The Right Questions

We have discussed the need to use questions to get buy-in from the people we coach. There are questions and there are questions, however:

• > Some go for depth in a helpful way and gain buy-in
• > Others sound like a prosecuting attorney

When using questions, don't fall into the trap of sounding like an interrogator. Find ways to make your questions supportive. You’ll find it is a Win/Win method of coaching.

Fink's Five Principles of Good Course Design

Fink's Five Principles of Good Course Design

Whether teaching young people or adult learners, most course design criteria are the same. This applies to the corporate world, as well as academia.

A "Good Course" is one which meets the following five standards:

1. Challenges students to higher level learning


2. Uses active forms of learning


3. Gives frequent and immediate feedback to students on the quality of their learning


4. Uses a structured sequence of different learning activities


5. Has a fair system for assessing and grading students

L. Dee Fink, University of Oklahoma Instructional Development Program, July 19, 1999.
http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/finks5.htm

Six Sigma: DMAIC

As we have discussed before, Six Sigma is a powerful business strategy that utilizes data and facts, rather than intuition for making sound corporate decisions. The key methodology of Six Sigma is DMAIC:

• Define process improvement goals that are consistent with customer demands and corporate goals


• Measure key aspects of the current process and collect data


• Analyze the data to verify cause-and-effect relationships


• Improve the process based upon data analysis


• Control to ensure that any deviations from target are corrected before they result in defects

Even if your organization does not wholeheartedly adopt Six Sigma, it can still benefit from many of its precepts.

Leveraging Technology – VI: Adobe Engage

By now you may be wondering if I work in the marketing department for Adobe. Whereas that is not the case, I certainly am a fan of many of their products.

Most recently, I have become aware of the attributes of Engage software. As the company says, “Easy-to-use templates let you create rich-media interactivity in minutes. Choose from a wide range of interaction types, including process, timeline, pyramid diagram, labeled graphic, interactive FAQ, and more. The familiar Flash format allows interactions to integrate seamlessly into virtually any e-learning course, or even stand alone on any Web site.”

The whole idea is, of course, to create engaging interactive content to further reach your e-learning students, and attain your teaching goals. If you have the cash, give it a try!

Getting Buy-in

Getting Buy-in is always a desirable goal. To do this, it is good to keep in mind that People Do Not Argue with Their Own Data. People are more likely to strongly believe something if they arrive at the idea themselves (or at least think they are arriving at it themselves.)

Presenting structured activities that generate the adult students' ideas, concepts, or techniques will facilitate learning more effectively than simply giving them information to remember.

Getting buy-in is important – perhaps essential.

Edmunds, C., K. Lowe, M. Murray, and A. Seymour. 1999. The Ultimate Educator. National Victim Assistance Academy (Advanced). Washington, DC

Six-Step Plan for Coaching

The Six-Step Plan for Coaching includes the following. Use these steps for every coaching session:

1. Preparation
   Set an objective
2. Open
   Build rapport and state the purpose of meeting
3. Perceptions/Needs
   Let the employee talk first and only then give perceptions
4. Identify and Remove Obstacles
   This is where you get into mutual problem solving
5. Close/Acton Step
   Agree to next steps and be sure to cheerlead!
6. Follow Up
   Set a follow up date

Following these steps will add structure and consistency in your coaching sessions.

Leveraging Technology - V: TeacherTube

Another great technology resource (that is Free!) is TeacherTube:

TeacherTube is an online community for sharing instructional videos. It is a site where teachers can post videos designed for students to view in order to learn a concept or skill.

Among other things, with TeacherTube, community members can:

1. Upload, tag and share videos worldwide.
2. Browse hundreds of videos uploaded by community members.
3. Integrate TeacherTube videos on websites using video embeds or APIs.
4. Make videos public or private - users can elect to broadcast their videos publicly or share them privately with those they invite.

TeacherTube - Try it out! http://www.teachertube.com/index.php