EDAC 634 – EXPERIENTIAL

LEARNINGFINAL DEMONSTRATION

PowerPoint by Heather Allen, additional content and editing provided by Allison

Wynbissinger

FIRST CAME THE TOPIC SUMMARY AND SELECTION

Design note: I chose images through Google by searching the type of pictures I was looking for and adding “royalty free clipart” to the end.

Five of us chose experiential learning, so Dr. Chang put us in a group.

WHAT IS EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING ANYWAY?•THE THEORETICAL

FRAMEWORK OF EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING IS THE IDEA THAT STUDENTS/PARTICIPANTS CAN GAIN SKILLS AND LEARN THROUGH ACTIVITY AND PRACTICE.

Kolb’s

model

Concrete Experience

Reflective Observation

Abstract Conceptualization

Active Experimentati

on

Design note: I created this by inserting SmartArt, choosing Cycles, and then inserting shapes to add in the arrows.

NEXT, GROUP PLAN TIME!• Unfortunately, we lost a group

member before we even started

• But Allison took the lead to create the Group Plan, and we were off the races!

THEN, THE LITERATURE REVIEW

Note: I think most of us used the resources Dr. Chang provided to us and accessed the BSU library directory. I reviewed a particular book, which, in retrospect, I shouldn’t have taken so much information from one resource.

This was an individual project. From here we divvied up what each of us would work on for our Program Design. I came up with the idea of a new supervisor training and everyone provided important contributions to the finished product, in line with identified preferences.

PROGRAM DESIGN…AND REDESIGN…AND REDESIGN

•OUR PROGRAM WAS REDESIGNED BASED ON FEEDBACK FROM DR. CHANG AND OTHER STUDENTS IN CLASS

•DURING THE PROGRAM EVALUATION PHASE, WILL AND BRIDGIT IDENTIFIED PROFESSIONALS WHO ALSO GAVE THEIR FEEDBACK. WE REDESIGNED AGAIN IN ANTICIPATION OF OUR FINAL DEMONSTRATION.

WILL CREATED A GOOGLE DOC SO THAT WE COULD ALL SHARE MATERIALS AND PROVIDE FEEDBACK AND PROOFREAD EVERYONE ELSE’S WORK. ALLISON MANAGED THE BLOG.

AS WILL MENTIONED IN HIS PRESENTATION, WE MAY HAVE GONE OVER AND ABOVE IN TERMS OF REDESIGNING AS WE WENT, BUT IT MADE SENSE AS WE MOVED TO OUR FINAL DEMONSTRATION. EACH OF US COULD SEE THE EVOLUTION OF THE MATERIAL AND BE ABLE TO SPEAK TO IT. THIS ALSO MADE IT TRUE TO THE REALITIES OF CURRICULUM DESIGN AS IT ALWAYS HAS MANY REWRITE STAGES AND IS NEVER TRULY FINISHED.

DON’T FORGET TO CHECK OUT THE INTRODUCTORY FLYER ON OUR BLOG, WHICH WOULD BE USED TO ADVERTISE THE CLASS. THIS WAS CREATED BY BRIDGIT.

NOW ON TO THE FUN STUFF…THE PROGRAM ITSELF

SESSION ONE : PRE-CLASS SURVEY

Please watch Heather’s

“Pre Class Survey” video to learn more about the survey questions and why this part is

important!

ACTIVITY: WHAT ARE YOUR CHALLENGES?FACILITATOR GROUPS, PARTICIPANTS, AND THE GROUPS IDENTIFY THE SPECIFIC CHALLENGES THEY COULD FACE OR CURRENTLY FACE IN THEIR INDUSTRY, AND DISCUSS IN THEIR GROUPS WHAT THEY CAN INFLUENCE AND WHAT THEY CANNOT. Note: Although it would be helpful for the facilitator to have a background in supervision, the reality is that this problem-solving technique involves recognizing that there may be more than one right answer. The learning is in the brainstorming and sharing of best practices, not necessarily in the instructor imparting knowledge.

