Transcribed from original hand- -written notes
23 -25 Feb. 2015 Reflections-
True Student-Led Learning:
-Advanced class (3 students) – 1st day realized a
‘miscommunication’ about wheat we (my organization) thought the class would
cover vs. what the student thought they were coming to learn…
After gathering perspective for the next couple days’
training with the students, we drew an agenda on a white board.
-They listed their goal items,
-I listed our goal items,
(Later notes 29 March 2015: we used our collective list as a
road-map to guide us over our days of training… this showed the students that I
was flexible to their expectations and needs as well as exercise elements that
were important to me to cover, and additionally we covered a large number of
items as they presented themselves).
·
This was used as a template/framework for the
class… to keep us on track so that as many things that could be covered were
covered.
·
I specifically told students “you lead the
direction of training for this class, whatever you need I or we will do the
best to accommodate your learning for long as you’re here”. Fortunately I have enough rapport with these
students that they know this statement extends to nearly any training or time I
can offer with them.
Every step- group oriented- each student
completing/executing specific new tasks
·
1:3 Instructor to student ratio for the subject
matter is challenging, taxing, rewarding –
Three people thinking & learning brings
learning & challenges for the instructor.
Sidebar:
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1:3 complete collaborative
learning… instructor often works with students as peers through points of
material. This ACTUALLY increases
rapport between students and instructor, but more importantly enables students
to feel respected for their knowledge and experience. Simultaneously, students respect instructor
expertise while understanding instructor will gainfully acknowledge and
sometimes defer to student perspective on topics.
Training information I have thought about adding or
documenting came up throughout training (and was commented on in survey
responses)
Maybe
add:
·
Troubleshooting & anomalies –
Possibly
a troubleshooting scenario…
Other Notes:
Training was so useful to students that they asked if it
could be extended to three days (instead of two). We were not behind in our pseudo-white
boarded agenda, but it was seen as a great achievement that students felt that
training was useful enough to extend it a day (they traveled out to us for this
training, and the additional costs further denote the usefulness of the
training they attended).
Closing thoughts:
Three days of 6+ hours of 1:3 instruction was really too
much information for the students-
-Instructor
fear of how much is enough & how much is too much
work/learning/instruction?
I talked to another instructor (of different material,) and
we concluded –for now—that this may be
hard to work on. Every learner has a
different threshold…
-Maybe I can incorporate (more) self-inquiry play
time (like we did, prior to lunch for 45 mins of the last day of
training). Then they would have more
interest or patience with material?
Maybe for my continuation training of them I can give them
more system time and anomaly training of system and data and have examples to
have them work on…. ?
Possibly I can develop some weekly “tech-bits”? To share opinions, further their development?
