In keeping with the idea that “September is a great time to learn a few new things,” I just read the first part of How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading. And yes, I’ve read about a zillion books in my lifetime, but why not see if there’s more to learn… Continue Reading
There’s still something about September. Fall is on the way, and school is starting up again. So I loved receiving an email from the Khan Academy today, saying this… Because… I’ve been thinking about giving myself some little assignments to correspond with the new school year. After all, there’s always more to learn. Plus, if… Continue Reading
Someone posed this question the other day: What are the design implications when you change the technology? So, let’s assume that we’ve been teaching something face-to-face, but now we want to mediate the training. Put it online, for example. (This was the real question.) Try Chunking Content into Many Smaller Sections Here are some key… Continue Reading
How can we suggest that someone’s favorite theory is… not supported by the literature (or, so far as we know, just plain wrong). Do we have to build fences between people who disagree? Not helpful: “That’s the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard.” Much better: “Have you considered…” Disagree gently. We can be pretty sure about… Continue Reading
Someone writes a popular article and suddenly everyone is talking about the benefits of open office landscapes, a particular way to study math, or the “fact” that girls (or boys) are smarter than boys (or girls). How do we avoid the leadership, learning, or performance-focused flavor of the month? Stars in the Daytime? Let’s Check.… Continue Reading
I described this process to a director who works in a Fortune 500 company the other day… You go to class (or take one online). You learn how to follow a procedure or process to make the world better in some way… Coaching Your Employees Managing Time Project Management Any Number of Other Things But!… Continue Reading
Rachel was all full of angst because Ken, another supervisor in the same department, was upset with her. (Wrongly, she felt.) Feedback and Coaching Without Thorns She was explaining the story to Abe, her manager (one of my favorites of all time), with a fair amount of drama on her part. For some reason, I… Continue Reading
Part of a Series: Here’s Why I Love Content Types: And You Should, Too (Show How)—Practice, Practice, Practice—(Add Feedback) Psychomotor Skills. This is the physical stuff. Coordinated muscle movements. There are “fine” motor skills, like typing, suturing a wound, or filling a cavity and “gross” motor skills, like swinging a golf club, making gestures during… Continue Reading
Part of a Series: Here’s Why I Love Content Types: And You Should, Too Dusty Shows Her Attitude Attitudes. We can help our learners to form or change their approach toward something. We call this “affective learning.” We can usually infer that people have a particular attitude by certain choices that they make. For example, students show… Continue Reading
Once upon a time I joined a big, global company. My initial assignment was to create a world-wide conference for a whole range of people throughout multiple divisions. I hardly knew anyone, and the culture and the audience were new to me. Choose an Influential Person from Each Major Area So I did what seemed… Continue Reading