The groups will determine which of the issues they discussed in their group would be the most valuable to share with the class. The group will choose a facilitator to discuss the issue with the class, and what the group came up with as a solution. This will lead to a class brainstorm on the issue to come up with best practices. The facilitator will be in charge of keeping the discussion from going off the rails, and will make sure to watch the time.

ACTIVITY: SCENARIOS•GROUPS ARE SWAPPED AND LEARNERS CHOOSE A SCENARIO CARD TO WORK THROUGH TO FIND A SOLUTION.

•LET’S LOOK AT A FEW EXAMPLES…

AN EMPLOYEE COMES TO YOU WITH A COMPLAINT THAT A STAFF MEMBER ISN’T PULLING THEIR WEIGHT. THEY SAY THAT IF THEY KEEP HAVING TO “DO EVERYONE ELSE’S JOB,” THEY’RE GOING TO QUIT.Note: The scenarios here came from a YouTube search searching for “new supervisor scenarios.” This one was adapted to add the

component that the co-worker was ready to quit, knowing this could be a very real scenario any supervisor might encounter.

Optional activities are listed, as it should be considered Best Practice to have back-ups in case you are ahead of schedule or one activity falls flat with the class. It gives you options.

This would be a great opportunity to introduce the concept of peer-to-peer coaching if time allows in your program. There is a document attached to the blog that explains this.

YOU NOTICE THAT AN EMPLOYEE WHO USED TO BE A SUPERSTAR HAS REALLY BEEN SLIPPING. YOU HAVE HEARD FROM OTHER EMPLOYEES THAT HER CAT RECENTLY DIED. SHE CAN’T SERIOUSLY STILL BE MOPING AROUND ABOUT A SILLY CAT, RIGHT?

Adapted from a YouTube scenario about an employee who had some personal things going on. I actually encountered this with an employee and my director was appalled that I let her have time off to deal with this.

YOU FIND OUT TWO CO-WORKERS ARE SEEING EACH OTHER AND THERE IS NOTHING IN THE POLICY MANUAL THAT PROHIBITS IT, BUT OTHER WORKERS HAVE BEEN COMPLAINING THAT THEY ARE TALKING “BABY TALK” TO EACH OTHER IN THE BREAKROOM AND IT MAKES THEM UNCOMFORTABLE.

Generally, using a picture such as the one above can be tricky in terms of copyright. “Seinfeld” is a show, with it’s own copyrights, and another company created the meme, as identified in the upper right. It would be considered “Fair Use” if ONLY used for educational purposes, as here.

AN EMPLOYEE CONFIDES IN YOU THAT THE PAID TIME OFF THEY HAVE REQUESTED IS FOR GENDER REASSIGNMENT SURGERY. THE MALE EMPLOYEE WILL RETURN AS A FEMALE AND HE WANTS TO GIVE YOU A HEADS-UP.This is a scenario I posed to a group of supervisors in a class I taught for my previous employer. In that scenario, I said a customer

had complained because a transgender individual was allowed to use the restroom of their choice, making the customer uncomfortable. This is a topic very prevalent in the news, and you will get a great deal of conversation.

A SUBORDINATE SENDS YOU A FRIEND REQUEST ON FACEBOOK.

There are certainly multiple schools of thought on whether or not a supervisor should follow their employee on Facebook. When you lead this discussion, what you are looking for is brainstorming on the dangers. For example, if you see photos of an employee partying last night, and this morning they call in sick, you have knowledge that might affect how you feel about them, and whether or not there are certain consequences.

YOU HAVE BECOME AWARE OF THE FACT THAT AN EMPLOYEE HAS A DRUG PROBLEM. SO FAR IT ISN’T AFFECTING HIS WORK AND YOU KNOW HE HAS A FAMILY AND NEEDS THIS JOB.

Watch “The Office” video for an example of conflict resolution in an office setting.

