http://www.gowerpublishing.com/isbn/9780566088537 Pattern Making, Pattern Breaking Using Past Experience and New Behaviour in Training, Education and Change Management Ann Alder 1 .co m © Copyrighted Material om g ow erp ub .co m g ow erp ub Why are Patterns so Important in the Facilitation of Learning? Much of this type of learning is still at the heart of modern, professional and vocational training whenever trainers seek to create consistent and automatic responses. Think of examples from the training environment: erp ub .co m g ow erp ub .co m go we rpu b.c om g ow erp ub .co m go we rpu b.c Traditionally, workplace training (rather than the broader field of education) has been an instructional process. Experienced and skilled operators (master craftsmen) passed information, knowledge and technical skill to their apprentices. Knowledge was tested through theoretical examination: physical and technical skill was developed through structured practice and observation and tested in practical demonstration. • ow g b.c om • The correct sequence of steps in a manufacturing assembly process. The features of a selected product that make it best suited for a stated purpose. go we rpu • The correct procedure to follow in dealing with a customer complaint. © Copyrighted Material Pattern Making, Pattern Breaking © Copyrighted Material • .co m The standard pre-flight checks a pilot learns before aircraft takeoff. go we rpu b.c om g ow erp ub At its most basic, the type of learning that this requires is rote learning: repetition of words, formulae or actions, sometimes without any real understanding of meaning or implications. When my very young son was learning to count he consistently counted: ‘One, two, three, four, five, seven, eight ….’ On one occasion my response was, ‘What happened to six?’, to which he replied confidently, ‘One, two, three, four, five, what happened to six, seven, eight …’. A repeated pattern, yes, but clearly not yet a pattern that is entirely useful! ow erp ub .co m go we rpu b.c om g ow erp ub .co m My experience, and the focus of this book, is in working with adult learners in the context of their professional lives. Having been a learning designer and facilitator for more than 30 years, I have worked with individuals, teams and organisations through periods of change, pressure, reorganisation and achievement. My focus has always been on helping individuals to assess and develop their own skills and behaviour in order to achieve the results they want and need in their professional lives. For me, this is an on-going process of helping people to recognise, evaluate and change patterns: patterns of action, thought and habitual behaviour. This book focuses on the application of these pattern changes in organisational and professional environments although I recognise that there is much overlap in personal or life coaching and even in therapeutic contexts. b.c om g Being Clear About the Patterns You Want go we rpu b.c om g ow erp ub .co m go we rpu In organisational development programmes, despite a much greater understanding of adult learning than we had some years ago, we still encounter training programmes in which learning objectives are published as, ‘Describe the Situational Leadership model’ or ‘Explain the principles of excellent Customer Service’. Can the learners describe or explain? Yes. Can they use the theoretical model to achieve a behavioural result? Not necessarily. Does it matter? Only if you know very clearly what the purpose of your learning intervention is and how you will evaluate success. If the learning is simply to pass an exam by answering multiple-choice questions the knowledge may be enough. If the learning is to improve supervisory leadership skills in action in order to improve organisational productivity, simple knowledge is unlikely to suffice. © Copyrighted Material Why are Patterns so Important in the Facilitation of Learning? © Copyrighted Material ow erp ub .co m g ow erp ub .co m The trainer in an instructional and supervisory role is seeking to reinforce an accepted body of knowledge, a set of principles or a learned sequence of steps in order that it can be repeated and applied, many times, without error. Just as a physical skill, for example, a golf-swing or a the ability to manipulate a pair of chopsticks, is learned through observation and practice, so many professional skills are developed through instruction and repetition, until they become automatic. Traditional on-the-job training uses this method: observe someone else carrying out the process, become familiar with the patterns, perform the task under supervision until the pattern is established, then perform it independently. rpu b.c om g ow erp ub .co m go we rpu b.c om g We experience this physical pattern-making in muscle-memory which demonstrates that the body has begun to groove in a pattern of movement. Compare, for example, the concentration required to co-ordinate two hands when learning to play the piano, or hands and feet when learning to drive, with the unthinking movements of a