ELMT 2 – POSTS

OK….. still a bit rough but getting somewhere…

2.0 Describe a very powerful learning experience you have had  

I attended a two day dynamic and interactive Aussie Host customer service workshop with a group of fifteen participants who were all Certificate IV Work Place Training and Assessment Qualified. At this point I did not have my Certificate IV and had limited training experience so I was quite in awe of learning the content and participating in a group of very experienced trainers. The lead trainer was highly experienced, energetic, and passionate who provided a fun and stimulating day. The training delivery included a mix of role plays, audio visuals, group work and completion of a workshop manual. The objective of the day was to learn the content to be able to deliver a full day accredited customer service training course and meet and learn from fellow Aussie Host Trainers. The training was powerful for me as it has stimulated my interest in adult education and I was amazed at how easily I had absorbed the content and was able to teach it straight away. Within twelve months, I have become the first one in the group to deliver the required four workshops in a year, gained my Certificate IV in Workplace Training and assessment and met the full requirements for accreditation. Enrolling in Masters of Adult Education is continuation of this learning journey. 

3.0 Describe a very disappointing learning experience you have had 

Attending a learning institution on a Saturday for ten weeks when the campus is closed and there is no sign of life except for our classroom should have been an indication of what I was to expect.  The participants included an eclectic mix of people from builders to hairdressers to retired people who I felt I had little in common with. Most people were doing the course to get the required piece of paper to be a trainer as a requirement of delivering National Training Packages. Although the teacher was dedicated to his work, a series of confusing photocopied handouts were handed out each week which were required to be self-completed and handed back in for a “competent” or “not competent” grading. The teacher talked at us for most of the day and we worked our way through the written tasks and activities. There was little chance for debate and discussion with the group work the only light relief in an otherwise unstimulating day.

4.0 Analyse what made these experiences powerful or disappointing 

The first experience was powerful and on reflection, it had a very similar theme to Papert’s (1993) views on the connectivity of knowledge. By making cognititive connections with my prior knowledge from working in customer service, I easily absorbed the content. The experience is also consistent with constructionist theory (Brunner 1960) where a learner will construct new ideas or concepts which are based upon current or past knowledge (Kearsley 1994-2008). Papert may also explain why the experience has profoundly stimulated my interest in learning, teaching and enrolment in my Masters of Adult Education.  Like Papert’s obsession with flowers, my Masters is my course in mathetics and studying the art of learning (Papert 1993).  I recognise the influence of Bandura’s (1977) social learning theory in my positive learning experience with emphasis on social interaction being a key determinate in my learning outcomes (Kearsley 1994-2008). Social learning theory highlights that people learn through watching, observing and imitating the behaviours, attitudes and emotions of others (Saunders 1999). Active participation in a group of experienced trainers and observing a passionate educator as a role model helped me absorb the information and motivated me to learn. Through social interaction with the group I observed a range of behaviours including presentation skills, role-plays, feedback and group management skills which contributed to my learning experience. This also included understanding the implicit and explicit rules governing behaviour of Aussie Host trainers. By the end of the two day course, I felt confident and fully prepared to deliver the full day workshop. The experience I think could also be best summed up with the quote; “Our ability to prepare ourselves today to deal with new situations we are going to encounter tomorrow is the very essence of learning” (Sfard 1998, p 9)

The traditional instructional pedagogic approach to learning in my Certificate IV experience has similarities to Sfard’s acquisition metaphor (Sfard 1998).   

“The language of the ”knowledge acquisition” and “concept development” makes us think about the human mind as a container to be filled with certain materials and about the leaner as becoming owner of these materials” (Sfard 1998 p 5).  

I felt we were swamped with information and handouts and that the role of the educator was to fill the “container” with as much information as he could with little regard to how to best to help us absorb the information. The lack of a good role model as an educator and lack of a stimulating peer group also made the experience disappointing. The structure of the course with clear stated objectives and task/response oriented delivery has been influenced by the behaviourist approach to learning. Largely attributed to Skinner (1958), behaviourism describes a type of learning that involves rewards and punishments and the use of progressively sequenced tasks or activities (Clark 1999). Like Skinner’s “rat in the cage” our focus each week was to submit the tasks with the correct answers filled into the blank space for the reward of  a “competent grade” with little thought to how we could apply the knowledge, make any meaningful connections with previous knowledge or questioning why we were doing it.