Marc Ratcliffe’s Blog

In training, not everything can be done for real. Sometimes this is because it is too costly or too dangerous. Other times, it is because the real thing is not available to students simultaneously – as is the case in first aid training. However, we owe it to our students to create experiences which model real life and create the authentic learning which can be transferred back to the job. This is where our choice of simulation matters! Successful simulations don’t happen by accident, they need careful planning to ensure the right mix of focus and acceleration of learning. When conducted well, simulations can deliver significant knowledge development and support important behavioural change. Below is an ABCD for facilitating effective simulations:

ASSESS Suitability

There is no doubt that the right simulation used with the right target group can promote rich and powerful learning events. So invest time in learning about the group and ensure that there is a thorough understanding of the intended outcomes before selecting a simulation.

BENCHMARK Outcomes

The lasting learning generated through the direct experiences of the simulation should never be understated. However, to ensure success, it is essential that it is planned effectively. Make a list of necessary resources, arrange the space appropriately, coach the leader on the desired conduct and expectations of the simulation and get the timing right.

CONDUCT the Simulation

Once a suitable simulation has been selected and the outcomes identified, you are ready to conduct the simulation. At the beginning, it will be important to set the ground rules. Briefly outline the reasons for the learners’ participation, the expected outcomes and required behaviour. When the simulation has commenced, try to be as unobtrusive as possible, but also know when to discreetly intervene.

DEFRIEF the Activity

The most critical part of the simulation is the debrief. This allows for the necessary self-reflection and revisiting of key learning points. It also provides an opportunity for the trainer to provide constructive feedback and make important connections back to the workplace. So make sure that you provide sufficient time to debrief each simulation, otherwise it will have been a wasted exercise.

Marc Ratcliffe
CEO, MRWED Group
Follow Me on twitter: @MRWED_CEO

I recently returned from the 17^th International Conference on Learning in Hong Kong with a renewed vigor to drive our special brand of training forward with some new ideas and perspectives. It was a conference which reminded us of the rapid changes we have all experienced in our sector and of the exciting things to come. Although, I did get a sense that most from the establishment were looking for ways to hang on to their thrones, rather than abdicate to a new regime, which was disappointing. There were a lot of academics in attendance who joined the chorus of “how do we get them to stop using twitter?” and “Gen Y are lazy and disinterested!” Well, if you are not prepared to engage with them in the mediums they prefer to communicate, this may account for their disengagement with your message.

During the conference, we were told that our students are increasingly becoming more than just consumers. Moreover, they are “prosumers” and everyone can be a broadcaster or publisher of content. The ink is no longer exclusively controlled by scholarly institutions and publishing houses. This is a good thing! It means that students can be active in developing meaning, identity and strategies to deal with their world. It means they can be connected to internal and external networks to advance their learning and build upon their knowledge base. It means that we can all benefit from an expanding pool of resources to access and analyse. And as long as we teach our students to critically appraise materials and strive for a wide range of sources to build reference points, authentic learning will continue to thrive.

As digital becomes the default setting, we should be supporting a variety of communication channels rather than limiting access to all but a narrow few.

Marc Ratcliffe
CEO, MRWED Group
Follow Me on twitter: @MRWED_CEO

I was at the VET Teaching Conference held in Brisbane during May and one of the speakers sparked my interest with the question of Reform or Transform? She reminded us that our industry is seemingly always in reformation… so when will we be finished? When will we be reformed? This got me thinking. As practitioners, the “reform” agenda is not one of our making. It is usually imposed by government and every 5 years or so, someone comes along and decides that their legacy activity will be to fix VET. However, we have a system which is the envy of the world. Our vocational education products are highly respected abroad, we have genuine buy-in from industry and Australia is one of the only places where competency-based approaches have been sustained. So rather than “reform”, which is often met with resistance, we should look to “transform” which involves willingness from people to develop and grow. We should be looking to transform better into best; Transform networks into highly functioning hubs; and transform learning into partnerships in Excellence!

Reformation only gives us incremental improvement, whereas transformation delivers exponential improvement!

Marc Ratcliffe
CEO, MRWED Group
Follow Me on twitter: @MRWED_CEO

I was thumbing through the latest edition of ASTD’s Training and Development magazine recently and a report on a “new frontier” for learning professionals caught my eye. In essence it described this new frontier as being about “connecting, collaborating and learning in different ways” due to changing “technologies, learning styles, demographics and economic needs”. Now this contention is nothing new. What is different is that is becoming part of the mainstream discourse regarding the effective management of the learning and development function.