professional musician or driver. The automatic response only comes after patterns are repeated and refined until the outcome is entirely predictable. We also experience this when we can respond to a question with the correct answer, without any effort, because the answer is firmly embedded in memory. In this type of learning, the instructor retains a high level of control over the outcome. Standards are predetermined, there is a clear, correct answer (the pattern to be acquired) and achievement of that standard is relatively simple to assess. m g ow erp ub .co m go we This is pattern making in action. This form of training can, of course, be delivered well or badly. Even in very technical, instructional training, the skills of the trainer will have a huge impact on the quality of the learner’s experience and the ease with which the pattern is acquired. Good instructors have always recognised the need to involve the learner in the process of recognising and assimilating these patterns. Let me use a story to illustrate this. erp ub .co A Learning Story … go we rpu b.c om g ow My elderly uncle and aunt, both in their 80s, decided to enrol on a series of computer skills training classes. They wanted access to new technology to enable them to access the internet, send emails and take, send and print digital photographs. When I asked them how the classes were going, they told me that they were making progress but that they had two instructors, one of whom was ‘great’ and the other ‘useless’. I was interested to know what they experienced as the difference. Their responses were interesting. © Copyrighted Material Pattern Making, Pattern Breaking © Copyrighted Material b.c om g ow erp ub .co m The ‘useless’ instructor worked to his own agenda. He told them information they didn’t need, which just confused them. He worked fast, demonstrating long sequences of actions they could not retain. When they failed to understand something, he repeated the words and the instructions he had given them before. He demonstrated his competence – and undermined their confidence in their own. om g ow erp u The ‘great’ instructor worked with them, identifying what they already knew and what new skills they wanted to develop. He asked lots of questions that made them think. The questions they liked were framed to help their understanding: rpu b.c ‘What do you think would happen if you clicked on that icon?’ go we ‘What does this remind you of?’ ub .co m ‘When did you do something similar before? What happened then?’ ow erp ‘Where do think this fits in to the sequence I showed you before?’ go m They passed their exams. we rpu b.c om g The ‘great’ instructor moved at their pace and gave them confidence in what they did know. He described the computer in terms they understood, avoiding jargon. He drew on their previous experience. erp ub .co m go we rp ub .co This ‘great’ IT trainer understood the need to work with patterns. He recognised that, even in a technical training programme, there needs to be involvement and participation from the learner, in order to allow the learner to recognise the patterns that are already in place (When did you do something similar before?) and to start to create new ones (What do you think might happen if …?). go we rpu b.c om g ow This trainer, in a technical subject, could be instructor, coach, guide and facilitator. This is the challenge to trainers who want to work in more creative, responsive and learner-centred ways: to design and deliver pattern-making training that ensures that new knowledge and skills are retained and applied. The trainer must become confident in managing the process, rather than merely the content, of the learning. © Copyrighted Material Why are Patterns so Important in the Facilitation of Learning? © Copyrighted Material .co m However, for many trainers, before they can work to develop new patterns, they may need to consider supporting the learner in ‘un-learning’. erp ub In a published article, William Starbuck of New York University said, rpu b.c om g ow Learning often cannot occur until after there has been unlearning. Unlearning is a process that shows people they should no longer rely on their current beliefs and methods. g ow erp ub .co m go we Trainers, especially those prepared to move into a facilitative learning role, may need to help people to break patterns. I have described some of the positive advantages of learning skills and processes until they become reliable, easy and consistent but this automatic functioning also carries problems. These are particularly significant if we have formed patterns of ineffective or inappropriate behaviour or are making decisions on the basis of incorrect or inappropriate knowledge. b.c om g ow erp ub .co m go we rpu b.c om Studying failure and learning from it is a classic way to make unlearning part of everyday experience. Unfortunately, because of the negative emotions of failure, people tend to avoid thinking about the details, deny the facts, and (often) make the same mistakes again later. While negative emotions may grab your