Again, it is tricky to use a video clip like this when considering copyright laws. Generally, if the Embed option works from YouTube, you can use it. To go a step further, if you are using something IN PART (not the whole episode), again for educational purposes, you should be fine. Non-profit use has additional wiggle room. I used www.keepvid.com to create a MP4 copy to allow for faster playback.

REFLECTIVE JOURNALS•STUDENTS SHOULD BRIEFLY RESTATE THE LEARNING TOPICS PRESENTED IN THIS SESSION INTO THEIR OWN WORDS, AS WELL AS ANSWERING SPECIFIC SURVEY-TYPE QUESTIONS. TRAINEES SHOULD REFLECT ON WHAT THEY HAVE LEARNED AND WHAT THEY WILL SHARE WITH THEIR STAFF. ALTERNATELY, STUDENTS CAN REFLECT THROUGH DRAWING, ART JOURNALING, OR RESEARCH, IF THEY PREFER. JOURNALS WILL BE GIVEN TO THE INSTRUCTOR, WHO WILL PROVIDE FEEDBACK.

•REFLECTION IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING FRAMEWORK. IT GIVES THE PARTICIPANTS THE OPPORTUNITY TO BEGIN CONSIDERING HOW THEY MIGHT APPLY WHAT THEY HAVE LEARNED.

• THE INSTRUCTOR WILL BE PROVIDING FEEDBACK, NOT ON THE QUALITY OF THE ART OR LEVEL OF RESEARCH AND WRITING. THE INSTRUCTOR FEEDBACK IS DESIGNED FOR THE INSTRUCTOR TO ENSURE THAT THE STUDENT IS GETTING THE PROPER TAKE-AWAYS FROM THE MATERIAL.

•GROUP MEMBERS WILL CREATE A LIST OF THE SESSION END SURVEY QUESTIONS, WHICH YOU WILL FIND ON OUR BLOG.

EXAMPLES OF JOURNALSJournals come in many forms. It could be writing, doodles, sticky notes, or really anything that allows the student to reflect on the questions posed, and the class itself.

The instructor should provide access to magazines, glue sticks, a variety of colored pens, colored sticky notes, etc., for purposes of this type of advanced journaling. Students should also be able to access a computer and printer for research.

Alternately, the instructor may choose to introduce this reflective journaling at the beginning of the course to allow for individuals to doodle throughout the day. Some students will find that they will remember more if they are allowed this type of stimuli and an opportunity for note taking with the parameters of the journal vs. doing something separate.

SESSION TWO•REFLECT ON INSTRUCTOR’S JOURNAL FEEDBACK•ACTIVITY: OPEN DISCUSSION ABOUT WHAT IT TAKES

TO BE INCLUSIVE IN HIRING AND ELIMINATING BIAS IN EVERYDAY WORK.

•ACTIVITY: GROUPS ARE FORMED AND PARTICIPANTS IDENTIFY SPECIFIC ISSUES FACED IN THE VARIOUS ORGANIZATIONS WHERE THEY WORK. Note: This would involve some research on the part of the instructor, and perhaps working with an HR professional.

We’ll talk about what it means to be inclusive and how we can ensure that, as supervisors, they are setting the example by eliminating their own biases, and how they can help staff be more inclusive and let go of biases they may have.

The facilitator will lead a discussion around laws related to interviewing, hiring, ADA, etc.

“IGNORANCE MORPHS INTO MYTHS, WHICH CAN PROVIDE READY-MADE EXCUSES FOR EMPLOYERS WHO WOULD RATHER LOOK PAST A PERSON WITH A DISABILITY WHEN FILLING OPEN POSITIONS. EMPLOYEES WITH DISABILITIES OFTEN FIND THAT THE CHIEF OBSTACLE IN THE WORKPLACE ISN’T THEIR DISABILITY - IT’S FROM BIAS FROM COWORKERS,” (CHESTER, 2012, P. 101-27).This quote is also part of our Program Design document, but it is worth repeating. It comes from a Train the Trainer course used at

Goodwill, an organization with a focus on training and employing individuals with disabilities.

