Cttls_-_Planning_and_Enabling_Learning

Negotiating with learners can begin with an effective induction into a program of learning on entry to a classroom through an effective icebreaker and group involvement in setting ground rules to ensure that individuals begin to get to know their companions and feel at ease. Also it can be through an initial assessment process to ensure that the learner is entering a program at the right level for them, with the skills they need. As a trainer I want to know what their aspirations are with regard to the course or program so that ongoing assessment enables them to meet their targets. These targets can be for the overall program or specific indicating what they need or want to achieve in the short term and translated into immediate and manageable tasks and actions. An example of this was in the tutoring course where the early part of the course concentrated on induction, expectations and continual professional development as a tutor. Inclusive learning is about bringing equality and diversity into the main stream of my learning activities. By bringing the diverse experiences of the learners into the sessions I can enrich their experience. At the onset of planning and designing learning I consider the learning cycle to identify the needs of the organisation and the individuals and this is then translated into a scheme of work and subsequent session plans. When planning the pilot tutoring course I knew adaptations would be needed so as part of the process learners were encouraged to be active participants in its final formation before roll-out by the incorporation of feedback sheets and sessions. In designing the methods used in this program I considered VARK and the need to treat the learners as adults, i.e. activities involving movement, flip chart work, buzz groups, also independent learning where groups researched and presented their own opinions on methods of assessing learning styles. As a trainer I need to be competent and confident in my own functional skills to be able to develop my learners, for example, I need to be able to support written work with grammatical and punctuation correction, and support ICT and maths use. Some ways that I’ve incorporated these skills within learning programs have been; • On the tutoring course planning activities to include researching materials and communicating with other group members through discussions and written/verbal peer feedback. Flip chart work, board blasts and quizzes requiring scoring were also used. • An Initial Sgts course, e-learning and work based objectives requiring ICT skills as well as language skills through group discussions. Maths was incorporated through the resource planning of critical incidents and managing operations where learners needed to be able to calculate timing and resource usage. In order to communicate effectively I first have to understand how I communicate and the effect that this may have on the learners. I try to ensure that I come across as confident, show empathy and sympathy (appropriately) and I also have a responsibility to reflect on my communication style by having regular feedback for example, through observation of my sessions so that I can become self aware of any behaviours I have that may present barriers to learning. Verbal communication can be the pace of my delivery and the tone of voice used as well as the words but higher percentage of inference has been proven through research to be taken from non-verbal communication; • 7% of meaning in the words that are spoken. • 38% of meaning is paralinguistic (the way that the words are said). • 55% of meaning is in facial expression. (Professor Albert Mehrabian's communications model - http://www.kaaj.com/psych/ ) Therefore when I’m with learners I also need to be aware of my body-language, posture and dress in order to establish and maintain an effective rapport with individuals and groups. Transactional Analysis (Diagram developed from the theory of Dr. Eric Berne (1950) for businessballs.com) When working in groups it’s important to facilitate discussion and accept that this is a collection of individuals with diverse needs. Being aware of Bern’s (1973) Transactional Analysis theory as a method of understanding and analysing communication can assist with maintaining an effective ego state, the most effective state being adult to adult, if transactions are crossed barriers will be created to learning.