Whitewater rafting

My "go-to-the-grave" experience was with a heckler.  This is the example that fits within the classroom setting.  He did not want to take the refresher course, and he showed this by taking every opportunity to cause interruptions, distractions and a flagrant unwillingness to participate in class activities. He consistently voiced how the class was for slow thinkers and slackers.   In my attempt to overcome the situation and engage him on a positive level, I tried to give him  the lead on group projects, and he became a dictator.  I tried to engage him in class discussions, and he would accuse me of not knowing the information and that I needed him to provide it.  Ignoring him only incited him to challenge me.  Accepting the challenge only led him to question and attack my credibility.  The only successful tactic I was able to come up with was to have my class monitored secretly.  He was promptly fired.  But that experience has haunted me because I believe I should have been able to resolve the issue myself.  It has also left a backdrop of doubt about handling hecklers in the future.  I have been told that I am oversensitive because of that previous situation.  I know this to be true when I have had to train and develop (retail) associates.  I immediately and with a heavy hand shut down anyone showing similarities to the previous culprit. 

The other experiences and examples are not so problematic, but I've had learners in a retail settings attempt to undermine my knowledge, experience, and credibility.  I have had associates spread negativity with statements such as "I can do a better job than she can", and "You're not the boss of me."  These situations were not easily resolved, and they took time and effort away from my responsibilities as a manager.  For example, one associate wrote a five-page letter to HR detailing my inability to be a leader.  Of course, this was after I caught and disciplined her for falsifying her time card.  The next associate reported that I hit her, and after my manager talked to me, she reported to him again that I was no longer talking to her.  Both of these situations, in time, were seen as  attempts to have me removed as their manager simply because I brought leadership, adherence to the company policies and swift disciplinary actions.  In the end, I learned how to resolve these issues and concerns without internalizing the personal attacks because these associates would have instigated this type of disorder with anyone of authority. 

Tough Decision

The decision I must make is based on the following three choices:  to stay with the current company in my current position and wait for an opportunity for a training position to come along; apply and accept an entry position with my current company ; or apply and accept a position with a new company.  These choices have several key positive and negative aspects.  I rate on the positive side time to finish school, gain specific company knowledge with my current employer, a better salary, benefits and opportunities to network.  On the negative side there is the loss of opportunity to fully use my skill set, losing out on opportunities to find a training position with another company or loss the of the networking connections already made.  Because there is no way to guarantee that any doors will open to the path I want to take, I can only take the very real steps toward the path I would like to materialize.  So as in the strategy in the text (between steps 4 and 5) suggests, I visualized myself in the future of my preliminary choice.  I know that if I apply and accept the entry level position I know is available with my current company, I would have to commit to one year before I could apply for any other position within the company.  However, I clearly see the pros to this choice; a better salary, benefits, and a good schedule that would not conflict with my schooling. That is very important.  Another two benefits are gaining knowledge of the company’s products, procedures and customers.  This knowledge would give me the foundation I need to be able to apply for a training position.  I’m aware that department trainers are often selected based on their knowledge in a particular business segment of the company.  I’m also aware that team trainers are charged with training the new hires, and they are selected from the business segment teams.  I saw this as a way of getting some training experience within the company.  So when a training position becomes available, I would have current training experience, as well as, specific business segment knowledge, and at least two and a half years of employment history with the company.  The company often hires from within.  Taking all of the aforementioned information into consideration, I believe that the decision to apply and accept an entry level position with my current company would be the best decision to make.  I’m open to opinions, suggestions or ideas, so please feel free to offer them.  Thanks for taking the time to read and consider my decision

Personal Journal 6.12.11

   Over the course of this term I've become aware of many new concepts. The information I read in Learning Styles Perspective has been the most eye opening for me because it seem to speak directly to my natural learning style. I say natural because I didn't choose it, it chose me. The more I read about learning styles the more I understood why I learn the way I learn. This alone gave me a sense of who I am as a learner and how to be a better instructor.
  As a part of this insight I became aware that I have a combination learning style. Primarily an auditory then a visual learner. Now I understand why I read out loud and must break new information into pieces as well as make connections between the parts in order to understand the whole. I just thought I became easily overwhelmed by unfamiliar data. I didn't know that I had to learn new information sequentially, but now I don't feel confused by my own study habits.
   This alone has improved my learning process because I can adjust, with confidence, my learning strategies to enhance my learning. I tried and was successful in suppressing my running commentary. I actually would try to talk out loud to drown out the voice in my head. I was a mess when it came to studying. My time management will also be better because I will incorporate thinking and wait times into my strategy.
   Understanding the components of my learning styles has already helped me, I can fill in any holes I have with concrete and tangible building blocks. I'm so excited to have answers to questions that I honestly didn't know were questions I had about my way of learning. I just thought I had a learning handicap of some sort, so I just worked around it. Not knowing I was just working very hard against myself, making learning a struggle and very difficult. I know I will have to break some really bad habits to be completely successful, but it will be worth it.

Should we adhere to learning style specific?

   As a learner I was always amazed by the arrogance of the instructor! It always seem as though they were never in the position of their students, understanding how it is to balance families, jobs and life around trying to further their education. I don't mean to say that an instructor should allow any and all things, however they should handle situations on a case by case basis. Having that "big head, I'm in charge" attitude helps no one.
  Now that I've got that off my chest, let me address, the argument of adhering too much to learning styles. Any situation can get out of hand if the rules are not established up front. I believe assessing your student's learning style can only serve to foster the learning experience. The student must however have an open mind to be able to adapt their strategy to include other learning styles. I believe a strategy that includes some components of other learning styles does the most good for the learner in the long run. These are also my thoughts for the instructor as well. As an instructor we have to have different ways to explain information to the learner so they hit that AH-HA moment. To be an effective instructor we must adapt to our audience as much as we can, otherwise what is the point of an instructor whose learners don't learn. I have seen examples of instructors who love the subject that they are teaching but are unable to teach the subject. This is truly a loose-loose situation, no one gets anything from this type of relationship. Most often the learner has an immediate loss, possible having to put out additional money, time and effort to re-take a class with a different instructor. It happens too often to ignore!  I don't advocate trying to address individually a lesson plan per student, but I believe because we are aware of the learning styles components that we can incorporate components of each to have a more comprehensive learning environment.