After Action Review
This method, developed by the US Army, will help you to understand how you have been able to achieve your goals and to reflect on how you can improve your plan of action.
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Selecting and Implementing Education Technologies
The concepts outlined in this article offer practical ad-hoc guidance for educators who need orientation in the vast area of education technologies, for example, by considering the list of universal criteria or focusing on the potential role of a particular technology in the teaching process.
6.3.5
This non-verbal brain storming method will generate a huge number of ideas within a short period of time.
Receiving and Evaluating Feedback
Tips for receiving and evaluating feedback.
Cornell Note-taking System
This note-taking method, originally developed at Cornell University, is recommended by many educational bodies.
Strengths and Pitfalls
This is a simpler version of Ofman’s core value model, which highlights the link between a person’s strengths and weaknesses. Being aware of one’s “pitfalls” helps to put to better use the underlying strengths.
Goal Pyramid
Preparing for change can be compared to a journey – the first step is to determine where you want to go to.
Active Reading (SQ3R – 5 steps Strategy)
Active reading strategies can significantly increase learning new information. This particular technique is adapted from the SQ3R reading method.
Flash
An easy to use tool for gaining feedback and increasing the participants’ co-responsibility.
Stage by Stage
A chronological presentation of the course content provides an opportunity to give a final review of what has been achieved.
Unfinished Sentences
This is an easy and effective method for getting feed back on the course.
A Part of Me
An easy method to use for making the beginning of the course more lively. It also works in groups where the participants are already familiar with each other.
Life Trees
This is an intensive and time consuming method for getting to know each other; therefore, it is only useful in situations where participants will spend a longer period of time together.
Mud Slinging
This method promotes “fixing things before they are broken”.
Partner Interview
This is an effective method for overcoming the stiffness typical when beginning work in groups where the participants are not familiar with each other.
Fishbowl
A method for giving and receiving feedback in a group.
Letter to Myself
The letters serve as a kind of contract with oneself that increases motivation to apply gained knowledge and skills to one’s own situation.
Detectives
This method takes away the attention from the trainer and provides space for the participants to share their expertise, thus demonstrating that their experience and knowledge is valued.
Examples from Life
Gained information is applied to real-life situations and gives the participants the possibility to relate the course content to their own experiences.
Perspectives
The goal of this method is to look at a specific problem from a variety of perspectives.
SWOT Analysis
SWOT analysis is a widely used tool to analyse an organisation’s or product’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as looking at outside opportunities and threats.
Brainstorming
Tips for effective brainstorming.
Problem Solving in Three Steps
This approach will give structure to the problem solving process.
Evaluating Ideas
A guideline for selecting ideas, assessing their impact and creating a plan of action.
Moderation Cards
Moderation cards is a flexible tool that can be used in any situation where the trainer wishes to gain or summarise the group’s experience, opinions, questions, ideas, or suggestions
Mind Mapping
Mind mapping is one of the most effective tools for structuring lines of thought. It can be used for any kind of planning, summarising of information, or presenting ideas and thoughts in a structured way.
Thinking Hats
This method facilitates group discussions by drawing attention to roles that should be covered when discussing problems and by ensuring that participants do not compete with each other but think in a similar direction.
Bee Hive
This method promotes interaction within the group, helps participants absorb the presented information, and gives them the opportunity to present their questions or further needs.
House, Tree, and a Dog
This is a highly entertaining exercise for breaking the ice, but it also highlights in a tangible way the problems involved in the collaboration process.
Learning Names
People will memorise all of the participants’ names in a short period of time.
Relating to the Topic
Besides getting to know each other, this method provides the trainer with some insights in the participants’ backgrounds, motivations, and interests. In addition, the participants start becoming familiar with the course content.
Introduction Round
The most common method for participants to introduce themselves.
Teaching and Learning
Throughout history there have been numerous theories and myths about how learning takes place. Traditionally, learning was the domain of philosophy, and only towards the end of the 19th century did scientific research on memory begin.
Taking on Different Roles
In adult education, the educator’s main role is to give participants the opportunity to learn. To do so, he/she has to take on different roles. In practice, these roles do overlap and complement each other. Nonetheless, a good educator needs to be able to analyse what role is required in each situation.
Creating a Learning Space
The aim is to create an environment that fosters learning and creates positive group dynamics.
Getting Things Going – the Start of the Course
In this phase the trainer should get participants out of their “boxes” and promote communication among them.
Developing the Group’s Potential
Group work is the main method for promoting this development because it takes the focus away from the trainer and develops a team in which participants can contribute with their knowledge and experience.
Presenting information
Listening to information is one of the least effective ways of learning because participants remain passive and the trainer has limited feed back regarding what participants already know, their learning speed, or how they receive the presented information.
Methods in Adult Education
Choosing the right methods plays an important role in making the teaching process interesting by creating positive group dynamics and helping the participants to learn. However, methods are just a means for achieving the envisaged objective.
Exploring What Has Been Learned
This chapter introduces a number of approaches and tips for assessing learners.
Levels of Communication
People usually have a simplistic view of how communication between persons takes place: one person is the “transmitter” of a message or information, and the second person is the “recipient” of that message or information. The many misunderstandings and conflicts between people prove that in practice things tend to be more complicated.
Presenting Information
The German researcher Peter Wellhöfer recommends the following actions to make the communication process more effective.
Active Listening and Questioning Techniques
Tips for active listening and an overview of different questioning techniques.
Giving and Receiving Feedback
Feed back offers the participants and teacher the opportunity to learn about how others have perceived their actions (positively and negatively). Also feed back enables people to check whether their perceptions about colleagues are actually true.
Managing Conflicts
The article describes conflict resolution strategies and explores the role of the leader in a conflict situation.
Why Group Dynamics Matter
The term “group dynamics” is used to describe the processes that occur when people interact in a group. Being able to observe and understanding these processes will help make the team work more effective.
Development Stages of a Group
Group dynamics theory teaches that each group experiences various different stages of development. There is no guarantee that a group will reach the next development stage and the length of time a group remains in a particular stage varies from group to group and stage to stage.
Roles and Actions
Klaus Antons, the German researcher of group dynamics, outlines three groups of actions that exist in a group.