Barry+Bennett

Tactics and strategies for setting up learning environments to engage learners. Engaged through attention paid to setting up both safety and accountability. Link to Instructional Design Activity Ideas.
 * Barry Bennett – Instructional Design, Instructional Intelligence, University of Toronto., Canada **

Importance of Participation:
 * With powerpoint you will only retain 10% of the learning;
 * If you have a chance to talk about it, to chew the fat, then you will retain more information;
 * Collaborative learning therefore is a core way to integrate the learning;
 * Don’t just focus on getting through the content, must make sure student is getting the context and able to engage with it.
 * When asking for volunteers don’t create a deer in the headlamps situation – make sure they will know what will happen and what will be expected of them – don’t put them on the spot (safety & accountability).

Importance of reflective practice:
 * Must provide your students with time to process (perhaps even apply and practice the use of) the information they have been introduced too. To reflect on where they have been in the learning journey.
 * Research shows this is the best way to get students to take the information they have learnt back out to industry – you do not what the information to become encapsulated (not related to/relevant to their own experience – unable to remember it or to realise when/how to apply it in their chosen industry area.

How to get effective group work?
 * Give specific and clear tasks and direction; (helps to make clear expectations on them and to provide for both safety and accountability)
 * 2nd engine, show them how to be good collaborators or members of a group or team (ie. Appreciation statements, attentive listening, acknowledging other POV)

Adult Learners:
 * Acknowledge the experience that adult learners bring into the room (especially if older than you);
 * Context – they need to, like to know the relevance of what they are learning is to them, to their assessment (clear up front learning objectives);
 * Self-directed, self-learning preferred to be told enough but not too much?