We have a secret to share with you.

People want to be respected.

When you involve people and ask them to share not only their knowledge but also their ideas, insights, and life experiences with one another, they naturally take ownership of the training activity. They become dedicated to seeing the training event succeed because it then becomes not just your training event or the organization's training event, but rather "our" training event.

They also remember the information that is given because they discuss it and interact with it. They make immediate plans for applying it to the workplace and design their own procedures or adapt recommended procedures so they fit seamlessly within their organization.

They also train one another and hold each other accountable; not because they "have" to but because they want to see what they have created being used and being successful.

We have developed a new model for facilitating this type of learning and training. It is called:

Solomon's Facilitative Model™

Definition:

A model for impacting adult learners which involves participants with activities and discussions designed to draw out their experiences in order to solve problems and make application of new content and skills to the workplace.

Rationale:

This model is designed to meet the four needs of adult learners as defined by Knowles’ 4 Principles of Andragogy which are:

  • Adults want to be involved in the planning and evaluation of their learning
  • Adults are problem-centered rather than content centered
  • Adults want immediate relevance to their job or personal life
  • Adults need to use their experience as the basis for the learning process

The 5 Principles:

  1. Establishing the Workplace Goal

The goal of all professional development activities designed with the use of Solomon’s Facilitative Model™ is to show people what they need to DO in the workplace. This is called the Workplace Goal. It is in stark contrast to other models of professional development which emphasize what people are to KNOW in order to succeed in the workplace.

  1. Establishing the Training Goals

The Workplace Goal is broken down into small chunks of information and skills to be learned, practiced, and mastered. These small chunks create the Training Goals upon which the training activities are centered.

  1. Designing Activities and Discussions

Training Goals are accomplished through the use of structured activities and discussions which are designed based on the following 4 Means of Impacting Adult Learners.

  • Presenting - Whetting the participants’ appetite for learning through the use of structured activities and discussions so there is an internal desire to learn the concept or skill. This activates the Affective Domain.
  • Instructing – Teaching new concepts and skills using visual aids, pneumonics, demonstration and other techniques to help participants remember and internalize the information. This activates the Cognitive Domain.
  • Training – Helping participants DO what is needed in the workplace by demonstrating the skill, asking them to practice with you, and then asking them to do it for themselves (I DO, we DO, you DO). This activates the Psychomotor Domain.
  • Tooling – Giving resources and tools to use back in the workplace so participants can continue to practice and apply the knowledge and skills they have acquired.

  1. Facilitating the Event

The person in charge of the training event guides participants and helps them complete the structured activities and discussions. This provides continuous engagement, allows the best solutions and procedures to be formulated based on the participants’ cumulative wisdom, and causes people to take ownership of the training  session.

  1. Evaluating the Event

The event is evaluated on the ability of the participants to demonstrate the Workplace Goal and the Training Goals. This is done by measuring the effort to take further action after a presentation, retention of the knowledge given during instruction, mastery of the skills that were trained, and/or competent use of the tools given.

Techniques:

Use of Structured Discussions and Well Designed Activities:

The use of discussions and activities are central to Solomon’s Facilitative Model™. They are interactive but also purposeful and designed with the express intent of meeting the Workplace and Professional Development Event Goals.

Emphasis on Facilitation

All activities designed using Solomon’s Workplace Model™ are facilitated with the intent of pulling out of people their work and life experiences as well as their knowledge on a particular subject. This is in contrast to other models of professional development which seek only to push content. Therefore, facilitation is not contrived but a seemingly effortless means of engaging employees and arriving at the best solution to workplace problems and needs.

Holistic Professional Development

In order to meet the Workplace Goal and Professional Development Event Goals, all 4 Means of Impacting Adult Learners (Presenting, Instructing, Training, and Tooling) need to be practiced and built into the design of activities. This is based on the belief that the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains must all be activated to ensure application and retention in the workplace.