Break the ice!
Welcome to the brand new Education Performance Group! Simply put, this is the 80-20 rule in action! It’s probably safe to say that 20% of development is through formal training and 80% is through informal learning. We learn by doing and by sharing. So let’s get our learning community for Education & eLearning started. Who is going to break the ice?
I learn most from others experiences. It becomes personal and you can reply this information to your classroom.
Students will have to learn how to use computers properly in the classroom. Just like any other tech item, there has to be a level of professionalism gained with its use. I know that I would be lost without my pc. I swear that without it I can't think. Students have a hard time understanding how to use the pc in the classroom to keep them moving, motivated and organized with their work. They need to use it to keep them on task and understand that when they are drifting back to Facebook, they are off task!
I teach Surgical Technology. The students have to take a national exam at the end of the program. They are taught out of the book for the didactic portion of their education. They are told that on the certification exam it is comming straight from the book. That during the clinical portion of their education that if they see things that are not done the way the book says, to remember what they were taught in class. They also have a review class to remind what was in the book. We also have a jepardy game we made that is also a good review.
The students I teach have a national exam at the end of the program. The book is very important to their education as the book comes from the association that has the exam. When they go out in the field to get the hands on we constantly remind them that the test is from the book. Be sure not to get the two mixed up.
"...20% of development is through formal training and 80% is through informal learning. We learn by doing and by sharing."
This is an interesting application of the 80/20 rule. I've heard many versions of this in terms of 20% of a the people doing 80% of the work, or 80% of sales comes from 20% of the sales force. And I guess that I can agree with this analogy because I went to school for 10 years to earn my professional degree and I worked in my field for 15 years where I learned quite a lot. Whether I can say it's more than what I learned in school is debatable, but I guess I haven't practiced long enough. I will say that in the classroom, 80% of my satisfaction, headaches, problems, or joy, usually comes from 20% of the students in any particular class.
My wife teaches library science at the elementary school level and she had a graduate student visit her class to observe. The student told my wife that watching her interact with her class in her library was more valuable than all of her studies at the university. You cannot beat the real world as a classroom. So we are challenged to bring the real world into our teaching environment as well as we can through discussion of our collective experiences and demonstration exercises. I also take my students on field trips and try to bring in quest lecturers.
I'd venture to say that the 80/20 concept is pretty accurate because the formal training starting in college only lasts roughly 5-10 years (depending on what you are studying) wile your informal applied knowledge and on the job work experience lasts at least 3 time more than formal.
I also agree with the 80 20m rule. In the old days it was all lecture or 100% . I feel the 80 20 splits it up in a way that people can really learn more.
I teach vet tech students. They're job is extremely hands-on. It varies day to day and patient to patient. We try to teach as much hands-on learning as possible. I do agree that learning is 80% informal training and 20% formal training. We try to get the students more informal training during their college years by having them do interships. We also have them volunteer. I have been encouraging a program where the students go to a local animal rescue and just do some exams on animals. It teaches them restraint and exam techniques that they will need to use on the job. It is important to have the formal background but I think that informal learning needs to be mixed in at the same time as the formal learning. It helps the students tie in the concepts.
The 80/20 rule is definitely the way to go. Relying too heavily on formal training without ever applying that training to actual problem-solving is like trying to learn to fly just with ground school and no time spent at the controls. Students learn by doing, they learn from instructors, they learn from each other, and they learn from their own mistakes. Classroom training is invaluable, but it's only the jumping-off point, not the total experience.
Lots of learning can happen outside of or even in the midst of formal training. The beauty of this organic learning is that a lot of times it's spontaneous: students start interacting, helping each other, and picking up knowledge from everyone else. The instructor can facilitate this and make it part of instruction.
In the culinary field I have found that students respond to instructors with reallife experinces. Students want to be able to sdiscuss with instructors about the things to expect in the industry.
I recently started with an Associate Degree Nursing Program in South Florida with a Career College and it is their first RN program. It is the most accelerated program that I have ever heard of or seen. The students start out with Gen. Eds for 3 months and Nursing is about 15 months, but they do not complete the Gen. Eds before beginning the Nursing curriculum; and this is a major problem for all of them. I feel this is an injustice, because they literally do not have the time to really retain and comprehend very effectively the material being presented. The only thing that you can hold on to, in hopes for these students is that we will be giving them a very comprehensive review for their State Boards of Nursing (NCLEX) exam prior to graduation; and we pray that it will be enough to help them successfully pass.
Sharon Rogers
HI ALL, LETS STICK TO THE BASICS,MAKE LEARNING SHORT SWEET AND DEFINITIVE.SET REALISTIC GOALS,DONT EXPECT YOUR LEVEL OF EXPERTISE.INTRODUCE THE SUBJECT,WRITE KEY POINTS ON BOARD OR FLIP CHARTS AND PASS OUT HANDOUTS WITH THESE KEYPOINTS.SHORTLY AFTER KEY POINTS ARE MADE,SOLICIT STUDENT RESPONSE.LETS MAKE LEARNING FUN!
I have never been a good "touchy-feely" type of person. I do care about students and I try to reflect that on opening day. While I don't see the sense of ice-breakers just for the sake of having ice breakers, I do see the need for "an opening" that is course related.
I agree with the 80/20 rule!
I also have medical assisting students, especially starting out, who want to know why they have to do all the book work
I teach Accounting and the students come in stating that they are in another math class. Well I must break the ice and tell them that this is not a math class but more on the theory side. Since we accountants use a calculator to add up the columns that is the only part of math. But I must say it does help to break the ice on that first day when you get all the false statements out of the way!
