Page 81 - Microsoft Word - The Future of Learning April 2017.docx

Many people notice that they work best with deadlines and concrete timelines. Likewise, an innovation project with a beginning, middle, and end is more likely to keep the team motivated and focused on moving forward.109 IDEO
We need to start taking on board global best practice by providing learners with deadlines and finite timeframes. Learners will take as much time as the teacher gives them to complete traditional units of work. Try reducing that time to complete a unit of work by two to five days and see if the quality of the learning decreases or increases. You may be surprised. Those few days can then be spread over three weeks for working on some of the additional capability-building that we have identified earlier.
One of the ways of investing in learning capability in order to achieve an increase in the short to medium term outcomes is to introduce learning techniques that will provide long-term efficiency gains. By introducing greater learner agency and an understanding of the Learning Process, educators will witness a reduction in behavioural issues and considerable increases in learner efficiency.
2. The Micro-Lesson
To enable learners to work achieve the necessary outcome in reduced timeframes, this project has developed the notion of the ‘micro-lesson’. The recipe for micro-lessons is quite simple and this process leverages finite timeframes. An example may help to set the scene:
The concept to be learned in this example is: “By stereotyping people, we may judge them unfairly.” (variables are underlined)
The understanding of this concept can be achieved either over 4–6 weeks using a traditional thematic or topic approach, or two consecutive sessions of 25 minutes and 65 minutes. Which pedagogical approach is more impacting and which has the greater effect on the learner’s understanding and their ability to apply the concept and make accurate predictions?
The micro-lesson approach can be applied to both the learning domains or the competencies. This approach shifts the notion of the traditional unit of work lasting 3–4 weeks and replaces it with a two-stage process that will initially take 2–21⁄2 hours, but with practice, should reduce to 80–90 minutes. The key here is to keep the micro-lesson sessions very focussed on the concept that has been assigned to be learned. The process will eventually become part of the learner’s ‘culture of learning’.
Stage 1 (18–25 mins)
• Select a prompt that will stimulate discussion of the concept you are working with (e.g. Always #LikeAGirl)110 (3-4 mins).
• Have learners individually reflect on the underlying concept set by the prompt (2 mins).
• Have each learner share their thinking in groups of 3–4 learners. The session facilitator selects one of the groups to argue against what they think the other groups will be suggesting. This is to instil a degree of cognitive dissonance into the conversation111 (8– 10 mins).
• Each group has 60 seconds to share the outcome of their discussions with the other groups, each taking turns to present their learning (5–7 mins).
109 IDEO. (2015) Human centered design toolkit; 2nd edition. Retrieved from http://innovationaid.co/wp- content/uploads/2015/07/ideo_hcd_toolkit_final_cc_superlr.pdf
110 Always. (2014, June 14). Always #LikeAGirl. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjJQBjWYDTs
111 In this case the cognitive dissonance can be generated by suggesting to one group that being able to stereotype is an imperative, as it helps us make decisions about our safety, choice of friends, relationships and who we can trust. The one group arguing this, means the other groups must justify their positions rather than everybody all agreeing with each other without question.
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