An article in CLO magazine describes what it takes to make learning stick in the workforce.  As financial belts are tightened across the nation, it is important to evaluate each department and their measurable contribution to the workplace.  The question addressed in this specific article looks at the effectiveness or potential effectiveness of learning and development departments.  Are our people learning specific tools to help increase productivity?  Are our people being trained to work most effeciently?  How are our training sessions being assessed to determine these things?  Effective L&D departments can easily answer these questions but there are some key factors that help.

L&D doesn't happen in a bubble.  Training ought to be directly and clearly related to an individual's expected role.  The public schools are famous for making teachers of all disciplines sit through a training that doesn't effect their classroom.  Sure it may be good information, but wouldn't their time be better spent elsewhere?  Employers and trainers need to constantly evaluate their audience to make sure that learning is relevant, important, and useful. 

Follow-up is another key.  You can't introduce something new, expound on it, and then just expect everyone to jump in.  You must set up clear expectations for implementation and accountability for application.  When can we realistically expect our people to begin using this new tool?  Are our people really using this new tool like they ought?  Without these guidelines, implementation will be indefinitely delayed and your training resources will be wasted. 

When designing your next learning program, decide whether learning is worth it to the audience and then up the stakes if the current plan falls short. 

Brazil's education system is terrible.  It's been that way for years.  But it is improving, slowly but surely.  According to the NY Times, under the guidance of Brazil's president, Mr. da Silva, education has become the administration's focus.  Unfortunately, instead of support and encouragement there seems to be a lot of criticism among the educated elite in Brazil.  Mr. da Silva is accused of not starting education reform soon enough in his term and of piting the uneducated against the educated.

Mr. da Silva needs a break.  According to the article, his highest level of education was the fourth grade.  And the fourth grade in a country that is said to have the lowest performing grade schools in the world.  During his years of formal education, all four of them, I'm sure Mr. da Silva was able to make profound observations about the needs and issues that faces his country's schools.  Perhaps, Mr. da Silva didn't begin his work on the education system until later in his term so he could complete some research, observation, and be prepared to make sensible, efective changes.  

Clearly Mr. da Silva is educated enough to run a country successfully for a seven year term, does he still need to be identified as uneducated after that kind of self-establishment?  People are so quick to judge folks who haven't attained advanced degrees.  'They're uneducated', 'they're backwards', 'they're blue collar material only', people say.  But there is a lot to be learned about this world that you can't get in a classroom.  Obviously, Mr. da Silva learned enough taking the "uneducated" route to out-smart some the more qualified candidates for president.  It takes time, Brazil, to overhaul an entire system that has been dysfunctional for, well, forever. 

According to the NY Times, the U.S. Dept. of Education is attempting to overhaul the archaic and ineffective system of standardized tests as we know them.  Currently, students spend hours and hours filling in small bubbles or squares on a computer-friendly answer sheet to assess their progress in various subjects.  Although the system is known to be flawed, educators are required to administer these tests so that each state has a method of measuring student achievement. 

Reportedly, educators across the country are working collaboratively to create an alternative assessment system.  The Times article indicates that technology will be the main format.  Students will take computerized tests that vary in form and format.  These new tests will produce nearly instant results, providing teachers and students necessary feedback for improvement, something that is lacking in the current system. 

As an educator, I am encouraged to hear that our students will not be subjected to bubble sheets for much longer.  However, as with the standardized tests on today, there is much risk involved in trying to evaluate and assess student achievement in every discipline in a like manner.  I'm not sure that computer-based testing will allieviate the issues that today's students face.  Students need the opportunity to display their knowledge in a variety of formats, just as they have learned it and just as they will need to apply it in real life.  Assessments should be created with the subject, instructional goals, and student ability in mind.  I'm just not sure that any mass-produced, mass-implemented assessment tool will really capture the achievement of each individual student. 

Difficult economic times, high unemployment, expensive education, increased prices on everything, etc.  Sound familiar?  People are seeing, feeling, and experiencing all of this and more right now across the country.  Companies are experiencing lay-offs and hiring freezes, education is dealing with enormous budget cuts and shortfalls, and consumers are so concerned about their finances that spending is being held to a minimum.  So what is a person, who wants a job, is skilled, and offers incredible potential, to do?

