questions being asked. Finding the real context of the conversation helps you as a trainer connect with your learners and help them make real behaviour change.

Admittedly the context might be “I’m confused and what you are saying doesn’t make much sense to me”, listening and obtaining feed back from your learners will help you find when you’ve got it right, got it wrong and when it is time to move the conversation along.

Finally…

We’ve moved from the teacher centric model of past, where an esteemed wise man stood on an elevated platform and espoused the wisdom he held. The main problem with throwing information at people is most of it bounces. For a learner to engage with information and behaviour to start to change, a facilitator and trainer must meet the student where they stand now. The trainer has to find the context of where the student is coming from and fit the learning to them. In the end, a learner centric system means context is everything…

Let us know what you think, by posting your comments below.