From reading chapter 18 on instructional design in business and industry couple things really jumped out at me. First was in the section called technology-based training delivery. I personally have never truly worked in the business and corporate field, so everything I have ever known is things I have seen, mostly through TV. These things can be sensationalized so much that it is hard to know what is true. When I saw the fact that 70% of all training is still done classroom and lecture style, I was blown away. I always thought thought that large corporations used the latest and greatest technology to get their employees up to speed on the company and procedures. After reading that it made me think of the field I am in, and how those numbers relate. I wonder how many classrooms are still led by a teacher who stands in the front of the room and lectures about a certain topic? Could it be 70% or more? My guess is that it is close to that. Is this method truly the best method to reach our students? Most studies say it isn't and just by personal experience, things that are done hands on in learner first manner are almost always better received and recalled much easier. To relate it back to the business sense, it seems like using technology to train your employees will probably cost a little more up front, but could save you alot down the road. Not only do you not have to pay the trainers, but you are developing a much more technical savvy work staff which could pay dividends in the long run.
Another thing that I found was the discussion of globalization of training. For this i want to just think of teaching as training, truly that is what a teacher does they train someone for future endeavors. In this section it talks about all the things that you need to think about when designing training materials. Some of these seem a little old fashioned and out of date, but they bring up a good point. Do we think enough of the culturally differences in our classroom? I know it isn't something that I really think about, but maybe I should. You never really know if something this bothering a student if they don't tell you, so maybe you could be offending someone without even knowing it. One way I try to avoid this is by building a relationship with the students and making a safe environment for them, so if something is bothering they share it.
I think you are right--we need to be more senstive to cultural differences, besides the language differences. That was a real eye opener for me--I had no idea that certin colors would effect different cultures any differently than it did us--I also didn't like the pointing finger icon for a cursor, but wasn't offended by it. It makes me wonder what else I may have done that could have been offensive.
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I found that to be a little surprising. My sister works for a big company and her training is about 50/50. I can see your point about seeing it on TV. It can send the message that they are very tech savvy.
ReplyDeleteI find that classes such as Industrial Education, Band, Art, Choir can only be taught by an instructor. Another big issue I see with more learning done online especially in middle to high school is students self motivation. The facilitator can motivate to a point but it is up to the learner to get down to business. I think we as teachers don't have a hard time getting motivated to do our work but just think about what you were like in high school. With all that said I think some learning still needs to be done in a classroom setting with a teacher.
The classrooms in which the teacher has moved away from lecturing all the time are my favorite to sub in. The students are more engaged and excited to learn when they are participating in methods other than lecture. I would say 70% is an accurate percentage of the amount of teachers who leave me lecture-all-day lesson plans. I think there may be a few who don't include rotations/stations/centers in their sub plans even though they do them when they are there.
ReplyDeleteIt was also surprising to me that 70% of training done in the business sector is still done through lecture. I guess it is just the easiest way to train, although it is not the best way for everyone being trained. It is also the way that training has been done for so long, and you know what happens once people and systems get stuck in their ways. In the education sector, unfortunately, the amount of teaching done lecture-style is probably even more than 70%! I know there has been a lot of revelation lately about the multiple intelligences, cooperative learning, mini-lessons, hands-on learning, etc., but sadly I don't think it has sunk in enough for the masses to stay away from lecture-style teaching on a daily basis.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your comments about globalization and the way that you related that to the classroom. That is so true! We don't usually think about how different cultures in our classrooms perceive certain things that we do and say, and its important for everyone to feel welcomed and to have clarity. We usually go with the flow of the majority culture in the classroom. Just like with the multiple intelligences, we need to strive to reach the multiple cultures that we may come across in our classrooms who may perceive things differently or even realte differently. We could actually learn a lot from our students of different cultures and backgrounds. It would be nice to have some type of training about different cultures. I know it isn't the same as being submerged within a culture adn learning it first hand, but it could at least give us some background information to go on. It could be something like the Ruby Payne training about poverty, if you've ever heard of her.
I think that lecture can be an appropriate instructional delivery method for certain topics, and perhaps the most effective method in some scenarios. Perhaps the key is to mix it up for students, and rather than using technology just for the sake of using technology, or giving a lecture just for the sake of giving a lecture, determine what is the best approach for the particular topic today.
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