attention, moving to a dispassionate, or even positive, perspective is necessary to effective unlearning. Sometimes, trainers need to create striking ways of getting people to see the reality of a situation and the need to change before they can adopt new patterns. Our role is to enable the learner to see the old pattern, understand its effect and consciously break it, replacing it with a new and more effective one. om g ow erp ub .co m go we rpu In many aspects of learning and development, especially those which address values, competence, behaviour, personal styles and skills the trainer necessarily becomes much more facilitative in style. Whilst the learning objectives may be clear – for example, to enable individuals to explore how they can be more effective contributors to a team – the actual content of the achieved learning may not be predictable. Individual learners will have their own insights, personal responses and ideas and these will form the basis of the learning that they retain and apply for themselves. go we rpu b.c In this situation the role of the facilitator becomes even more clear: to help the learner to recognise existing patterns, evaluate them, select the ones that Starbuck, W. 1996. Unlearning ineffective or obsolete technologies. International Journal of Technology Management, 11, 723–737. © Copyrighted Material Pattern Making, Pattern Breaking © Copyrighted Material .co m achieve the desired results, eliminate redundant patterns, modify or extend others and introduce some entirely new ones. erp u b.c om g ow erp ub Creating new patterns can be a painful process. For anyone who has learned and applied skills and behaviours, with success, for many years, asking them to change those patterns can require major shifting of things that are important to them. It can challenge self-esteem, throw people into confusion and create anxiety. Good facilitators recognize this and work with the learner to ensure that the value of the new pattern makes the process worthwhile. om g ow A Learning Story … erp ub .co m go we rpu b.c Some years ago, I worked with Ambulance Station managers from a rural UK Ambulance Service. It was at a time of significant change in the service, when ambulancemen were increasingly becoming highly-trained paramedics and when senior staff were required to take on extended business, man management and financial skills as they managed in an increasingly commercial environment. go we rpu b.c om g ow One Ambulance Station manager spoke to me at length about the difficulty he was having in making the necessary changes to his work patterns. Having followed his father into the service, he was an ambulanceman through and through. Approaching retirement after 40 years in the service, he was distressed. go we rp ub .co m ‘How come’, he asked me, ‘after 40 years of doing a great job, in a community where everyone knows and likes me, where we’ve always offered a great service, where I’ve been decorated and promoted, I’m suddenly no good at my job any more? What’s wrong with me?’ go we rpu b.c om g ow erp ub .co m This manager had patterns of behaviour that had served him well all of his professional life. What he was struggling to come to terms with was that the patterns around him were changing so his behaviour was no longer seen as successful in the new environment. He needed to be able to separate his feelings about himself from his reactions to the changes he was facing: to maintain his self-belief and personal confidence while he reviewed and made changes in his professional role. This was inevitably a painful process, as the demands that were being made of him were in conflict with many long-held, deep-rooted beliefs and values. © Copyrighted Material Why are Patterns so Important in the Facilitation of Learning? © Copyrighted Material erp ub .co m As a facilitator, my job was to enable him to work through this stress to move to fit into the new order to be able to identify those personal patterns he was prepared to change and how far he was prepared to move in order to fit in to the new order. erp ub .co m go we rpu b.c om g ow In this case, I was able to find a way of engaging the manager in a dialogue that began this process. Knowing that he was an enthusiast for steam engines, steam trains and old railways, I asked him to consider what was wrong with the old steam engines he lovingly restored. ‘Are they worthless pieces of junk?’, I asked. ‘Of course not’, he replied. ‘They’re fantastic pieces of precision engineering. They’re functional, beautiful pieces of craftsmanship.’‘So why are they no longer running up and down the railways of Britain?’ ‘Because some ***** changed the gauge of the track.’ rpu b.c om g ow He then turned to me and said, ‘I see what you’re saying. There’s not much wrong with me … it’s just that the world is changing around me. I just have to decide what I’m prepared to change to go along with it and what is too important to me to ever change.’ ow erp ub .co m go we In this type of situation, the trainer’s role is pure facilitation. The root word of facilitating is facile: easy, fluent or flexible. The action word, facilitate, means to promote or make easy. Essentially, then, the act of facilitating is to enable something to happen easily. It is not to do the ‘something’ oneself but to promote the doing of it by others. rpu b.c om g In our context, the something done by others is learning or, more precisely, shifting a pattern of knowledge or behaviour to accommodate new insights. go we rpu b.c om g ow erp ub .co m go we The cloudier and more complex the situation, the more the emphasis is on the facilitator to help learners to recognise, select and create patterns. For managers bogged down by operational problems, recognising patterns in the way they work, communicate and problem-solve may allow them to redesign their systems to achieve more effective results. For an individual struggling to build and maintain working relationships, the recognition of the patterns of behaviour that others perceive as arrogance may be the first step towards improving personal credibility and influence. © Copyrighted Material 10 Pattern Making, Pattern Breaking © Copyrighted Material How Do We Help to Make and Break Patterns? erp u b.c om g ow erp ub .co m In many ways, the traditional model of experiential learning supports this process and is the reason why many facilitators choose to use experience or activity-based learning methods in personal, management and leadership development programmes. The positive advantages of facilitated experiential learning are considerable and all trainers and facilitators should understand the model as it gives significant insights into the way in which adults learn to recognise and manipulate patterns in their own lives. rpu b.c om g ow Again, let me tell you a personal learning story to illustrate the importance of using the principles of effective experiential learning in the design and delivery of training and development programmes. go we A Learning Story … go we rpu b.c om g ow erp ub .co m My story is set in Sri Lanka. As a young teacher of English, I had been posted to a teacher training college in Sri Lanka, to work on curriculum development, lecture on educational methodology and improve the quality of written and spoken English for adult students in training as teachers. Part of my responsibility was to supervise the planning and delivery of lessons during teaching practice – a period of classroom teaching in local schools in which the trainees gained experience and during which their performance was monitored and assessed. go we rp ub .co m My initial approach was straightforward: work with my trainees to identify some best practice teaching methods, select the learning goals and learning points, show them how to make the lessons engaging and interactive, prepare visual aids … and deliver great lessons. go we rpu b.c om g ow erp ub .co m The initial response to my early lesson planning ideas was polite but unenthusiastic. My students muttered that my ideas would not be very successful. Why not? Initially, they were cautious in their criticism but gradually the truth emerged. I did not understand the working environment, nor did I have the experience the students had of the culture, expectations and history of the pupils. Had I forgotten that in the monsoon season, the classrooms would be noisy from the rain driving onto the metal roof? Children could barely hear the teacher, never mind each other! And, by the way, there would be frequent power cuts so we may have to work in the dark. As for visual aids – where were we to get paper from? Visual aids had to be prepared from © Copyrighted Material 11 Why are Patterns so Important in the Facilitation of Learning? © Copyrighted Material b.c om g ow erp ub .co m carefully retained breakfast cereal packets and paper bags. Children shared chairs, desks and books. There might be 90 children in a shared classroom. The children expected to work in a teacher-directed way: chanting vocabulary and grammatical constructions. They were not used to responding to questions that required them to think – only to questions that elicited pre-learned and memorised responses. The list of concerns went on. om g ow erp ub .co m go we rpu My students wanted me to tell them how to teach – but when I did, it didn’t fit with their existing mental patterns of a primary school English lesson. I wanted them to learn for themselves how to teach – but I didn’t bring the depth of previous experience and cultural awareness to make my suggestions appropriate for the school context. Neither did I recognise the uncomfortable position I was putting my students in: the behavioural patterns they recognised and valued meant that they did not expect to challenge anything I, as the external expert and professional, said. How could they therefore tell me I was wrong? ub .co m go we rpu b.c Our solution was a joint one. Working with a group of 6–8 students, we engaged in co-operative, problem-solving learning. We identified the problems we faced and the learning objectives we wanted to achieve. We proposed ideas, challenged