Tag Archives: feedback
Provide Feedback to Learners. But Be Vague About It.

Provide Feedback to Learners. But Be Vague About It.

by on August 4, 2011 in feedback

Well here’s an interesting dilemma. I read two intriguing articles in the July issue of Wired magazine: One was called “Harnessing the Power of Feedback Loops” by Thomas Goetz. The other was a blog post entitled “In Praise of Vagueness” by Jonah Lehrer. My initial reaction was “Hurray! I have content for my next two blog posts!”

But then I started writing, and all of my grand ideas folded in on each other until I realized, heart sinking, that I indeed only have one blog post, and that I view these two articles as companion pieces to each other.

The gist of feedback loops is that, as one is provided with information about one’s behavior, it can be used to modify behavior in order to more closely approach a desired outcome. In Goetz’s article, he gives a compelling example (if all the comments to the article …

Read full story • Comments { 2 }
Measuring Project Success: Thoughts for the Training Professional

Measuring Project Success: Thoughts for the Training Professional

by on April 24, 2011 in Project Management/Project Delivery

When we think of the concept of “success,” it often seems relatively straightforward.  Looking back on your day, for instance, it’s generally an easy thing to sum up whether it was successful or not.  Did your presentation go well to that big prospective client, or did your car break down on the way to work?  Were you able to get the gym as you had hoped, or did your boss need you to work late on someone else’s project?  Easily definable items such as these, measured against a finite number of other events, allow for relatively rapid analysis.

Yet, when one extends the number of competing factors a bit, measurement becomes increasingly difficult.  Just as it is generally easy enough to determine if your day went well, deciding if you had a good year can be a bit harder.  For one thing, how do you weigh competing factors against each …

Read full story • Comments { 2 }
The Lonely eLearner: Creating Social Learning Anchors

The Lonely eLearner: Creating Social Learning Anchors

by on March 9, 2011 in blended learning, eLearning, feedback, LMS (Learning Management System), social learning

The other day, I ran across Clive Shepherd’s recent blog post  The New Social Learning  – a review and I was struck by an observation he made there. The gist of it was that even though we have an enormous amount of tools available to enable social learning across far reaching boundaries, the self-study type of eLearning seen in so many workplaces today can potentially cut learners off from any type of social interaction during the course of the learning. This can be detrimental to learners who need that interaction to assess their new skills against others, discuss ideas, and gain new perspectives.

I agree with Clive’s observations on this topic. In my opinion, giving a learner a self-study eLearning program as their only form of training or support is not much different than handing them a manual to read with some exercises.  In this lonely form of learning, there is …

Read full story • Comments { 1 }
Moving from Teacher to Facilitator

Moving from Teacher to Facilitator

by on January 25, 2011 in Classroom Learning, Facilitation, Informal Learning, Training Development

As a leader and teacher in the classroom and online for over 15 years, I still face the challenge of making content “real” for learners. Even with the help of the newest technology tools to communicate and educate including social media, wikis, and Google, we still need to transform our ILT classrooms and training sessions into integrated blended learning environments. So how do you keep it real? Move from being a teacher to facilitator.

It’s in your mind

One of the pioneers of adult learning theory, Malcom Knowles, explored the role of adult education and facilitation (andragogy) versus the traditional style of teaching children (pedagogy). Whereas the traditional teaching approach emphasizes the role of the teacher as the holder of the wisdom, facilitation puts the onus on the participants to become involved in their own learning process. The facilitator’s role is to introduce subjects of discussion, encourage a blend …

Read full story • Comments { 6 }
The Great Survey Completion Rate Dilemma Solved (Maybe)

The Great Survey Completion Rate Dilemma Solved (Maybe)

by on December 22, 2010 in feedback, marketing

The holidays are upon us, which means gifts, family, services… and the end of the fiscal year.  For many, that sparks a flood of surveys from companies looking for a little feedback on “how they did” (there may even be a few from Dashe & Thomson to watch for).  With all of the competition for scarce attention time, it’s become received wisdom that surveys need to be short (like 5 questions short), or else the response rate will tank.  But is this really the case, I’ve often wondered?  As you’ve no doubt come to expect from my “investigative journalism” style, I did a little digging (and I mean little), and what at least one source reports may surprise you.

According to SurveyMonkey, adding just five questions to a ten question survey will result in an additional 2% of respondents dropping out before completing the whole thing.  While five questions isn’t a …

Read full story • Comments { 0 }