Association of Libraries in Land-based
Colleges and Universities
Changes in learning styles
implications for staff/learning
development
Gail Merrett
Ex Head of Staff Development, OULS
Freelance trainer/lecturer
Training sessions
aren’t always
effective
It’s hard to teach/train effectively if you
don’t quite understand your learners
Edmund: Right Baldrick, let's try again, shall we. This is
called adding. If I have two beans and then I add two more
beans, what do I have?
Baldrick: Some beans.
Edmund: Yes and not. Let's try again, shall we. I have two
beans then I add two more beans, what does that make?
Baldrick: A very small casserole?
Edmund: Baldrick, the ape creatures of the Indus have mastered this. Now try
again. One, two, three, four. So how many are there?
Baldrick: Three.
Edmund: What??
Baldrick: And that one…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=328Q79GoR7g
Learning styles - Kolb/Honey & Mumford
Experience
Activist
Experiment
Reflect
Pragmatist
Reflector
Conceptualise
Theorist
VAK
Gardner’s Multiple intelligences
Learning methods/preferences
In education ...
The move to learner centred methods
The increase in e-learning/blended learning
Googleisation - everything at the fingertips
and everything we’ve just found out about
student preferences
and we might be different in other ways ...
Generational attitudes
are we products of our times ?
Who
When born
Characteristics
Traditionalists
1925-1945
Value logic and discipline,
stability, want a legacy
Baby Boomers
1946-1963
Idealistic, competitive,
questions authority dislikes
change, recognition, stellar
career
Generation X
1964-1980
Worklife balance, career
portability, flexible, some
anxiety, dislike
micromanagement
Generation Y
1980-2002
Value diversity,
technologically superior,
change, want meaningful
work
Plus our world of work is changing
Information
increasing
Techno takeover
Globalisation
Work life balance
Teams
Projects
Rise of the
customer
Competition even
in libraries
Gen Y students
What does this mean for our skills ?
Professional skills
What are your top 2
training and development
needs right now?
Skills in need
ISNTO (2003)
CILIP (2003)
CPD 25/UCE (2007)
Customer care
Knowledge
management
Management/leadership
Leadership
Project management
Ability to adapt & change
Change management
User support
Customer service
Negotiating
Leadership
Communication/interpers
onal
Technical awareness
Strategic thinking
Project management
Core IT skills
Advanced/High level
technical skills
To create a strong and challenging learning culture,
where all staff are able to develop their
skills, extend their knowledge and
reach their full potential for the benefit of both
OULS objectives and personal professional
development aspirations.
We also did ...
 Graduate trainee programme
 Annual staff conference (for about 220 staff)
 Supported appraisal
 General events (All staff meetings etc)
 One to one advice and guidance/coaching
 Departmental activities
 Special initiatives (health and safety, customer care)
 Maintained web and newsletter presence
 Well being week/Christmas Crackers
 UNC academic libraries seminar programme
Training courses can fail to live up to
expectations
Expectations
Too standalone
Not appropriate
My Wish List
Reduce the training events to allow us to
focus elsewhere (performance measures)
Create a more meaningful appraisal
Improve the link between role description,
recruitment and development
Introduce more work based learning activities and ways to
record & evaluate this
Utilise coaching far more extensively
Targeted senior managers and “the line” more effectively
Performance rewards & recognition linked to development
activities
Specific and context related training needs analysis (eg
avoid meaningless lists of generic skills)
Time to get tough ??
Align staff learning to strategic
priorities and objectives
Assess learning activity as part of
appraisal & performance
management systems
Expect managers to direct and report
on staff learning activity
Require staff to engage in some form
of learning activity – record it
Understand & audit the knowledge &
skills of staff
Generic skills lists don’t really help
Look at role descriptions
(competencies/behaviours./knowledge/skills)
Work with a particular department, especially at
times of change and pinpoint what skills are
missing
Break down a generic skills into something
SMART ...e.g. Customer care skills
Talk to the leadership about the skills that will
give your organisation “edge”
CIPD Annual Survey Report 2008:
Learning and Development, 2008
Management development increasing
Importance of line managers in directing learning
Growth in e-learning (but not as fast) and coaching
Skills areas: management/leadership; communication; customer service
& business skills
New approaches to identifying need
Efforts to develop a learning culture
Training to Learning (2005)
Training
an instructor-led content-based
intervention, leading to desired
changes in behaviour
Learning
a self-directed, work based
process, leading to increased
adaptive potential
So in addition to my earlier “get tough measures”
Wide support
See change as fertile learning ground
Learning embedded in daily activity for staff
Quality time needed
Strategy to evolve rather than act as the starter
Clear understanding of responsibilities
Learning methods that make sense to people
Learning that is relevant and appropriate
Assessing management
commitment
Assessing organisational
culture
Is there a formal strategic staff
development statement?
Is learning an event or an ongoing
process?
Does anyone have responsibility for
leading staff development?
Are mistakes viewed as learning
opportunities?
Are there explicit allocations of
resources (including time and space)?
Are all staff given opportunities for
learning & development
Do line managers understand their role Are days out for learning resented by
in learning development?
others or seen as an inconvenience?
Do organisational leaders take a
Is the boss a model of good practice?
strategic interest in staff development?
Are needs assessed regularly and
specifically?
Do people share and learn from each
other?
Does learning activity and
management matter in performance
review?
Are staff helped to prepare for their
future careers?
Based on presentation by Sheila Corrall , 2003 (CILIP President 2002-3)
What we need is ...
A radical shift in our approach to learning and
development
BUT...
This takes time and effort and organising
training courses are quick and easy by
comparison
Staff Development
It’s essentially for our
benefit to get this right ...
our employees
our organisations
our services
our own careers
In our library services, we are working
hard to provide personalised and
relevant learning experiences for our
students ... We need to start doing this
for ourselves and our staff and our
methods should reflect this
So let’s ...
Make sure everyone understands what is expected of
them in terms of their learning
Stop being obsessed with writing strategy and policy
and actually just do something
Not conduct generic training needs analysis that will
give us the results we predicted (i.e. management
development, customer care, electronic awareness,
teaching skills etc ...)
Take full responsibility not just for our staff, but for
ourselves (and get others to do the same)... Even if
we don’t do anything else!
Although learning and development is a joint
responsibility, it’s up to us as individuals to take control
of our personal learning and development
Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.