I love to learn, but I hated school. I hated facing in the same direction as all the other boys and girls. I hated the reality that a lot of the time the class went only as fast as the slightly-below-average learner, when I wanted to forge ahead briskly. And, truth be told, there were often times when I wanted to shout, “Wait! Hold it! Stop! I don’t understand that last point” as the train of instruction pulled slowly away from me.
It got so bad, that I regularly cut school. Other kids who did that slept the day away or played ball. I went to the library and museums. It wasn’t learning I hated, just school and the traditional classroom. But there wasn’t much else.
Dr. Richard Felder, who teaches engineering at NC State, recently described today’s version of the “traditional” class, as one “where you just lecture and the students just listen (or text or surf or daydream or sleep).” Instruction in those classrooms proceeds in measured steps, usually from abstract concept to (if you’re lucky) concrete example. It’s a system designed for teaching and not for learning.
But the days of those classrooms and that system as the core of how we get knowledge into the heads of the people in our companies is numbered. It’s simply too cumbersome, expensive, and ineffective to work in a knowledge economy.
The good news is that change is starting to happen. Here are some things to consider so you can make change real at your place.
Consider different methods of getting knowledge to people in the classroom. Dr. Felder’s site has a page with an extensive list of resources for “Student-Centered Teaching and Learning.”
Use the classroom only when it’s the right venue. Classroom training works when learning requires face-to-face interaction or special equipment that’s hard to move.
Shift your thinking from stationary to mobile. Sharlyn Lauby makes the point that “Mobile Puts Learning in the Palm of Your [or anybody’s] Hand.”
Consider mentoring, shadowing and apprenticeships as part of the mix. Today only about five percent of American workers learn their trade through apprentice programs. They’re usually in programs run by unions for manual trades. But other countries use apprenticeships for a much wider array of jobs.
Shift your thinking from teaching to helping people learn. If you haven’t discovered it, add Harold Jarche’s blog to your reader and check it often. A recent post, “Informal Learning is a Business Imperative” will give you an idea of what’s there.
The Knowledge Economy cries out for workers who will constantly upgrade their knowledge and skills. Helping them learn effectively and easily could be the best way there is to gain competitive advantage.
