Challenge the Learner’s Mind Set – comes from the Free Guide – ‘Are you frustrated by training that creates short term interest but not long term change?’.
To get Learners to do more with their learning, we first need to understand the Learner’s mind set. Stephen Covey, author of ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’, outlines in Habit 5: ‘Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood’.
For many people, learning French at school involved learning the French Verb Table. “Here it is, Smith, now get on and learn it”, my old French teacher would say. He sounded very much like the guy from ‘Allo Allo’.
University was mostly ‘Chalk and Talk’. My first real job mainly involved listening to my peers stress about their workload. I then watched them dodge training courses like it was an Olympic sport.
Is it any wonder that my Learner mind set was anything but enthusiastic?
Action
During formal training or coaching sessions, or when you see that Learners are not getting the most from their learning, ask them, ‘Which 3 words best describe your learning experiences before today?’. This question will help the Learner to realise that their mind set for learning needs to change.
Especially if they want to achieve their goals. If the Learner’s response is that learning is ‘ineffective’, ‘boring’, and/or ‘a waste of time’, this will highlight their negative perception and may help them to reset their approach to learning.
Challenge Learner’s Mind Set!