From August issue of Play for performance (bold is mine):
Why am I against training people in a structured, organized fashion? Here are my reasons:
- This approach treats all pieces of content as equally important. It presents too much information to the user.
- This approach focuses on the structure of the content rather than the needs of the user.
- This approach is boring. The user is presented with lots of information before being able to perform anything meaningful.
- This approach encourages trainers to stick to the sequenced presentation. Most of the time, trainers take the users through their collection of electronic slides.
- This approach punishes users for asking questions based on their needs. They end up getting a lecture about things they are not interested in.
- This approach reflects the expert’s mind and ignores the beginner’s mind.
If all of this is true, then why do have so much resistance from subject-matter experts, instructional designers, and trainers? Here are some reasons:
- This is the way most people are taught.
- This is the way information about a new product is transmitted from the designer, to the salesperson, to the user.
- Most instructional designers are analytical people. They assume that the whole world is exactly like them.
- From grade schools to instructional-design courses, people are admonished to prepare logical outlines before they begin to write.
- People believe that there are no alternatives to this type of presentation.
We know that there are alternatives. Instead of organizing the content into topics and subtopics, we can organize it in terms of challenges from the field and how experienced practitioners handle them. Instead of mass producing bullet-point slides, we can use the case method, simulations, and roleplays to get people closer to the real world. Instead of making presentations, we can answer questions.
I love this piece. I wonder how Thiagi‘s approach can take place of all kind of ID books that teach something that you never use in practice…
Tags: learning facilitationArchived version of this entry is available at http://blog.mathemagenic.com/2002/08/08.html#a113; comments are here.
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