each other, evaluated our resources, options and finally selected learning activities and methods we believed would work. go we rpu b.c om g ow erp We then moved into the experiential learning cycle. The students took the activities they had prepared into the classrooms and tried them out. Immediately afterwards, I met with the students to reflect on the results. We reviewed and discussed their experiences. What effect did the lessons have? What were the responses of the children? What worked well and what didn’t? What did the children enjoy and what helped them to retain their learning? g ow erp ub .co m Following the review period we spent time exploring our conclusions. Something we had been confident about failed to engage the children. What did we understand about why that happened? Something unexpected or accidental got a great reaction. Why? What could we learn from that? go we rpu b.c om The students then took the decisions from these discussions, the concepts and theories they had developed together, and applied them in the next set of lessons. So began a new learning process. © Copyrighted Material 12 Pattern Making, Pattern Breaking © Copyrighted Material erp ub .co m By the end of eight weeks, the students were running their own planning and review meetings. My role had become that of coach, facilitator and when required, technical expert – usually to arbitrate in disputes over the use of the English language! erp ub .co m g ow Without knowing it, as a young teacher I was facilitating learning as I took my students through a series of experiential learning cycles. I was also going through the experiential learning process myself as I came to understand how to work with the students. go we rpu b.c om g ow So what, exactly, was happening on the college balcony during those hot, damp, tropical evenings in a hill town in Sri Lanka? We were applying, stepby-step, one of the basic models of adult learning: the methodology by which adults learn from experience and integrate that learning into their existing theoretical patterns. ub .co m go we rpu b.c om g ow erp ub .co m David Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle is one of the best known and most widely used models to explain how adults make sense of accidental and structured experiences. Having developed the model over many years, Kolb published his learning styles model in 1984. The model gave rise to related terms such as Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory (ELT), and Kolb’s Learning Styles Inventory (LSI). In his publications – notably his 1984 book Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development – Kolb acknowledges the early work on experiential learning by others in the 1900s, including Rogers, Jung, and Piaget. In turn, Kolb’s learning styles model and experiential learning theories are acknowledged today by academics, teachers, managers and trainers as fundamental concepts in helping others to learn. go we rp There are four stages in experiential learning. Experiencing is the first stage in which the learner acts with intention or experiences something happening to them. This can be a structured experience (a project at work, for example) or an unplanned experience (experiencing an unexpected outburst of anger from a colleague or finding oneself in the middle of an unexpected problem). Experience usually involves immersion: go we rpu b.c om g ow erp ub .co m 1. Kolb, D. 1984. Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. © Copyrighted Material 13 Why are Patterns so Important in the Facilitation of Learning? © Copyrighted Material .co m in the act of doing, the participant may be so focused on the task at hand that objective reflection is impossible. Reflection involves stepping back from task involvement and reviewing what has been done and experienced. The skills of attending, noticing differences and describing results help to identify subtle patterns and communicate them clearly to others. One’s own existing patterns (values, attitudes, values, beliefs) influence what is observed, differentiated and reported and language patterns are also important, since without words, it is difficult to verbalise and discuss perceptions. 3. Conceptualisation involves interpreting the events that have been noticed and understanding the relationships among them. It is at this stage that theory may be particularly helpful as a template for framing and explaining events. One’s paradigm again influences the interpretive range a person is willing to entertain. 