1st Blog

This is my first blog for the book Learning to Listen Learning to Teach.  Jane Vella, explains how her principles of adult learning work in almost any learning situation.  Every principle is then later demonstrated in a case study.  I am looking forward to reading the case studies because when I skimmed ahead they seemed more like short stories. I always try to picture myself in the scenario the author is explaining.  Then it seems more like a story than a case study and doesn’t feel text bookish.   The 2^nd principle that she talks about is “safety”.  Safety in the class room is making a safe environment where the learners are safe to learn and share their thoughts.    It also deals with safety in the context of learning.  Using proven methods to reassure the learners that there is methodology to their learning, and explaining this to them is something I have never done before.   I never thought of this before but I tried it in class today.  My new hire class has to take their final tomorrow, and their job is contingent on a passing grade.  Many of them are feeling anxious about it.  Today I explained that I have used this same process to teach the last five classes, and everyone has been able to pass the test.  I feel like it did ease their minds a little bit.   I also explained that the goal of the class is not to pass the test, but to give them the information that they need to be successful at their job, and that passing the final is just a byproduct of that.    The 1^st principle that Jane talks about is needs assessment, I didn’t feel as much of an ah-hah moment with the needs assessment because this has been part of every instructional design course I have ever taken, but the safety really seemed to make sense to me.   I will be moving on to the next couple principles, “sound relationships” and “sequence”.