Connectivism

In a former company, we set up a MicroLearning platform to provide leadership training via cell phone delivery for our field leadership. This was a huge hit for the organization but had limited usefulness. We found that MicroLearning (small chunks of training) were not ideal for the primary delivery of the content. We were able to create a powerful network among our leadership teams which was unique and very similar to the idea of "connectivism" that we discussed in our last class.

The "chatbot" method we are currently using is different in that we are using MicroLearning as reinforcement during and after the primary training to help create recall . . . to help move the information from short term and working memory to long term memory. It works just as you mentioned with your daughter. I've found having used both methods, this reinforcement engine is far more effective.

For this, we are using an off the shelf application called "Mobile Coach" to test the waters. My organization's IT department is also working to create our own MicroLearning app that we can use and develop inhouse. Mobile Coach has been terrific to work with, and the app is very easy to set up, but if the system becomes popular the cost will be too great. But you're correct in that being able to provide learning directly to the learner's phone is an ideal way to engage them during and after the training. 

I'm also looking forward to using this technique prior to training as well. Imagine the capability of knowing what class a student is about to take, then sending them information regarding the learning objectives before they take the class. These "MicroLearning Pre-Tests" would help engage them in the training and fine-tune their focus onto the learning objectives for the course. This pre-test compatibility will help them understand what they're getting into, introduce them to the learning objectives before the class, and get them used to using their phones for information exchange. It's a blend of MicroLearning reinforcement and Adaptive Learning techniques. 

Being a Mentor and Leader

We were asked the other day whether we think a team leader can also act as a mentor. Personally, I think a team leader can act as a mentor in many cases. I know that I have people on my team who need a more direct style of direction, and those that need mentorship.

I think back to Blanchard's situational leadership model (2017) where it shows that leaders who can identify the needs of their employees and the type of employee they are can adopt leadership styles that best meet those needs and types. I know within my teams I have managers who are well versed and who have been around for years, they need very little coaching or mentorship. Then I have some who are new managers but have been with the organization for years. They need mentorship on how best to lead and manage their teams. Then I have those employees who are new to the organization and to their positions, and these are the hardest to lead as they need the most input, direction, and coaching. I think not only can a team leader act as a mentor, I think that it is critical that a team leader acts as a mentor but be able to determine when best mentor.





To the question of whether team leaders doing so much can continue carrying their load, I expect my team leaders and managers to not only work but to take on the onerous tasks of management and administrative tasks for their teams. In most cases in our organization, we promote people to managerial positions who are our star players in the department. Their abilities are usually such that they can not only handle their typical workload but also continue to juggle the administrative aspects of the job. When we have managers who can't keep up that pace we mentor and coach them to place they need to be. If they are still struggling and bringing the team down, then usually they are re-assigned.



The Center for Leadership Studies. (2017). Situational Leadership: Relevant Then, Relevant Now. https://www.situational.com/content/uploads/2017/10/FINAL_CLS_History_CaseStudy_Digital.pdf

Pratt's Transmission Perspective

Reading about Pratt's Five Perspectives on Teaching, I was struck by not just our own transmission perspective on teaching our primary introductory class on refinery basic process safety management (Basic PSM) but also how we as an organization were stumbling toward two of the three keys to engagement without realizing it.

The three keys to engagement the Pratt lists are 1) Fostering active rather than passive engagement, 2) avoiding cognitive overload for the learners and 3) using advance organizers such as conceptual frameworks, big questions and threshold concepts. The ones that our organization are already working on are numbers 1 and 2 above.

In terms of fostering active rather than passive engagement there are two things we do. In our primary offering for PSM we provide a workbook that allows the learner to follow along as the trainer presents concepts and take part in drills and activities. This is something we are leveraging in other classes. We are also using microlearning (small chunks) testing via cell phone chat bots to engage the learners during class and during breaks with tests designed to increase their understanding and generate recall.

These are short test questions that are provided via chat directly to the learners phone on a voluntary basis. They are not the exact test questions they will be presented with on the final exam, but are designed to reinforce the concepts that the learner is being introduced to. We are currently expanding this beyond Basic PSM to include providing chat bots for microlearning testing to several other or our core safety classes.