ACTIVITY• GROUPS ARE SWAPPED AND TRAINEES COMPILE THEIR OWN LISTS OF WAYS TO ACCOMMODATE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES, WHICH THEY CAN USE WHEN THEY RETURN TO THEIR EMPLOYER.

• PERFORMANCE STANDARDS AND THE ROLES OF SUPERVISORS WILL BE DISCUSSED. WE WILL ALSO DISCUSS RESPONSIBILITIES TO SUBORDINATES IN MAKING SURE THEY KNOW THEIR ROLE IN THE BIG PICTURE.

• REFLECTIVE JOURNALING

Note: We received feedback that it was important to discuss the employees’ relationships to the supervisor and for the supervisor to be able to look at things from the employee perspective. To that end, we added the discussion regarding employee’s roles and a later discussion around job shadowing.

Students should repeat their journal activity from the previous session with the addition of the following:- Create a self-audit to ensure your workplace offers strategies of inclusion and accommodation for new employee orientation and ongoing training materials.- Students are asked to bring Job Descriptions for various roles in their organization to the next session.

SESSION THREE•REFLECT ON INSTRUCTOR’S JOURNAL FEEDBACK•ACTIVITY: PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS – REVIEW OF

REAL-LIFE EVALUATIONS AND A DISCUSSION AROUND APPROPRIATE LANGUAGE AND GOAL-SETTING

•ACTIVITY: STUDENTS WILL CREATE JOB POSTINGS FOR POSITIONS THEY HAVE OPEN NOW. THESE WILL BE SUBJECT TO PEER REVIEW AND DISCUSSION ABOUT WHAT SHOULD AND SHOULD NOT BE INCLUDED IN A POSTING.

Note: The instructor can use real-life job postings as examples. Craig’s List is ripe with examples: good and bad. Some are VERY bad with horrible spelling and grammar mistakes and no real details about the job. These would make for great discussion points.

The instructor will facilitate a discussion on Job Descriptions and their value as we move into the topic of interviewing. We will also discuss the benefits of job shadowing to better understand the individual’s roles within an organization, and to have a better understanding of the skills and attitude being sought in hiring.

Bridgit has created a separate document on the blog which discusses this activity in more detail and provides examples.

BEHAVIORAL INTERVIEWING

Note: This is a site offering free tools and resources. Again, because we are not playing this publicly and are using it solely for educational purposes, this should fall under the parameters of fair use.

That being said, if this was part of a class where I would invite individuals outside of the non-profit world or charge people for attendance, I would reach out to the website for their authorization and would note that.

The instructor will lead a discussion on what behavioral interviewing is, and the potential benefits, before playing the video “Top 10 Behavior Interview Questions” on our blog.

ACTIVITY: IS IT LEGAL?•HAVE TRAINEES PAIR UP TO WORK THROUGH THE SCENARIOS, AND THEN HAVE A DISCUSSION WITH THE CLASS. THE DOCUMENT IS ATTACHED TO THE BLOG.

•THIS ACTIVITY BUILDS ON THE INFORMATION ABOUT INCLUSION AND DISABILITIES FROM THE LAST SESSION.

Note: This activity is modified from one I used in an interview class for supervisors. It created a great opportunity for discussion

ACTIVITY – BEHAVIORAL INTERVIEWINGHAVE STUDENTS GET INTO PAIRS AND COME UP WITH SKILLS THEY SEEK, AS WELL AS BEHAVIOR QUESTIONS TO ASK WHICH ARE APPROPRIATE FOR THEIR INDUSTRY. THIS COULD INCLUDE QUESTIONS AROUND CUSTOMER SERVICE, INTERPERSONAL SKILLS, PLANNING AND ORGANIZING, PROFESSIONALISM, SAFETY, QUALITY, QUANTITY, ATTENDANCE AND DEPENDABILITY, RESPECT AND CONFLICT, AND INITIATIVE (CHESTER, 2012, P. 105-28 - 31).