For instance, engaging with social media is not being considered as merely a Gen Y fad or a pastime for the geeky fringe. It is being embraced as a genuine connection and collaboration platform which can support and extend learning. Similarly, webcasts and virtual meetings are growing beyond the virtualisation of the didactic lecture and through advances in commercial software, we have better ways to manage the interaction and gain feedback on participation. Further to this, these streaming web events are being acknowledged as an important part of the dynamic backdrop of modern learning… another channel to plug into, as it were. As a final indication of the shift away from the traditional approaches, almost every major learning and development conference on the circuit has a technology provider as its key sponsor, rather than a publishing house, which was commonplace a decade ago.

Learning and Development managers are therefore faced with some challenges around how to navigate this changing landscape. What is clear however, is the new frontier is here now and it is time to hitch our wagons to the wide expanse of learning opportunities. As long as our L & D teams stay true to the learning intent and are prepared to innovate as well as educate, we will strike gold for our learners!

Marc Ratcliffe
CEO, MRWED Group
Follow Me on twitter: @MRWED_CEO

When Bill Gates announced recently that his foundation was investing millions in a project to improve teaching quality in the United States, he added an interesting backhander to the establishment. ‘‘Unfortunately, it seems the field doesn’t have a clear view of what characterizes good teaching,’’ Gates said. There is almost a fanatical obsession with testing in education without the same rigour invested in determining the right fit between learner and teacher.

Despite the thousands of educational initiatives rolled out globally every year, the fact still remains that the single most powerful influence on student achievement is the quality of the teaching. In essence, when you improve the quality of the teaching, you improve the quality of the learning. This is not rocket science folks!

But what makes a good teacher? There have been many theories and postulations over the years without anything definitive. In my view, the business of great teaching is more behavioural than cognitive. That is, it is more about how they act, than what they know.

Whilst there is no magic bullet in identifying that single “excellent teaching trait”, there are some common things that great teachers do:

• They develop safe and supportive environments;
• They create an atmosphere of mutual respect;
• They provide opportunities for “active learning”;
• They make learning interesting and explain things clearly;
• They promote active engagement; and
• They practice regular self-reflection.

Additionally, those who consistently outperform their peers are teachers who creatively subvert the status quo. Moreover, they neither blindly accept the latest initiatives, nor do they activity work against them. What they do really well is adapt these initiatives to meet the individual needs of their students. And a quick note to administrators: when these teachers are given the autonomy to implement their learner-centred approaches, truly amazing things can happen!

The Australian Centre for Educational Research (ACER) suggests that “outstanding teachers create classroom climates in which risks are encouraged and errors accepted. They are more able than merely ‘experienced’ teachers to deal with complex situations while maintaining a focus on student learning. In guiding learning they seek more information about students-their abilities, experiences and backgrounds-and want to know more about the contexts in which they will be teaching”.

The Australian Government’s 10-point agenda for schooling begins by recognising the importance of strengthening the status and quality of teaching as a profession. I believe this will not come from the prevailing discourse which focuses on academic performance, experience and increased remuneration. Clearly greater attention is necessary around the knowledge and skills underpinning outstanding teaching practice. Here’s a thought… rather than trying to create “good students”, energies could be better placed in supporting “great teachers” and removing “bad teachers”. The reality is, a bad teacher’s affects are not merely confined to the classroom. They can extend to the staffroom and poison the motivation of peers and their influence can have a profound affect on the learners’ ongoing enthusiasm for learning.

Recently I was approached by Teacher Magazine to write an article around how to motivate teachers during Professional Development and Training. The full article “All Aboard: Reluctant passengers on the training journey” will appear in their March edition. Below are some thoughts on the topic:

Motivating teachers is difficult. We don’t always make the best students. Like doctors often make challenging patients and mechanics often drive cars in desperate need of a tune up, teachers as a group tend to be reluctant passengers on the training journey. I too remember a day, a lifetime ago, holed up on a pupil free day, in some behaviour management workshop doing the umpteenth role play with a presenter that was the educational equivalent of Ambien. The delivery was poor, the match for our needs was worse and unfortunately for all concerned the disengagement was extreme.

So how do we create dynamic training which gets the most of our participants and encourages them to get the best out of themselves? When preparing for this article I contacted some old teacher buddies and asked them two simple questions: what turns you on and what turns you off professional development training in your schools? Overwhelming the response came back that the training has to be relevant to them and it has to honour their existing experience. This seemed like a good place to start.

One way to do this is to issue a “keeping it real” card to each participant. The front of the card actually says “KEEPING IT REAL” and the back of the card is for “action points”. Explain to your group that the card serves two purposes. Firstly, you will encourage them to write some action points for implementation post-course during the session. This ensures that they are taking things from the workshop that they can apply straight away. Secondly, if the presenter stays from relevance, the participants are instructed to hold up the side that says “KEEPING IT REAL”. This is surprisingly fun and keeps both the trainer and the participants on their toes. It also gives some control back to the participants and supports a certain buy-in to the workshop.