The development of the above chat bot provides and example of engagement key 2, avoiding cognitive overload. While working with the team to produce the content for the chat bots, I felt that the questions were too simple and easy for the learners. One of my team members had to remind me that I've been working in the field for twenty years and these questions and tests were for learners who had never once worked in the industry. Basic PSM is the primer class that all new employees to the industry must take to begin work in the industry. This same phenomenon was called out by Pratt on page 82, "because cognitive overload occurs faster in beginners than in experienced learners it be difficult for a teacher to estimate how much can be presented, at what pace, and at what point learners are likely to experience cognitive overload. To resolve this dilemma, instructors need to plan and teach from a novices point of view." Thankfully my colleague, who has only worked in the industry for four years reigned me in before we released a chat bot that would have potentially increased our learners cognitive overload and provided greater frustration.

The next step will be to find a way to include the three facets of key aspect number 3, using advance organizers into our Basic PSM class.

The interesting feature of this is that our organization was stumbling toward these solutions despite a lack of formal education. I volunteered to take these classes so that we could determine the best ways to refine our teaching and training to make it more effective. The good news is we don't have as big a gap to fill. The little research we had been doing as an organization on our own was in the midst of addressing and implementing many of the solutions that so far I have learned through this class and my previous class. 

Pratt, D.C., Smulders, D. & Associates. (2016). Five Perspectives on Teaching : Mapping a plurality of the good. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing.

Reading Brookfield's The Skillful Teacher

Having read many chapters that Brookfield has authored I was looking forward to reading a book by him. I was not as impressed as I had hoped I might be. I selected two chapters to compare their similarities and differences, and identify their strengths and weaknesses. 

I had a very hard time with one aspect of Brookfield's book, The Skillful Teacher, regarding the ordering of chapters and the presentation of the material. There seemed to be two types of chapters, the first on general, universal, theoretical advice and thoughts. The other chapters were far more specific and offered detailed, concrete tools and techniques. The Chapter on Understanding and Responding to Classroom Emotions would be one I would put into the first, more general category, while the chapter about Teaching Online I would place in the second. Regardless of this critique there were two chapters I would compare and contrast and those would be Chapter 9, Teaching about Racism and Chapter 6, Lecturing Creatively.

I found the chapter Teaching about Racism to be especially difficult to read as it relies so heavily on Critical Race Theory as the foundational element of how he addresses race. Although I don't necessarily agree with the tenets and the beliefs behind critical race theory, the fact that Brookfield, most of his tools and techniques all work toward creating and supporting a reflective learning style, the fact that he is an advocate in Critical Race Theory seems to naturally fit. I liked the fact that Brookfield didn't shy away from it, I just don't necessarily agree with the process, procedure, or foundational understanding that he employs.

The chapter on Lecturing Creatively I found to be the most useful. This would be a chapter I would call a more direct, or less theoretical chapter. Although it offered many tools and tips on how to make lectures more engaging, the reflective learning style that Brookfield promotes can be seen in these tips as well. A clicker response tool for the learners to provide feedback, social media responses, peer critique, these are all in line with that reflective learning style and getting a feedback loop engaged.

Brookfield, S. D. (2015). The skillful teacher: On technique, trust, and responsiveness in the classroom. John Wiley & Sons.

How is it Already October 12th?!?

 October 12th is always a day that I'll remember? Why? . . . That's an interesting story. 

I had a friend years ago, and that friendship became a tad toxic. 

Eventually it got to a point where I had to ask if we should just stop. 

I wrote a long email, well thought out, each word precise and considered. It was a letter where there had to be an answer either yes or no. It was a letter where I would get a response, and it would tell me which way we should go. There was no ambiguity, that was assured by how masterfully I wrote this email! (I wish I had kept a copy!)

They did write back. Their response to my saying: should we continue to be friends, or would it be easier if we just stopped being friends was: 

How is it already October 12th?!?!

At no point in my letter did I make any reference to date. In no previous email had I referenced time, date, or anything. There was no reason for them to ask this. There was nothing special about October 12th. It was nothing, just another day. 

