Pam Hager, Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Organizational Consulting, shared this insight with us:
“I’m in the middle of a very enlightening book called Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons From the Science of Learning, by James M. Lang. The author provides solid research in support of truly learning the fundamentals of a body of knowledge versus simply “googling” what we want to know. Lang delivers simple, easily implemented, proven ways for facilitators and teachers to systematically revisit and reinforce the fundamentals necessary to be successful with your subject matter.
For corporate facilitators, the practical tools provided in Small Teaching are meant to reinforce fundamentals, regardless of the area of study. To me, the biggest takeaway is a series of methods for providing incremental practice and feedback, both of which are key elements of our Leadership Through People Skills workshop. In the workshop, participants practice and role-play a real-life case in a safe environment. With each practice, they receive immediate feedback and coaching from other participants and the facilitator. So participants are actually learning two fundamentals in these practices:
- How to have a challenging conversation with someone they work with
- How to give someone else feedback about that challenging conversation, looking at not just the words that were used, but also the non-verbals: tone, gestures, and facial expressions.
Our workshops differ from others because of this focus on the fundamentals. We do more than scratch the surface that you might find in an e-learning course or a webinar. Instead, our participants practice giving and receiving insightful, immediate feedback — translating to real results back on the job.”