4. Planning takes the new understanding and translates it into predictions about what is likely to happen next or what actions should be taken to refine the way that future experiences are managed. om g ow erp ub .co m go we rpu b.c om g ow erp ub .co m g ow erp ub 2. go we rpu b.c This model fits closely with the training and learning responsibilities I have been describing. ub .co m Step 1 of the cycle allows demonstration of current behaviour: familiar, well-established patterns are applied into new situations. .co m go we rp Step 2 considers the success and relevance of those patterns, beginning to discriminate between effective and ineffective ones. These first two steps are about pattern-recognition. b.c om g ow erp ub Step 3 asks the learner to understand the patterns: where they have come from, why they may need to be changed, what the changes might be. It is an evaluative, analytical stage in which old patterns begin to break and new ones are made available for consideration go we rpu Step 4 is the pattern-making stage in which new ways of dealing with the world are applied, strengthened and refined. Successful patterns are fixed, © Copyrighted Material 14 Pattern Making, Pattern Breaking © Copyrighted Material .co m through repetition and reinforcement and gradually they replace the out-dated patterns. ow erp ub In this work, I intend to use the terminology ‘experiential learning’ to mean om g ow erp u b.c om g The process of engaging in an experience, with awareness and intention, so that, with reflection and observation, personal conclusions can be drawn and understanding developed. That conceptual understanding can then be applied in new experiences and the learning cycle continued. erp ub .co m go we rpu b.c Using personal experience is crucial to pattern making and pattern breaking. However, an experiential learning model alone is not enough. As a result of their learning experience and personal learning style, learners may need other support. This may come in the form of coaching, mentoring, reading and research into theory, demonstration, instruction … all of which give the learner further opportunities to develop. m go we rpu b.c om g ow Experiential learning methods do not replace other forms of learning. However, when combined with other best-practice methodologies such as problem-solving, co-operative and generative learning, they offer a good chance of learners experiencing training that supports them in breaking and making patterns. ub .co What Does This Mean for the Trainer? .co m go we rp What are the implications of this for the trainer? Working on the premise that the trainer is supporting learners in pattern-breaking, pattern-making activity, the trainer must be flexible enough to take on a number of roles. go we rpu b.c om g ow erp ub At one end of a spectrum, the trainer may be the focal point in the group, supplying information, presenting and explaining theory and passing on proven expertise. At the other end of the same scale, the trainer may become a process facilitator, an expert in the art of not knowing, who guides process but never determines the content or conclusions that the learners will create. Somewhere in the middle are the techniques that most successful trainers will adopt and move between: coaching, questioning, criticising, challenging and encouraging © Copyrighted Material 15 Why are Patterns so Important in the Facilitation of Learning? © Copyrighted Material .co m learners to make sense of the learning situations and environments they find themselves in. erp ub The facilitator needs to be able to: Establish and maintain an appropriate climate – supportive of individual and group learning. • Clearly identify the objectives for the session: exploring the areas in which learning is available. • Respond to the needs of the group and be prepared to adapt or change the scheduled programme if the group needs to work on other issues or follow unexpected leads. • Support the learning of the group but be clear that the responsibility for learning lies with the group members. • Model appropriate behaviour so that the participants see evidence of both good professional practice and personal integrity: the facilitator ‘walking the talk’. .co m go we rpu b.c om g ow erp ub .co m go we rpu b.c om g ow • b.c om g ow erp ub Really effective trainers – whether they be the IT trainer teaching computer skills described earlier or a process consultant working with a senior team on a problem-solving process – demonstrate three core skills; sensitivity, diagnostic ability and action skill. erp ub .co m go we rpu A good facilitator uses sensitivity, observation and listening to help learners to recognise past and current patterns. This information is reflected back to the learners in the form of feedback which helps them to develop their selfawareness and to decide for themselves whether the patterns described are familiar, appropriate and important. go we rpu b.c om g ow Using observation and awareness, and checking reactions and responses, the facilitator works with the learner to diagnose the most significant issues. Much of this is done by reflecting back what is heard or seen and asking for clarification, summary and a consideration of the effects. (When facilitating exercises rather than real workplace groups, what is seen in the exercise may be checked against what happens in the workplace.) This diagnosis may be of symptoms that are relatively simple to address, for example, © Copyrighted Material 16 Pattern Making, Pattern Breaking .co erp ub ‘I notice that you are struggling with questions relating to this particular topic on our curriculum, which I agree can be confusing, and that you do not sound confident when challenged to provide evidence. Is this an area you need to revise?’ m © Copyrighted Material b.c om g ow or it may be a diagnosis of something more complex and long-term, for example, b.c om g ow erp u ‘I have observed a pattern of behaviour developing in your relationship with your boss, in which you justify your position and decisions in a way that sounds quite aggressive. Is this something you are aware of and is it potentially a problem for you?’ ub .co m go we rpu Drawing on the experience, understanding and motivation of the learner, the facilitator provides a framework, usually through structured questions, which enables the participants to plan their next course of action and establish how to apply their new learning. om g ow erp Learners often know the answers to many of their own dilemmas: the facilitator needs to provide the focus and the structure that allows participants to access their own knowledge and experience. go we rp ub .co m go we rpu b.c Whilst the responsibility for learning lies with the learner, this does not absolve the trainer or facilitator from carrying responsibility too! Whatever type of training they are engaged in, trainers are responsible for the creation of a supportive learning environment. This obviously includes the physical environment – few people learn well if they are uncomfortable, cramped, too hot or working with inadequate resources – but more important is the learning culture that is created by the trainer. go we rpu b.c om g ow erp ub .co m The facilitation of successful learning means establishing informal, relaxed relationships within the learning group and between the learning group and the facilitator. This in turn means developing a cohesive group which is effective in managing process issues. (I focus on groups here, as this is generally the learning context for organisational learning: action learning sets, study groups, workshop cohorts, and so on. However, I also recognise that increasingly these groups are virtual, connected via internet or intranet, in discussion groups or in virtual worlds. I will address some of the implications of this in later chapters.) Learning methods need to support the development of effective group processes since the group itself is the major learning vehicle. Flexibility in developing © Copyrighted Material 17 Why are Patterns so Important in the Facilitation of Learning? © Copyrighted Material .co m relationships and in using learning methods is also critical. Plans have to be capable of adaptation to meet changing circumstances and demands. go we rpu b.c om g ow erp ub With these things firmly in mind, trainers must not be afraid of taking on a facilitation role. The skills can be practised in one-to-one discussion, in chairing meetings, in running a team planning session, in reviewing work activities – many of the things that trainers and managers do every day of their lives. The key to success is to keep the focus off the facilitator and on the learners. The less the learners are aware of your presence, the more likely you are to be doing a great job of facilitation! rpu b.c om g ow erp ub .co m Over 30 years of using a wide variety of learning methods and techniques I have learned a series of lessons that work for me and the adult learners I work with. The following chapters of this book have been written to offer trainers some of my experience in the hope that they will aspire to develop their skills in the design and delivery of active and engaging learning programmes that will support learners in pattern breaking and pattern making. go we Summary Learning is about the creation of new patterns of thinking and doing, that can be integrated into an existing set of successful patterns. • Learning may require the breaking of out-dated, unproductive or stressful patterns that limit potential and achievement. • Pattern making is a strong human driver: the desire to make patterns can support learning if it is used effectively by learning professionals. • Facilitated experiential learning activities can help learners to recognise, identify, challenge, break and re-form their own patterns. Excellent facilitation supports this process by leading learners through a structured learning process in which they experience, reflect, conceptualise and apply new patterns. go we rpu b.c om • g ow erp ub .co m go we rpu b.c om g ow erp ub .co m • © Copyrighted Material 18 Pattern Making, Pattern Breaking © Copyrighted Material This type of facilitation requires a shift in the role of the trainer or instructor and is challenging in asking the trainer to let go of some power and assumed expertise. • To become a great facilitator demands three core skills: sensitivity, diagnostic ability and a drive for action. • With some effort, anyone can learn these skills! go we rpu b.c om g ow erp ub .co m go we rp ub .co m go we rpu b.c om g ow erp ub .co m go we rpu b.c om g ow erp ub .co m g ow erp ub .co m • © Copyrighted Material