What do some training courses have in common with vampires?
They have no reflection.
(Yes, I know, I surprise myself sometimes. )
If you're familiar with the Kolb Learning Cycle, you'll recall that Reflection is one of the 4 stages of the cycle. It's the part where people start to process what they've experienced and where they begin to draw out its meaning for them.
But I've seen, and been on, a lot of training courses where there was very little time allowed, if any, for serious reflection.
This is usually because:
- There is far too much content.
- The pace is too fast.
- There's too much activity and people move from one to another without pause.
It can also be because the trainer has an active learning style himself or herself and assumes everyone else does as well.
Or the trainer feels comfortable keeping people busy and feels anxious if the pace slows down and people have a chance to sit and think too much ( and perhaps start asking questions ).
I've also heard trainers say that their participants are "very bright people " and don't need time to process or reflect - as if that's only for people who are less intelligent!
Learning is not about cramming content into people's brains, it's about the meaning that learners create for themselves by thinking about what they have done and heard.
They need to be thinking about these sorts of questions:
- What have I learned?
- What does this mean to me?
- How does this relate to what I already know?
- What will I do with this?
- What difference will this make to me?
Yes, different people will need different amounts of time to go through this process but they will all need some time. And you can't assume they will do it once the course is over.
So you need to build it into your planning. If need be, cut out some of the content to allow for it.
You can ask these questions directly and have a discussion with the whole group about them, or you can let small groups or pairs discuss what they've learned, or you can allow individual reflection using some sort of form or planning tool.
However you do it, give your learners opportunities to process what's been going on, otherwise much of the potential learning, and benefit, will be lost.