I was not too impressed with Chapter 7 which is the last chapter in Part I of the book. It really seemed to repeat what had already been expressed in the first 6 chapters. One thing about me, I hate repetition. I'm a say it once, get to the point and move on type of girl. So, hopefully Norris will not repeat herself too often in this book.
In Chapter 8, Norris looks at adult education through a teacher-centered and learner-centered approach.
Learner-centered - balance of meeting the learner's needs while providing valuable information at the same time.
According to Norris, "The teacher-centered approach says, "This is what I need to do to teach this concept. The teacher of a learner-centered approach says, "This is what they need to do to learn this concept."
(p. 60)
The way that Norris outlines the teacher versus learner-centered approach is one that comes with experience. When teaching my first parent education course, I was in no way thinking of what they needed to do to learn the concepts. I was thinking about me and what I needed to teach and how to teach it. But as a novice, I don't think this is an uncommon approach.
Norris mentions Vella when describing how to conduct a learning needs resource assessment. Essentially, this is taking the "pulse" of your learners. There are 3 steps that Vella mentions in her book: Learning to Listen, Learning to Teach.
Ask, Study, Observe
Ask
Compose a list of a few questions (my opinion is no more than 5-7) and email them to your participants to get a feel of who they are and what they already know and concerns or questions they may have. Norris mentions that this need not be sent to every prospective participant but just a sample. My suggestion would be a random sampling.
When the participants reply, follow up with an email that speaks to their concerns or answers one of their questions. Norris says that it is okay if you don't receive a response from everyone.
Study
Understand your audience. If you are providing a training to sports therapist, Norris suggests reading up on their field and their general understandings. Maybe look into a current trend or shift in their field.
Observe
So that participants feel that you are connected to them, Norris suggests observing their day, their work environment, understanding their language so that you can speak it as well. This allows you to connect with your audience, design the training around what is applicable and relevant to them and for them to feel a connection with you.
This is certainly a new way of approaching a needs assessment in a way that I had not considered. I have done the personal invitations and phone calls/emails to remind but this is a whole new take on things. Also, it is comforting to know that the expectation is not for every participant to be contacted as that can seem a bit overwhelming. Whether the group is large or small, these are ideas that can be reasonably applied.
I am going to incorporate a similar methodology at my work. My goal is to use email inquiries, interviews, and observation to gain a connectedness rather than just stratification. Though my trainings aren't geared towards product knowledge and customer service such as the traditional methods used, developing the emotional connectedness through open communication, empathy, and mindful awareness should provide an inter-dependent learner-centered environment. Once that team-cohesion takes place, the traditional trainings should gain more value and practice.
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