Perhaps the answer is as simple as "just do it".  According to the NY Times, entrepreneurial training and education is on the rise.  Hoping to find a consumer need and address it, go-getters are starting their own businesses despite the economic environment.  A few years ago, it was easy to start a business and be, at least, mildly successful.  You didn't even really need to focus on a consumer need so long as the product was appealing enough, your business could be a hit.  Now, however, it is important to focus on a consumer need to insure the success and longevity of a new business. 

Certainly the "just do it" mentality requires planning and organization to solidify success but part of the entrepreneur's asset is going for it when no one else can see the vision.  Discouragement is a concern but the entrepreneur must focus on the task at hand.  Being of clear mind and focus will strengthen the chances for success.  Essentially, our country is built on the entrepreneur's dreams so why not continue the tradition?

Have you ever met someone who thinks they are smarter than everyone else in the civilized world?  These people tend to project an arrogance and pride that leaves you with, at best, dislike, or at worst, disgust for them personally or their agenda.  Some folks like to play the word game.  You know the type- they take the most accurate sentence and common interpretation of something and present it as false by adjusting a word or emphasis.  Semantics.  Again, the audience is left feeling frustrated.  This is not what an educator wants to achieve.  Learning will not take place in kind of environment.

Educators are expected to be fully knowledgeable in their fields but they are much better recieved when they present the material with humility.  All people have the capacity, and I would say, tendency to make errors.  While the know-it-all will try to play it off or manipulate the situation to appear right, the humble educator will admit their mistakes, correct them, and move on...and move on with the respect of their audience.  When the audience is made to feel inferior the tendency is to shut down and protect.  If an educator hopes to encourage growth and learning, the recipient must be open and ready to change.

This isn't scientific theory and I don't have any websites to support my claims (though I'm sure they exist) but I do have plenty of personal experience to know that the know-it-all personality really grates on my nerves.  Folks don't feel comfortable questioning a know-it-all.  Folks don't really trust that anyone can know it all so they doubt that the person knows anything at all.  Folks don't appreciate being made to feel inferior.  Educators won't be successful with this kind of mentality.  Find some humility and admit your deficit of knowledge. 

The economy is in rough shape, but that's no surprise.  Many folks are considering a major career switch to help them in this financially troubling time.  The New York Times suggests some things to consider before jumping ship.  Click here to read their suggestions.  The best advice I've heard is "if you have a job, then don't quit it until you have secured another one".  Job jumping is not as easy as it once was.  Companies have issued hiring freezes or have laid-off handfuls of employees.  So, if you have a job, no matter how miserable you are, don't quit until another one is a sure thing.

More advice from the marginally employeed?  Take advantage of employer training and certificate programs.  Even if it means you will owe the company time after completion, it is usually worth it to have someone else pay you to go to school while also paying you to work.  Makes sense, right?  Many employees are generous with tuition reimbursement or financial compensation for credits earned.  Check into these options before registering for classes on your own.

There are still some professions that are finding it difficult to fill with qualified workers.  Check around to see if there are some in the same or similar fields that interest you.  Programs may exist where the government or private instituions may pay for your schooling.  Don't rush into making the switch because times are desperate.  Take the time to make a wise decision.     

Can a teacher's merit really be judged by statistics and numbers?  Education Secretary, Arne Duncan, seems to think so.  In a recent Washington Post article he is quoted as saying "In other fields, we talk about success constantly, with statistics and other measures to prove it" in reference to teacher quality and the measurement thereof.  There are many problems with this thought process as I see it. 

First, the statistics used to measure teacher success are primarily based on standardized test performance by students.  What's wrong with that you ask?  Well, for starters those tests are not a national standard so to draw conclusion on a wide scale based on tests that vary greatly from state to state is in error.  In addition, standardized tests have been proved again and again to be skewed and to present an inaccurate representation of student achievement.  Why should a teacher's performance be based on test scores that are not in and of themselves a fair reflection of a student's knowledge growth?

