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What's in it for me? That sounds so selfish! But it's how we prioritise. We do it every day - all the time. Whether it's a conscious decision or not; we always decide to do things on the basis of whether we think it's going to good for us or good for something/someone that we are linked to.
That's why it is so important that we ensure the learning experiences we design are absolutely explicit about what learners will get out of it, and what's expected of them.
Learning designers (and I include teachers in this group) like to work with objectives. It's what we've been trained to do. They set the boundaries and the reasons for designing a particular learning experience.
We assume that learners will like objectives just as much as we do. So we copy them onto the board at the beginning of lessons, or put them in our course catalogues. How much does that really set the learners' expectations? Does that give them enough so they know (really know) what's in it for them?
I've mentioned the Manager Tools team before. I was listening to their recent show about their forthcoming conference. I can't go - it's in Texas. But here's what I know about it already:
- It's two days long
- It's in September
- Only 100 people will be able to attend
- It will be an intensive two days
- The last conference was a life-changing experience for many people (based on the comments on the forum)
- The days will be very long (compared to the UK - where people expect to start around 10am and finish about 3:30pm)
- There will be lots of opportunity to get all my questions answered by an expert in management
- I know he's an expert from listening to the other shows, and seeing the answers to questions on the forum
- The sessions will take the ideas already discussed on other shows, and help me to apply them in practice
- I will be expected to practice the skills discussed
- There will be lots of practice
- There will be coaches sitting in on the practice sessions to help me develop
- There will be breaks every hour
- I will make lots of contacts
- I will be able to follow up on the forum afterwards
So, at this point, I already know far more about this event and what I'll get out of it than any other formal learning experience I've had.
I've not just got a list of objectives and speaker biographies. I know exactly what it's going to be like.
I can make a proper decision whether to invest my time/money/effort in attending. If it was in the UK, I could certainly argue the business case for it now.
3 comments
D’you think perhaps that the reason kids almost inevitably fall out of love with school is that they can’t see WIIFM in the national curriculum?
They only have the teachers’ (and possibly their parents’) word for it that all this stuff is going to be useful when they grow up. Do you remember asking what the point was of some of the stuff you learned at school? I certainly did! And my kids do the same. We often wind up tracking down examples of the practical application of some or other new skill/discipline/piece of content.
So how do we go about addressing that disconnect more effectively than the ad hoc, often ineffectual efforts of those parents who can be bothered? How do we show them evidence of the usefulness of what they’re learning? And, lastly, hypothetically and most controversially - how much of the curriculum would survive the introduction of such a requirement?
> What’s in it for me? That sounds so selfish! But it’s how we prioritise.
No it isn’t. Certainly not always. I know people, for example, who try to learn things in order to help other people.
They ask things like, “Does this work,” “Will this do any good,” or “Is this a good use of time and/or money?”
Some people may be driven by selfishness. But the majority are not.
Thanks for the comment Stephen. I looks like I didn’t make myself clear enough…
I went on to say: “we always decide to do things on the basis of whether we think it’s going to good for us or good for something/someone that we are linked to.”
So, when I say, “what’s in it for me?” I mean for the people, organisations, ideas that I think are important.