Students should be reminded that questions should be specific to the requirements of the job, and that Job Descriptions should be reviewed. The interviewer should only be speaking about 20-25% of the time (Chester. 2012, P.-105-16).

ACTIVITY – MOCK INTERVIEWING

Note: The activities here were created based on a great deal of research (books, Internet, etc.) as well as my own personal knowledge and experience with this subject.

This will be an exercise where we will use one-on-one and panel techniques using the created interview questions.

Trainees should observe the process and provide feedback. Individuals should practice taking appropriate notes during and after the process as part of the exercise. There is a note-taking document in the blog that can also serve as an additional activity, as it addresses some of the legalities as it relates to notes, and whether or not what you write down now could be admissible in court if someone thinks they were discriminated against in an interview, for

instance. In addition, watch Bridgit talk about the interviewing process!The Follow-Up Questions document is an additional alternative activity that instructors can utilize as time allows. The activity can also be shortened, with one scenario given to each team (or pair) to work through. It is a good idea to have the individual scenarios laminated if you choose this route, to allow for re-use.

ACTIVITY: HIRING & ONBOARDING

•GIVE OUT COMMON HIRING MISTAKES HANDOUT AND DISCUSS

•CREATION OF ONBOARDING PLAN,

INCLUDING CREATION OF MENTOR PROGRAM, CHECKLISTS, JOB AIDES, ETC. THEY WILL BEGIN THIS PROJECT IN CLASS, BUT THIS WILL ALSO SERVE AS HOMEWORK TO BE REVIEWED IN THE FINAL SESSION.

The Common Hiring Mistakes handout is attached to the blog.

Time for the reflective journaling will follow.

SESSION FOUR•REFLECTIVE JOURNALS RETURNED

•ACTIVITY: ONBOARDING PLAN PEER REVIEW AND DISCUSSION

•ACTIVITY: BRAINSTORMING SESSIONNote: The idea around the entire session is that the focus will be on reflection

and future application. For the onboarding, there will not be a right or wrong. It will be taking the trainees’ knowledge of their organization and industry needs to create some draft ideas that they can take back and hopefully execute, or add to their current programs. The brainstorming creates a feedback loop and helps to identify best practices.

THE FACILITATOR WILL LEAD THE DISCUSSION AND INTERJECT, AS NEEDED, BUT THIS SHOULD BE A LARGE GROUP REFLECTION AND OPEN DIALOGUE. INSTRUCTORS SHOULD BE SURE THAT THERE IS AN EMPHASIS ON SUPERVISORS BEING READY TO MAKE QUICK DECISIONS FOR SITUATIONS THEY MAY NOT HAVE ANTICIPATED.

Students should discuss how they might react to an employee who has emotional outbursts, subordinates who try to undermine their supervision, or how to deal with extreme stresses that might happen to an employee, such as a death in their family. Students should come up with other scenarios as well. It is important to highlight that a supervisor's goal should always be equity and consistency.

ACTIVITY: FINAL REFLECTIVE JOURNALINDIVIDUALS WILL SHARE WITH THE GROUP WHY THEY THINK IT IS IMPORTANT TO CONSCIOUSLY GO BACK AND EVALUATE HOW THEY ARE DOING AS A SUPERVISOR, CONSIDER WHAT THEY COULD HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY, AND REFLECT ON WHAT THEY CAN DO DIFFERENTLY IN THE FUTURE.

This would also be a great time for participants to share with the class some of the their journal entries and take-aways from the class as a whole.

AND THAT’S THE END!Enjoy watching “That’s a wrap!” video to hear my closing message, with a little help from Chewbacca!

His yawn at the end could not have been more perfectly timed. Clearly he is thrilled to have been included!