Second, teachers are more than knowledge reproducers- they are life shapers.  I don't think there are quantifiable means to assess the impact one individual has on another.  Some teachers represent a parental figure to their students more so than their actual parent or guardian does.  That's immeasurable.  While a particular teacher's tests scores may not appear to be stellar in comparison to the rest of world, her impact on the students in her classroom may be so profound and significant that those students are never the same again. 

Stats and numbers have their place but I'm pretty sure teacher evaluation isn't one of them.

If I were to become engaged after two weeks and married after five weeks of dating someone, you would think that was a poor decision.  If our military recieved only five weeks of training, we would question our national security and with good reason.  If a biology major took a five week course on cardiology, would you let him operate on your heart?  These scenarios seem ridiculous but there are many teachers starting this school years with only five weeks of education training.  Are you ready for your children to be under their "tutelage"?

Teach for America is a program that recieves much press, attention, and financial support from our government but I question its methods.  The Washington Post is reporting on new TFA recruits.  Read the article here.  TFA maintains that their college graduates, with five weeks of intense training, are fully prepared for the classroom and all the challenges that go with it.  I have had the experience of working with several TFA teachers.  The impact: less than stunning.  One TFA teacher, for example, was hired to teach Spanish at the high school level even though she only minored in the subject in college and did NOT have a spoken fluency of the language.  Another, hired to teach English, was a drama major and though she was a very talented performer, had no clue about grammar. 

I think that TFA tries too hard to make people into what they are not, or at least, into what they have not previously desired to become.  If I decide, upon my college graduation, that I want to be a commercial pilot the consumer has a right to demand sufficient training and behind the "wheel" experience.  Seriously, you can't even get your driver's license with only five weeks of training, yet we are going to allow 21 year olds with little to no classroom experience and only five weeks of training teach our children.  I don't think so. 

An article in the New York Times discusses a growing trend of holding back children from kindergarten to give them percieved advantages later in their academic careers.  Click here to read the article for yourself.  Reportedly, more and more parents are holding their children back from their slotted start-date so that they will be the biggest, most prepared students rather than the smallest, not-ready students.  There are critics out there that will debate both sides of this issue.  I'm one of them.

Certainly no parent wants their kid to be the victim of teasing or ridicule due to their size or maturity, so, understandably, some parents hold their children back from kindergarten.  Worried about self-esteem issues and others that go hand-in-hand, parents make a choice.  I'm not sure if this motivation is always the right one, though.  There is no guarantee that states your child will grow or progress to the desired level during the next year.  Sometimes it is being around children who are more mature that helps others to "catch on". 

Other parents hold their children back because, developmentally, they may be behind.  While I understand this reasoning, too, there is no guarantee that their development will either speed up or slow down to match the continual change within the peer-body.  It is a hard thing to predict.  While they may be slow by today's appearances, tomorrow that same child may seem light-years ahead because, in reality, they are. 

It is a difficult thing to decide, but I think it must be done with the child's best academic interests in mind.  Like potty training a toddler, timing is everything.  Make sure it is the right time for each individual child. 

I am not a technology expert by any stretch of the imagination but I do enjoy using tools that truly simplify my life.  In the classroom, I really enjoyed using the SMART board technology when it suited the lesson.  At home, I love being able to download episodes of my favorite television shows sans commercials.  So as I read through an article in the New York Times about the SmartPen, I thought of the legitimate uses a student might enjoy.  And the list was impressive.

Students are not known for their ability to multitask or focus during distractions.  With this little piece of technology, however, students are able to capture hand-written notes as well as lecture notes simultaneously.  We've all seen or experienced first hand the professor who writes his lecture notes with one hand while erasing with the other while speaking uninterrupted on the topic in detail.  Frantic students struggle to retain even a portion of the disseminated information in an environment like that.  With the Smartpen, however, the student can focus solely on capturing the written word while the pen captures the spoken word. 

The author of the article in the Times suggested that this piece of technology actually will help educators maintain the focus and attention of their students because, unlike with laptops or other portable devices, this little gem is designed specifically for note taking.  Although some would see that as a limiting factor, it actually helps sell the product in my mind.  If the manufacturers are focusing on one purpose that means that they can afford to spend ample time prefecting its use.  According to the article the SmartPen works and works well.