All of that hard work to ensure against ambiguity had been dashed and destroyed with one simple sentence, one I had not expected nor could I have expected. It was a master stroke on their part. They kept the ambiguity and the friendship going (it didn't last too too much longer after that). 

I mean I've looked it up and I've found that October 12th is:

• Columbus Day
• Canadian Thanksgiving
• National Farmers Day, and 
• Indigenous Peoples Day

I wonder sometimes if I should reach out to them and ask them about October 12th. Maybe every October 12th I could reach out to them and write "Can you believe it's October 12th?" I wonder if it would resonate with them the way it did with me. I doubt it. I think it was just something to be said when there's nothing else to say. Wasn't that the definition of supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

Regardless, every October 12th I've always taken a moment to wonder what the hell October 12th meant. It also always stunned me that I was trying so hard to find a definitive answer, wrote a message to get that answer, and the answer I got back only made things worse. Funny ole world. 

First Lines of Brookfields The Skillful Teacher

 As a continuation of my posts on the importance of and my reading of first lines (see here), I offer this from a recent book I read, Stephen Brookfield's, The Skillful Teacher. 

Passion, hope, doubt, fear, exhilaration, weariness, colleagueship, loneliness, glorious defeats, hollow victories, and, above all, the certainties of surprise and ambiguity; how on earth can a single word or phrase begin to capture the multilayered complexity of what it feels like to teach? Today's college classrooms are more diverse than ever before, and the explosion of online learning and social media has thrown traditional conceptions of college teaching out of the window. The truth is teaching is a gloriously messy pursuit in which shock, contradiction, and risk are endemic. Our lives as teachers often boil down to our best attempts to muddle through the complex contexts and configurations that our classrooms represent.

Brookfield, S. (1990). The skillful teacher: On technique, trust, and responsiveness in the classroom. Jossey-Bass Publishers.

So, just how does one begin a book on becoming a better, more skillful, college professor? I guess the above is as good as any, but the truth is, I just don't think it's that inspiring. Sadly, I didn't find the book itself much better than the first line.

More on Elections

 Last week I wrote about my election predictions based on my mug delivery (see here). So, I ran across another challenge about election prediction and I tried it. 

The challenge:

Open the nearest book and turn to page 24. Read the first full sentence on that page and that predicts how the election will turn out. 

So I have a problem. I have two books close at hand. 

On page 24 of the book I opened on my computer it says:

The cab pulled to the curb two minutes before five. I studied the house, replete with standard Chicago architecture. 

On page 24 of the workbook (which I wrote) near me on my desk is the following:

Mutagens affect genetic material, DNA, and can cause cancer or mutations in future generations. 

On page 24 of the magazine on my desk (I did NOT write this one), it states the following:

Training Top 10 Hall of Famer Deloitte is using mobile technology to give employees additional ways to grow in their careers. 

I don't know folks, but I'm not closer to knowing the outcome of the election. I was hoping for a tad more clarity personally. 

ARE YOU COACHING CORRECTLY AS A LEADER?

In HASC's LEAD class on Foundational Leadership, our facilitators spend a lot of time focusing on Leadership Styles. 

COACHING involves a great deal of "hands-on" involvement in an employee's work process. As a rule, a coaching approach works best when the employee shows weaknesses that need improvement. For coaching to be effective, the employee must acknowledge those weaknesses and indicate a desire to improve. 

Employees who need a Leader to be a Coach display the following:

• Have a desire for clear goals
• Need perspective
• Frequently want feedback
• Look for praise for progress
• Need assurance that mistakes are okay

Keep in mind that all employees move through a life-cycle of
competence and commitment.

Competence – knowledge & skills gained from education training
and experience.

Commitment – a combination of confidence and motivation.

 Employees who need greater coaching have SOME competence and LOW commitment.

COACHING embraces collaboration and pushing employees to set and reach their potential while contributing to the team’s greater goals, creating a harmony of personalized goal-setting and career mapping. 

