OL211-DQ

Assignment: After reviewing the resources in the module Reading and Resources area, describe any four characteristics of adult learners and discuss how HR trends in corporate learning are responding to learners needs.

Include at least one citation and reference in your initial post

Reading and Resources

Textbook:  Managing Human Resources, Section 7.1: The Scope of Training and Section 7.2: Phase 1: Conducting the Needs Assessment

Click the Managing Human Resources e-text link in this module to access this resource.

Website: Society for Human Resource Management - SHRM - The Voice of All Things Work Review the website of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the world's largest association devoted to human resource management. Representing more than 275,000 members in over 140 countries, SHRM serves the needs of HR professionals and advances the interests of the HR profession. Consistent with its role in promoting professionalism in the HR field, SHRM's intent is to capture and codify the threshold customs, procedures, and practices of our most effective practitioners in HRM. Purchase your  student membership  to the SHRM via their website. You will need to access SHRM resources in order to complete assignments in this course, starting in this module.

Video: Goal Setting Review this resource on SMART goals. Students will need to use their SNHU login information to access this resource.

We Learn by Doing, so Simulations that Let Us Experience Scenarios Help Us Learn and Remember Better. Enter Virtual Reality Training - Why Virtual-Reality Training for Employees Is Catching On (shrm.org) This article describes the role of Virtual Reality Training (VRT) in the workplace citing examples of VRT at Walmart, Honeywell and Pima County Sheriff’s Department. This resource supports the module discussion.

Key Trends Shaping the Future of Learning and Development Review this resource for information about key trends in learning. This resource supports the module discussion.

How to Engage Modern Learners This article provides information about ways to engage adult learners. This resource supports the module discussion.

In the last module, you looked at how organizations plan for their human resource requirements and how they fill open positions. In Module Three, you will explore training and development, processes organizations use to ensure their employees have the knowledge, skills, and abilities they will need to achieve their goals.

Before you begin, it will be helpful to learn about andragogy, defined as “the art and science of helping adults learn” by Malcolm Knowles, an American practitioner and theorist of adult education (Educational Technology and Mobile Learning, 2015). According to Knowles, adult learners:

· are internally motivated and self-directed

· apply their life experiences and knowledge when learning

· are goal oriented, focusing more on intrinsic rather than external factors

· need to see the relevance of what they are learning

· are practical and like to be respected (Educational Technology and Mobile Learning, 2015)

To understand how to apply these principles when designing adult learning programs, consider this comparison of traditional teaching methods, known as pedagogy, to andragogy.

Categories	Pedagogy	Andragogy
Self-Concept	· Children are dependent on teacher and enjoy dependence.  · Expects to be taught. Takes no responsibility of teaching self. · Expects teacher to be dominant in determining what, when, and how something is to be learned.	· Adults expect and enjoy independence. They like to take control.  · Learning is a process of sharing with the teacher and one another.  · Teacher has responsibility to encourage and nurture the process of self-direction.
Need to Know	· Children need to know what the teacher teaches in order to pass and get promoted. Material does not need to be “life applicable.”	· Adult learners need to know why they need to learn something before undertaking to learn it.
Experience	· Children have few experiences relevant to what is being taught; therefore, teacher must create pertinent experiences.  · Teachers or experts are the transmitters of experience.  · Teachers seldom recognize experiences that children do have. · Elicits little discussion in class-teacher to student, one-way communication.	· Have many experiences; therefore, teacher must draw on adult-learner experiences. · Trade-off. Anyone in class also could share.  · In some areas, students may have more experience than the instructor. · Elicits two- and three-way communication: instructor to student(s) and student to student.
Readiness to Learn	· Children are not necessarily ready to learn. Teacher must decide when it is time to learn specific skills or knowledge and tries to create motivation.  · We impose uniform curricula on children by classes and age groups.	· Adults normally come to class motivated and ready to learn, because they have chosen the training.  · Adults learn in order to cope with real-life tasks.  · Adults do not group by age or sex, but by experience.
Time Perspective	· Children study content for the future. (“Someday you will need this.”)  · Children are taught to only accept knowledge and understanding level, not application level.	· Pragmatic—adults want application today.  · Can barely tolerate studying anything that cannot be applied to a task they expect to perform.
Orientation to learning	· Children and teachers of children are subject-centered and enjoy being so. (1:00 reading, 2:00 math, etc.)  · Learning is a process of acquiring subject matter content to be used at a later time in life.	· Adults and teachers are problem or task centered. · Learning is a process of increasing competence to achieve full potential in life.

(Distant eLearning, 2015)

For a video summary of these concepts, view  Andragogy (Adult Learning)  by Janet Finlay.

- The captioned version of this video may be accessed in the following link:  OL-211: Andragogy (Adult Learning) (CC)

A valuable concept relevant to writing meaningful learning objectives is Bloom’s Taxonomy, which “provides an important framework for teachers to use to focus on higher order thinking. By providing a hierarchy of levels, this taxonomy can assist teachers in designing performance tasks, crafting questions for conferring with students, and providing feedback on student work” (Bloom’s Taxonomy, n.d.).

Bloom’s Taxonomy classifies the following levels of learning to be addressed in order:

1. Knowledge - Student recalls or recognizes information, ideas, and principles in the approximate form in which they were learned. Key words include write, list, label, name, and define.

2. Comprehension - Student translates, comprehends, or interprets information based on prior learning. Key words include explain, summarize, paraphrase, and describe.

3. Application - Student selects, transfers, and uses data and principles to complete a problem or task with a minimum of direction. Key words include use, compute, solve, demonstrate, apply, and construct.

4. Analysis - Student distinguishes, classifies, and relates the assumptions, hypotheses, evidence, or structure of a statement or question. Key words include analyze, categorize, compare, and contrast.

5. Synthesis - Student originates, integrates, and combines ideas into a product, plan or proposal that is new to him or her. Key words include create, design, hypothesize, and develop.

6. Evaluation - Student appraises, assesses, or critiques on a basis of specific standards and criteria. Key words include judge, recommend, critique, and justify (Gilmore & Menden, n.d.).

Finally, for an entertaining application of Bloom’s Taxonomy, watch this  video  on Bloom’s Taxonomy according to Seinfeld.

- The captioned version of this video may be accessed in the following link:  OL-211: Blooms Taxonomy According to Seinfeld (CC)

References

Educational Technology and Mobile Learning. (2015). Awesome chart on "pedagogy vs andragogy." Retrieved from http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2013/05/awesome-chart-on-pedagogy-vs-andragogy.html

Gilmore, L., & Menden, H. (n.d.). Teaching others what you know—survival training for subject matter experts [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://www.astdatlanta.org/Resources/Documents/TeachingOthers/Module_2_Participant_Handout_Final.pdf

Bloom's Taxonomy. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.bloomstaxonomy.org/Blooms%20Taxonomy%20questions.pdf

Distant eLearning. (2015). Pedagogy vs andragogy. Retrieved from http://www.distantelearning.com/great-resources/pedagogy-vs-andragogy/