Often trainers move around their space without much thought of where to move and why. Rather than this restless wandering, we should wander with purpose. We should be somewhere because we choose it, not because we want to fill the space. We should move somewhere because it adds to the message, not because we don’t know where to stand. Position and poise should be used to build impact. It is part of our non-verbal arsenal which complements the vocals and helps to attract and maintain the attention of the group.

 Some things to consider…

• Move forward to apply pressure, move back to release pressure;
• Use proximity to the participants to demand their attention;
• Tell emotional stories from the left side of the room and tell jokes from the right; (don’t ask me why this works, but it does!)
• Try to bring some theatre to your training and purpose to your movements. This could be the polish that your presentation needs.

So next time you prepare for a presentation, give some thought to how you can improve the delivery with some deliberate movement and carefully selected positioning. And try wandering with purpose!

For decades students have been lambasted for fiddling and doodling in class. Often seen as a sign of distraction and inattention, these practices have been all but outlawed in traditional education circles. However, when used correctly, they can actually be very powerful learning tools. Some learners will need to keep something in motion throughout their interaction with the content and asking them to change is like asking them to stop breathing. Observed behaviour could include toe tapping, pen swirling, ring twirling or playing with their hair… so why not give them something specific to play with and engage them in your learning!

Place some “fiddles” (toys, stress balls, puzzles, highlighters, interestingly-shaped items) out on the tables or in a basket out the front of the room and invite learners to take one. Whilst they might be uncertain at first, the inquisitive types will get things moving. During the session encourage the students to try different “fiddles” or swap with others at their table. At the end of the session you may want to debrief by asking if they helped. Additionally, you could engage in a discussion around which ones worked better than others and why?

There are many benefits to using tactile learning tools through your sessions. They can relieve stress, improve focus, create a sense of calm and promote a creative and playful mindset. Doodling itself is a very serious means on helping to focus on what is being said. So rather then criticising the use of toys in training, find one that works for your content and your learners. You’ll be glad you did!

I was asked to say a few words at a closing ceremony of a training course recently and in my speech I provided some tips for giving successful presentations. I talked about the “Butterfly Effect”, (not to be confused with that film with Ashton Kutcher), where people get nervous in front of the group. In delivering the speech, I was reminded about a quote I once heard about not letting the butterflies in your stomach worry you. Rather, you just have to “get them flying in formation”!

Being nervous is a good thing. It means that you care enough about what you are doing to be nervous. Elite athletes often know it is time to leave the sport when they don’t get the butterflies in the stomach when competing. I think the same can be said for trainers. The challenge is harnessing this adrenalin for success. Following are some tips to consider:

• Preparation is critical – if you know what you are doing and how you are doing it, your stress levels will be reduced.

• Surround yourself with great resources. Your audience will be impressed and this will start to build their confidence in you.

• Mingle with the audience before you start. This will make them feel more comfortable and allow you to warm-up your voice in preparation for your official commencement.

• Use the group as a resource. You don’t have to have all the answers yourself. Forums, discussions and student presentations will make for a more interactive session and give you some respite from being in front of the audience the whole time.

I’ve talked before in our courses about the usefulness of learner diaries to track development and identify key milestones in knowledge acquisition. However, there are some great benefits in trainers using dairies as part of their own self-review. A trainer diary can help you to reflect on what happens in the classroom. It can act as a snap-shot in time, which reminds you of what you have done. It also provides a means of recording key behaviours and reactions of students as they happen. I use it to write down things that work as well as the things that don’t, with some ideas for improvement. In this way, I am providing advice for myself, from myself which I can review when I next teach the same thing. Moreover, by recording these thoughts on a regular basis, we are able to see patterns of performance, measure improvements and evaluate our professional journey. Further to this, the diary will give us concrete items to share with others about our experiences and will enable us to craft authentic anecdotes which can be used in future mentoring roles.

You could write it on the run as I do or at the end of every day or just when it strikes your fancy. However, think about what you want to gain from it and that will guide the diary format and frequency. Here are a few general questions you might want to consider:

1. How did the energy flow? Can you relate any highs and lows to specific events?

2. Did you keep to the plans? If not why not?

3. Which was the most successful session of the week and why?

4. Which was the least successful and why?

Whilst it may not be for everyone, the act of reflection can not be understated. So whether you do this formally, (like in a diary), or informally through such things as discussions with friends and colleagues – the important thing is that you are doing it!