Blog Post #4: How do you learn?

As we grow, the way we learn changes. From early kindergarten through middles school and even into high school, there is a pedagogical approach to learning. We are dependent on others to teach us and build a foundation of knowledge. A pedagogical style is uniform by age and generally taught the same level of curriculum. The orientation of learning is subject centered and motivation is driven by rewards and punishments.

As we move into college, our learning shifts to an andragogical from that of a pedagogical style. Especially in the early years of college, learning becomes more self-directed. The learning style of androgogy tends to pull from real life experiences and tasks. Androgogical learning motivates individuals more through internal incentives.

As we transition from college to the workplace, our learning gogies change as well. Though there still is an androgogical style of learning, it shifts to more of an heutagogical and peeragogical style of learning. Heutagogical learners learn best individually. They are skilled, self-motivated, practical-oriented workers.  On the other side peeragogical learners are insecure, afraid to fail. The are hesitant to learn themselves; instead, they wait to learn from the mistakes of others. They tend to be hands on learners and follow the crowd.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedagogy
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andragogy
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heutagogy

Blog Post #2: Why is it important to make needs assessment an ongoing process? What are the implications of this?

  Performing a needs assessment is crucial for many reasons. The most imperative reason is that it answers the needs of both organizational management and the workplace learning professionals.  Without a proper understanding of the current situation and problem, a solution can’t be developed. If you implement this correctly you should be able to answer who needs to learn what, why do they need to learn it, and to what extent do they need to learn it. Through answering these questions you will be able to effectively design and implement any instructions that you or your company needs.  However, the wrong assessment could lead to the creation of improper learning or one that does not address the true problem. Millions of dollars each year are wasted on ineffective training programs because the needs of the company and employee are not properly identified.  Evaluating the strategic impact of a potential training program based on your companies specific needs will ensure that limited resources are deployed for maximum positive impact.

 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Needs_assessment