Changes in learning styles implications for stafflearning development

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Changes in learning stylesimplications for
staff/learning development
Association of Libraries in Land-based Colleges
and Universities

• Gail Merrett
• Ex Head of Staff Development, OULS
• Freelance trainer/lecturer

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Training sessions arent always effective
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Its hard to teach/train effectively if you dont
quite understand your learners
Edmund Right Baldrick, let's try again,
shall we. This is called adding. If I have two
beans and then I add two more beans, what do I
have? Baldrick Some beans. Edmund Yes and
not. Let's try again, shall we. I have two
beans then I add two more beans, what does that
make?Baldrick A very small casserole?Edmund
Baldrick, the ape creatures of the Indus have
mastered this. Now try again. One, two, three,
four. So how many are there?Baldrick
Three.Edmund What??Baldrick And that one
http//www.youtube.com/watch?v328Q79GoR7g
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Learning styles - Kolb/Honey Mumford
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VAK
Gardners Multiple intelligences
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Learning methods/preferences

• In education ...
• The move to learner centred methods
• The increase in e-learning/blended learning
• Googleisation - everything at the fingertips
• and everything weve just found out about student
  preferences

and we might be different in other ways ...
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Generational attitudesare we products of our
times ?
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Plus our world of work is changing

• Information increasing
• Techno takeover
• Globalisation
• Work life balance
• Teams

• Projects
• Rise of the customer
• Competition even in libraries
• Gen Y students

What does this mean for our skills ?
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Professional skills
What are your top 2 training and development
needs right now?
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Skills in need
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To create a strong and challenging learning
culture, where all staff are able to develop
their skills, extend their knowledge and reach
their full potential for the benefit of both
OULS objectives and personal professional
development aspirations.
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We also did ...

• Graduate trainee programme
• Annual staff conference (for about 220 staff)
• Supported appraisal
• General events (All staff meetings etc)
• One to one advice and guidance/coaching
• Departmental activities
• Special initiatives (health and safety, customer
  care)
• Maintained web and newsletter presence
• Well being week/Christmas Crackers
• UNC academic libraries seminar programme

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Training courses can fail to live up to
expectations

• Expectations
• Too standalone
• Not appropriate

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My Wish List

• Reduce the training events to allow us to
• focus elsewhere (performance measures)
• Create a more meaningful appraisal
• Improve the link between role description,
• recruitment and development
• Introduce more work based learning activities and
  ways to record evaluate this
• Utilise coaching far more extensively
• Targeted senior managers and the line more
  effectively
• Performance rewards recognition linked to
  development activities
• Specific and context related training needs
  analysis (eg avoid meaningless lists of generic
  skills)

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Time to get tough ??
Align staff learning to strategic priorities and
objectives Assess learning activity as part of
appraisal performance management
systems Expect managers to direct and report on
staff learning activity Require staff to engage
in some form of learning activity record it
Understand audit the knowledge skills of
staff
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Generic skills lists dont really help

• Look at role descriptions (competencies/behaviours
  ./knowledge/skills)
• Work with a particular department, especially at
  times of change and pinpoint what skills are
  missing
• Break down a generic skills into something SMART
  ...e.g. Customer care skills
• Talk to the leadership about the skills that will
  give your organisation edge

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CIPD Annual Survey Report 2008Learning and
Development, 2008

• Management development increasing
• Importance of line managers in directing learning
• Growth in e-learning (but not as fast) and
  coaching
• Skills areas management/leadership
  communication customer service business skills
• New approaches to identifying need
• Efforts to develop a learning culture

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Training to Learning (2005)
Training an instructor-led content-based
intervention, leading to desired changes in
behaviour
Learning a self-directed, work based process,
leading to increased adaptive potential
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• So in addition to my earlier get tough measures
• Wide support
• See change as fertile learning ground
• Learning embedded in daily activity for staff
• Quality time needed
• Strategy to evolve rather than act as the starter
• Clear understanding of responsibilities
• Learning methods that make sense to people
• Learning that is relevant and appropriate

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Based on presentation by Sheila Corrall , 2003
(CILIP President 2002-3)
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What we need is ...

• A radical shift in our approach to learning and
  development
• BUT...
• This takes time and effort and organising
  training courses are quick and easy by comparison

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Its essentially for our benefit to get this
right ... our employees our organisations our
services our own careers

Staff Development
In our library services, we are working hard to
provide personalised and relevant learning
experiences for our students ... We need to start
doing this for ourselves and our staff and our
methods should reflect this
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So lets ...

• Make sure everyone understands what is expected
  of them in terms of their learning
• Stop being obsessed with writing strategy and
  policy and actually just do something
• Not conduct generic training needs analysis that
  will give us the results we predicted (i.e.
  management development, customer care, electronic
  awareness, teaching skills etc ...)
• Take full responsibility not just for our staff,
  but for ourselves (and get others to do the
  same)... Even if we dont do anything else!

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• Although learning and development is a joint
  responsibility, its up to us as individuals to
  take control of our personal learning and
  development
• Oh, the Places Youll Go!
• Congratulations!Today is your day.Youre off to
  Great Places!Youre off and away!You have
  brains in your head.You have feet in your
  shoesYou can steer yourselfany direction you
  choose.Youre on your own.  And you know what
  you know.And YOU are the guy wholl decide where
  to go.