If you are COACHING an employee, you should be sure to:

• Involve the employee in identifying problems and in setting goals
• Provide support, reassurance, and praise
• Listen and offer the employee an opportunity to discuss concerns and share ideas
• Involve the employee in problem-solving and decision making
• Make final decisions about action plans after listening to the employee's ideas and feelings
• Provide direction and coaching to continue building and refining skills
• Explain why a particular approach is being taken
• Provide perspective about how long things should take and feedback about whether development and performance are on track
• Define what a good job will look like and how performance will be tracked with the employee
• Continue to provide frequent follow-up and feedback

First Line for Three Days

Lately I've been doing a lot of reading for work, a TON of reading for school, and just a little bit of reading for reviews, absolutely none (well, one) for fun. 

That being said I do get to review a couple of fiction books every now and then and I got to read this one. It took me a second or two to get into it, but when I did I enjoyed it enough to want to keep reading. I am never a fan of the dual perspective or dual POV style, but it was good enough to remark about. 

This is the first line. 

“Damn it,” I said under my breath when I realized I wasn’t going to have the comfort of a companionless flight. I was very much looking forward to reading my book. I did not want to engage in small talk with a stranger. But to my dismay, seconds before the plane door closed, a frenzied passenger rushed in and found his seat—right next to mine. 

I intentionally paid him little attention. I needed to send a clear message right from the start: I am a nontalking flight companion. Sometimes it’s just easier to be unfriendly than to find the energy to converse with others. 

Besides, not being able to get my book read, and therefore not finding out who is responsible for the murder of Janie, a seemingly innocent suburban wife and mother, who may or may not have been having an affair with her best friend’s husband—well, that was unacceptable. 

So, I kept my nose in my book and tried my damnedest to not acknowledge the man invading my space. I did notice, however, his scent. It wasn’t wholly unpleasant. This, unfortunately, was a little distracting, despite my resolve to not let him disturb me. At least he didn’t stink. Yes, that would be worse. I smiled coyly and continued ignoring him.

Wojciechowski, Michael. Three Days (p. 7). Black Rose Writing. Kindle Edition. 

Is it the best first line? Hardly. 

Was it the best book ever? Not even close.

Was it worth reading and taking the time. Eventually, yep.

Gillian and Routines

 So, Gillian and I would NOT get along. 

As a part of my prepping for NaNo I'm reading more about other writers and how they work. I read about Gillian Flynn in the WSJ today. She wrote Gone Girl and is writing Utopia now. So, she's super talented, but it's sad to see that she and I would never, ever get along. 

How do you kick off your workweek? Do you zip down to your office?

I’m not a “zipper” of any sort. My husband and I are very well matched in that he is a morning person, so he gets up with the kiddos, who come barreling into our bedroom. I put my head under my pillow, because some of the best writing I ever do is usually from 11 o’clock at night till about 2. I sleep until about 10, then I amble downstairs; I pretend to be a little sheepish for my husband’s sake—like, “Oh, my gosh. Did I sleep in again?”— then some athletes carbo-load; I definitely caffeine-load. First, I have my bowl of cereal, which is Lucky Charms. That’s my ritualistic cereal. I eat all the marshmallows and good stuff. Then, the sweet milk is left, so I pour it into my coffee mug. It’s the most colorful coffee you’ll ever have. And then, I’m embarrassed to say, my second drink of the day is a Cherry Coke Zero. By about 10, 10:30, my Cherry Coke Zero bandwagon begins.

That's the first question and answer in the series and it only get's worse from there. I don't know how anyone could function like this. I just don't get it. 

My best writing? My best writing comes from a long early morning run or walk with Sadie, followed by a cup of coffee and a computer, with quiet in the house before anyone wakes up. usually this occurs on weekends. Everyone else sleeps in and I get to work on the fun writing. Sometimes it happens on weekdays since Covid started. Lately too, I've been working on weekend afternoons and evenings.

I'm gonna need to up my game some for NaNo. I doubt that just weekends will do it through November, but we shall see. 

If you'd like to see the rest of the article, you can find it here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-gillian-flynn-gets-her-best-writing-done-after-midnight-11600691875 or for you that do not have a subscription, feel free to write me and I'll send you a copy.