Time-out
Transport
Transform
“A three-step strategy to continue learning delivery.”
Time-out
Time-out, Transport, Transform
A three-step strategy to continue learning delivery without ‘face-to-face’
In reaction to the current crisis, there is a strong call for action to push all kinds of learning programs online. Of course, it is a natural response and most suggestions and actions seem to be based on good and sincere intentions. The huge stream of ‘tips, tricks and tools’ also seem quite overwhelming to me.
Earlier this year I delivered a session titled ‘Help! I want to move my training from classroom to online’. Not knowing then how relevant it would become today, I reviewed and tweaked my thinking. I have developed the 3-T strategy to cope with the current crisis: Time-out, Transport, Transform.
Let me share my thoughts; I hope they’ll be helpful to you.
Time-out
During my first fire safety training many years ago, I learned a lesson that is still top-of-mind for me. Panic might be as dangerous as fire. Just starting to run or just start acting in a crisis situation are not the best strategies. A quick review of the info available and making deliberate decisions based on this info is important. That takes time for some clear thinking, if it’s only a moment or a blink of the eye. So I suggest to first create a little time-out, to create a (short) moment of thinking. Trying to get a good overview of the actual situation and checking the quality of the information at hand are crucial. Base your decisions on the overview of the best quality info available.
Pushing existing learning content online might not be very smart. Don’t forget the world changed as much for your audience as it did for you, maybe even more! For some, the priority of the topics you deliver might have gone, others might have much more time and use it to speed up their learning process. Re-assess your clients and end users and try to understand their situations so you can really help them. Time-out could also be a good learning strategy for the learners that you serve. That is a slightly different topic that I’ll share in the last paragraph. Let’s first go to the next T: Transport.
Transport
A good face-to-face learning event makes use of different approaches of pedagogy to deliver the best results. If you just transport ’stuff’ to an online platform, the effects of pedagogy might diminish, thus leading to a less effective approach. To reach the best results, when moving a face-to-face event to an online learning modality, it’s better to redesign and see what online learning pedagogy should be used to make it an effective intervention.
Therefore, you need to take a step back, review what were the original learning objectives of the classroom face-to-face learning (check if these objectives still make sense) and then redesign the learning activity. This is both about pedagogy and content.
Transform
So before you transport to online, you first transform to an online learning design.
Of course, this takes time and needs efforts. Also, when making use of a learning platform, you need to learn how to use the platform. And don’t underestimate the design and delivery of good-quality ‘live online learning’: it needs some specific skills and experience to design and deliver.
Naturally there can be a mix of transport and transform in the initial approach that you choose. It depends on what you can and want to do. It’s always juggling with the desired outcomes and the restricted resources that are available; even more so in times of crisis.
One last tip
Time-out for your learners: reflection as learning intervention.
If you want to replace a face-to-face activity, choose reflection as a first alternative. In general, in my honest opinion, reflection is a learning approach that is undervalued and underused. We don’t take time for that – well, now is the time! Reflection is not easy: good reflection is a methodical, step-by- step thinking process. Don’t assume learners know how to do it best (because they do so when taking a shower). Provide your learners with a structure and tips on how to do it.
My favourite structure is a simple one by Gary Rolfe: ‘what, so what, now what’. Focus on a topic, challenge, struggle or question (what). Explore all aspects of it and why it’s important, why it matters to you, what changes and risks are related to it and what the relevance is (so what). Reach a conclusion of your thinking and decide on the next steps to be taken (now what). The medium chosen is not so important: it can be written, audio, video or a sketch.
My advice is based on experience: be strict with the method, be flexible with the medium.
Stay healthy, keep moving forward!
