Page 243 - Nutrition Counseling and Education Skills: A Guide for Professionals

total matrix of living. Education should assist people in coping with their problems and challenges as they
adapt to circumstances.

Learning refers to the cognitive process through which people acquire and store knowledge, attitudes, or
skills and change their behavior due to an educational experience. The change in behavior may be related to
knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, values, skills, or performance.5,6

The principles and theories of learning are covered in Chapter 10. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss
the process of planning learning as a model or framework to promote effective education.

Environment for Teaching and Learning

An educational environment has two components: the psychological environment and the physical
environment. Both are important to enhancing teaching and learning.

Psychological Environment

The psychological climate for learning is important. A supportive and friendly environment with a tolerance
for mistakes and a respect for individual and cultural differences makes people feel secure and welcome.
Openness and encouragement of questions create a climate for learning. Address learners by their names and
show respect for their opinions.

In group teaching and learning, participants should be encouraged to introduce themselves and to get to
know one another at the first session. This promotes the synergy experienced by a cohort of learners.
Collaboration and mutual assistance should be promoted. To promote learning, competition should be
minimized to reduce feelings of anxiety. The educator who creates this informal, supportive, and caring
environment for adult learners can obtain better results than one who creates a formal, authoritative
environment. Many adults may not have experienced a formal learning situation outside of their early
classroom education.7–10

Physical Environment

The physical environment should provide appropriate temperature, good lighting, ventilation, and
comfortable seating to create conditions that promote learning rather than inhibit it. Noise from people
talking or from the teaching setting may be distracting or interfere with a learner’s attention. Everyone should
be able to both see and hear each other. Facilitate interaction by seating groups of people in a circle or around
a table where everyone has eye contact. Avoid seating people in rows where they only see the person’s head in
front of them.11

Steps to Effective Education

Successful educational efforts that meet the needs of the adult learner include several interactive steps. The
following seven steps comprise a framework or model for planning, implementing, and evaluating learning:

1. Assessing learning needs of the individual or group (preassessment)
2. Writing performance objectives that are measurable and feasible and can be accomplished in a stated period of time considering the domains

of learning
3. Determining educational content based on the learner assessment and the performance objectives

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