Norris presents seven steps that have been presented to change one's life. The steps are a detailed plan or design plan to approach learning with the learners. Norris states that these steps can be shared with the participants if so desired but it is not necessary. These steps include:
1. WHO - This was discussed in the previous posting but Norris continues in chapter nine to state that the who (participants) are important as the instructor/facilitator must understand his/her participants. Norris states that the instructor/facilitator must include oneself in the who.
2. WHY - The why is understanding the learner centered versus teacher centered approach. Instructors must approach the learning situation in terms of what the learner needds and wants, not what you as the instructor needs or wants.
3. WHEN - This includes the logistics of the program - date, time, length, etc. Is this a series or a one time program.
4. WHERE - The where includes more than just the location but also the space - tables, furniture, design/arrangement of the room.
5. WHAT - The instructor asks at this point - "What is to be taught?" What skills and knowledge are you wanting the participants to grasp? Also included in the what is also the sequence of what will be learned. When looking at the sequence, it is important to arrange it in a way that is best for the learners. To bring it full circle, you must know your participants in order to accomplish this.
6. STORYBOARD - The storyboard is essentially a sequence of events that is visually laid out with the aid of post-it notes that reflect the content of the information to be presented to learners. The storyboard allows one to look at what they are presenting (within the who, what, when, where, etc. format) and avoid what Norris states as attempting to present "too much information" with "too little time". It is essentially a way of organizing one's thoughts and course content.
7. WHAT FOR... - Norris credits the phrase "what for" to Dr. Vella. Essentially, this statement asks what the learners will do with the information. Norris breaks this step down by saying, "This is the information they need.l This is what they will do with the information and this is how that will happen" (p. 82).
I appreciate the simplicity of this list. Do you think this is applicable for all ages and levels of education?
ReplyDelete*hmmm...I wonder if I could get it in a poster format?
Absolutely! Just as in your recent posting, the focus is on making the learning learner centered versus teacher centered. These are steps that can be made applicable to various ages, abilities and topics. This is mainly due to the fact that the focus in on planning for the student(s).
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