As I write this, college students have returned to campus, and elementary teachers are readying their rooms to welcome smiling young faces back to class. I stand in awe of those who mold young minds, instill a love of reading, math and science, and create the next generation of leaders for our nation. I know that there is a lot of theory on how kids learn, and creative teachers put a lot of energy into creating learning that is fun, in stimulating environments, despite being in a world that is data-driven and focused on measurable outcomes.
My own experience in teaching has focused on adults, and adults learn differently than children do. One of the concepts that I was taught is that an adult learner has to be presented with the information 3 times before it is heard and understood. It helps to mix up the delivery format or style to share the lessons of the class. Information can be taught in a lecture, it can be read on paper or on a computer screen, or it can be taught as an exercise or activity. Hear, see, do. There are probably other creative options, but I can’t think of any at the moment. The important thing is to deliver the subject matter 3 times, each in different ways.
In one of my own experiences teaching, I was not successful in delivering the content. Right before the pandemic started, I conducted a training workshop before a small group. I thought it went OK, there were a few questions, some of the attendees nodded at appropriate spots in the workshop, and I left thinking my work was done. Not a month later, I found out that this group had undertaken some drastic action that, step by step, was counter to the theories and practices that I had shared with them in the workshop. In fact, in looking at what transpired, I wondered if they had taken my workshop list of actions to avoid and used it as their game plan.
On reflection, I see that I should not have simply accepted their polite nodding as an indication that they understood the import of what I was trying to share. I should have delivered my presentation differently, making sure that I had the information for them in 3 different formats, and perhaps tapped the elementary teachers’ playbook of making the learning fun and stimulating, not dry. Sadly, I admit, it was dry. Probably, too dry.
Too often, adults are asked to re-educate themselves in their jobs without any real motivation, and the levels of interest end up being about the same as a 9th-grade algebra class. You know what I mean, particularly if you were sitting in the back row of that class. But in our fast-changing world, most of us need periodic re-education to keep up with technological changes in our fields, new certification requirements, and requirements to show core competencies. As an example, several years ago, the Department of Housing and Urban Development set this month, August 2021, as the deadline for all housing counselors to pass a rigorous instruction course and pass an exam to prove competency in six major areas of the field. Many experienced housing counselors did not pass that exam on the first try, which may point to failings of the methodology of the training that was rolled out by HUD. There was only one method of learning available- reading the material on the computer- for most students taking this exam. Hopefully, everyone passed on the second or third try.
Here at Flatley Read, a significant portion of the business is related to training adults, both in how to keep homes safe from lead-based paint contamination, or the RRP classes required by the EPA for construction workers and tradespeople. These classes are based on the Hear/See/Do model, so if you are in the market for an RRP certificate, you should have no trouble leaving the class with the information you need to keep in compliance with federal rules. I promise, you won’t have to listen to me drone on in one of these classes. I learned my lesson from that training, and Flatley Read management has had the good sense to hire good teachers to give you what you need. If you are interested in taking a class from us, you can check out the training schedule here on our website. Just click on the Training button on the home page to learn more about the many classes that we have available.
The Curmudgeon
