How can we help our learners feel brave instead of shame?
Teaching is not one-size-fits all.
In the last couple of posts, I mentioned how a learner’s prior knowledge and comfort with technology can impact the approach you have when teaching them. But how exactly?
Recently, I saw a post on LinkedIn by Justin Cerenzia. It was a video explaining how “Novices are not Little Experts,” and I recommend you give it a watch!
While Justin works at a Pre-K through 12 school, many of the principles he discusses applies to learners beyond a formal educational setting. Persky and Robison1 provide a number of tables that differentiate the way that Novice stage learners (Table 1) differ from Advanced beginner stage (2), Competent Stage (3), Proficient stage (4), and Expert stage (5).
According to Persky and Robinson, for instance, Novices “follow the rules and plans,” while those in the Proficient stage “perceive appropriate deviations from normal rules or patterns, and Experts “analyze analytical approaches used only in novel situations when problems occur.”
When teaching someone how to use technology, it’s essential you know which approximate stage a learner is at so you can provided appropriately-level instruction. Some examples:
You probably don’t want to teach a Novice at internet browsing how to group tabs in Chrome; it may even be likely they don’t know what tabs are (or maybe even what a browser is!) Someone who has encoded the “rules” about tabs probably won’t deviate from those norms.
On the other hand, someone who is an Expert may appreciate a tip to try a browser like Arc instead of Chrome–which doesn’t use tabs at all.
I’m assuming most of you here aren’t teaching folks how to user browsers themselves, but watching someone navigate their computer screen can provide you with a helpful quick assessment:
How do they navigate tabs or find frequently-visited websites?
Do they go to google.com to search or type a search into their toolbar?
Do they use keyboard shortcuts like Ctrl/Cmd+F?
Do they insist that Macs don’t have a right click?
Can they find their file browser and where they have placed a file in that file browser?
Do they know where a downloaded file ends up?
These are just some examples. I don’t list these examples to poke fun at people who are less well-versed at using technology; I point them out as signs to look out for so that you can appropriately calibrate your instruction to reduce anxiety and build confidence in your learners. They can, in fact, complete those steps!
It honestly makes me sad the amount of embarrassment and shame that is involved in learning. We can’t Matrix-style all of the information into our brains immediately!
Learning is brave. How can we help our learners feel brave?
Here, I’ve discussed considerations you need to make regarding the prior knowledge of your learners. Next week, thinkings will get a little 🌶:
“Those who can’t do, teach.” I’m sure many of us in teaching-adjacent fields have heard this adage before. I’ll tackle my thoughts behind this next week (hint: it makes my blood boil).
How do you feel about the saying “Those who can’t do, teach"“? \
Share below and I might include it in next week’s newsletter!
Thanks for reading and see you next week!
Persky, Adam M, and Jennifer D Robinson. “Moving from Novice to Expertise and Its Implications for Instruction.” American journal of pharmaceutical education vol. 81,9 (2017): 6065. doi:10.5688/ajpe6065