2. Taking Care of Business: Addressing Individual Differences… Gary J. Conti

3. State of Education… §Many questions and issues §Central question: l What can we do to improve learning?

4. Will Rogers… §If advertisers spent the same amount of money on improving their products as they do on advertising, §Then they wouldn't have to advertise them.

5. Learning is Natural… §Learning is what makes humans superior §Occurs naturally l For children l In adulthood §Why do “schools” have trouble? §Why do we have trouble “facilitating” learning?

6. Thinking Differently… §Take the blinders off §Learning Principles l Not just for “teachers” l All partners in same enterprise l Just different roles

7. Adult Learning Theory… §Twin pillars l Andragogy l Self-Directed Learning §Learner-Centered l Meaning of experiences l Reflection §Focus on Individual Differences

8. Basic Principles §Self-directed l Learning climate l Diagnosis of needs l Involvement in planning §Experience l Prior experiences l Practical application §Readiness to learn l Related to social roles §Orientation to learn l Time perspective l Problem centered §Motivation is internal §Need to know why learning

9. Our Special Guest… §To help us understand individual differences §To provide insights for us…

10. Let’s Shake Things Up… §What happens when you find something you love?

11. Elvis Advises… §What are Elvis’ thoughts on why we should pay attention to individual differences? l What happens if we don’t focus on the individual? l Might people look at things differently?

12. Individual Differences… §Why does Elvis think we should pay attention to individual differences?

13. ATLAS §ATL AS §Assessing The Learning Strategies of AdultS §Places person in category §User friendly §Flow-chart design §Let’s take ATLAS…

14. ATLAS has… §3 groups l Navigators l Problem Solvers l Engagers §Let’s look in detail at each group…

15. Elvis Advises… §What is Elvis’ plan for the problem that he has? l Does he have a clear plan? l What does Elvis do if his plan does not work?

16. Planning… §What is Elvis’ plan for the problem that he has?

17. Navigators §Demand for Order and Structure l Like structure and are highly organized l Want schedules and deadlines l Use many organizational tools l Want learning objectives and expectations l Want control of their learning plan l Set up plan and stick with it; will clarify things three times §Logic-Oriented l Results oriented l Emotions not important for learning l Separate the learning message from the messenger l Do not waste their time §Objective l Do not like group discussions or group work l Hate slackers l Prefer clear final results l Prefer formal evaluation §Perfectionist l Seek perfection l Trial-and-error means made a mistake l Lack conditional acceptance l Demand much of themselves l Hyper-critical of errors §Motto l Plan the work; work the plan Efficiency and Effectiveness

18. Elvis Advises… §What does Elvis have to tell us about having alternatives? l Are dreams (alternatives) okay? l What should you do with your dreams?

19. Generating Alternatives… §What does Elvis have to tell us about having alternatives?

20. Problem Solvers §Constantly Seeking Alternatives l Open minded to learning possibilities l Difficulty making decisions l Procrastination because it allows thinking to continue l Prefer open-ended evaluations l Ongoing modification l Trial-and-error means an experiment for generating more alternatives §Creative Solutions l Curious; inventive; intuitive l Love to explore ideas l Do it their own way l Do not respond well to rigidity l Do not try to force them to do it your way l Learning is an adventure for them §Deal with Ideas l Like to think things through l Confident in abilities l Abstract thinkers l Do not interrupt; hard time starting again l Often think and deal in terms of symbols §Storytellers l Descriptive and detailed in answers l Use many examples l Add delightful details to stories l The process of telling the story is the important thing l Competition of the story not important §Motto: Ask them what time it is, and they will build you a clock Generating Alternatives

21. Elvis Advises… §What does Elvis have to tell us about the importance of relationships? l What are the best ones? l Should they be acknowledged?

22. Relationships… §What does Elvis have to tell us about the importance of relationships?

23. Engagers §Feelings are the Key l Learning must be Fun! l Emotional; passionate; use feeling words l Hard time separating themselves from their work l Their work is a reflection of themselves l Not engage if they will not enjoy it enough to be worth the effort §Aura of Excitement l Enthusiastic; excitement l Fully immerse themselves in the learning once they engage l Seek and find joy in the learning process l Delight in new accomplishments l Get bored quickly; so seek to avoid boredom §Means and Not the End l Learner must be actively engaged l Learning has to have meaning l Focus on meeting internal needs rather than external standards l Want teachers to focus on the learning rather than on the evaluation l Want involvement in learning based on their own individual interests §Relationships l Love group work l Want teachers have interest in them l Develop an emotional affinity with the teacher l Share accomplishments with others l Use human resources §Motto: “It is FUN!! Building Relationships with Others

24. Navigators Problem SolversEngagers Symbol for Each Group..

25. What’s the Value... §Learner l Metacognition l Depersonalizes learning l Personal insights §Teacher l Way to identify differences l Use instrument l Use characteristics §Preference for initiating learning §Okay to be wrong l Focus on observations l Compare to theory l Re-adjust §Elvis’ final words on why to use ATLAS…

26. Why ATLAS Works… §Based on extensive research §Builds on two ideas l Metacognition l Instrumented Learning

27. §Thinking about your thinking §Reflect on process you went through l Think about what you did l Self-consciously think about action l Plan new action §Thinking about how you learn Metacognition…

28. Instrumented Learning §Instrument provides data l Discover preferences l Simplify complex issues l Foster self-awareness l Create common language l Appreciate differences §Feedback for individual or team §Instrument completed by: l Self l Others for 360 ̊ feedback

29. §Results presented in context of a particular model such as: l Behavior style l Learning preference l Personality type l Situational factors §Popular with: l Business l Military

30. Learning Strategies… §Metacognition: Knowing about own learning process l Planning l Monitoring l Adjusting §Metamotivation: Awareness of what energizes your learning l Attention l Reward/Enjoyment: l Confidence §Memory: The storage and retrieval of knowledge l Organization l Use of External Aids l Memory Application §Critical Thinking: Reflective thinking process l Testing Assumptions l Generating Alternatives l Conditional Acceptance §Resource Management: Ways to use resources l Identification of Resources l Critical Use of Resources l Use of Human Resources

31. ATLAS Research §Programmatic line of inquiry §42 dissertations §Ways used l To better describe the groups in ATLAS l To test the instrument with groups l As auxiliary tool l Experimental format §Findings l Lack of demographic relationships l Clear description of groups l General distribution of groups l Association with image of organization l Helps learning

32. Relationship to Learning… §Munday (Wendy), Munday (Don)… l Experimental studies l Tested academic gain l Both found significant academic gain l Focus groups §Metacognition l Know how to deal with their own characteristics l Understand others l Aware of more options

34. Implications for… 1.Marketing 2.Staff Development 3.Programming 4.Physical Layout 5.Support Services 6.Class Scheduling 7.Staffing 8.Scheduling 9.Budgeting 10.Institutional Research 11.Recognition Activities 12.Evaluation

35. Get ATLAS… §Online: l w w w.conti-creations.com/start.htm §Paper format l Original colored booklet l 1-page folding copy