Skill Building Comes from Active Instruction, Not Passive Information
Even When Remote, Making Development Outcomes Sticky Still Takes Activity
By Steve Johnson
The forced experience of the COVID 19 nationwide quarantine is clearly getting organizations to re-think what “going to work” means. You’ve probably already had some visceral reaction to the fact that working remotely is going to feel more regular than ever.
“Zoom fatigue” already is a ubiquitous malady and hampers engagement even during short meetings. Subsequently, every organization needs to re-think how it will provide leadership development opportunities when staff is consistently scattered.
However, organizations still need to invest the time in activity-focused development programs to get outcomes that stick.
Studies1 consistently show to get real step-changes in cognitive outcomes, programming needs to be actively instructional versus passively informational. Instructional content is designed with the intention of being consumed, assimilated, and acted upon in a way that enhances performance and changes behavior. Informational content, like webinars and lunch-and-learns – don’t allow for the engagement – the connection – that drives competency building.
A half day or full day is a long time to sit in front of a monitor if content isn’t well designed. Inoculating against sensory adaptation is a major design challenge. Shifting mechanisms – lecture, video, whiteboards, Q&A, exercises – or using “pause procedure”2,3 keeps things uneven and resets attention spans.
Most important among these are the exercises. These provide the opportunity for full engagement while putting the new or refreshed skills to use. Connecting muscle memory and immediate course correction is critical to making step-changes in performance. This is what separates instructional programming from informational programming – the active from the passive.
In our case, we ask participants to develop content and then perform various communications models. Instead of simply explaining how to best manage Q&A, participants experience how to manage the room, refocus the content and employ visual and vocal tools. With the performance comes feedback to interpret and adjust messenger characteristics. The continuing evolution of technologies available allow even remote participants to see and hear their efforts …again, driving step-changes in performance.
Another design strategy is frequently shifting activities and delivery mechanisms. For 1-on-1 or 1-on-2 coaching, the activity needs to change every eight minutes or so. For larger groups, that activity needs to change every four minutes. This consistent shifting maintains engagement, and the pause procedure allows time for reflection and digestion of the content.
Finally, using multiple instructors – when possible – ensures participants get a change in vocal tonality and personality. If an instructor becomes background hum, the purpose of the course has degenerated to zero. I’ve been on those webinars. I’ve sat in those meetings. I’ve been a lost participant.
As we all adjust to the new working environment, organizations should continue offering leadership programs that have a real impact on performance. Even when remote, organizations need to invest in activity-focused development programs to get outcomes that stick.
1 Norbert Michel, John James Cater III ,Otmar Varela (2009) Active versus passive teaching styles: An empirical study of student learning outcomes, Human Resource Development Quarterly, DOI 10.1002/hrdq.20025
2 Di Vesta, Francis J.; Smith, Deborah A. (1979) The Pausing Principle: Increasing the Efficiency of Memory for Ongoing Events, Contemporary Educational Psychology, v4 n3 p288-96
3 Rachna Bachhelcorresponding and Richa Ghay Thaman (2014) Effective Use of Pause Procedure to Enhance Student Engagement and Learning, Journal odf Clinical & Diagnostic Research, DOI 10.7860/JCDR/2014/8260.4691