Wiki Sumber Informasi iSIKHNAS

11. Teknik memaksimalkan pembelajaran

• Pembelajaran melibatkan segenap pikiran dan raga (beserta jiwa)
• Pembelajaran adalah kreasi, bukan konsumsi
• Kolaborasi membantu pembelajaran
• Pembelajaran terjadi secara bersamaan pada berbagai tataran
• Pembelajarn muncul dari melakukan pekerjaan itu sendiri (dengan disertai umpan balik)
• Emosi positif sangat meningkatkan pembelajaran
• Otak jauh lebih mudah dan cepat menyerap informasi visual.

Beri motivasi

Motivasi sangatlah penting, terutama pada saat awal pelatihan. Orang dewasa perlu mengetahui bagaimana pelatihan tersebut akan bermanfaat bagi mereka. Jika mereka tidak mengetahuinya, mereka tidak akan belajar.

Guna memotivasi peserta, fasilitator perlu mengambil setiap kesempatan untuk:

• Menjalin kedekatan
• Menciptakan suasana pelatihan yang terbuka dan bersahabat
• Menjaga agar tingkat stres tetap rendah
• Memberi tantangan bagi para peserta, tetapi tidak sampai membuat mereka frustrasi
• Memastikan bahwa peserta dapat menghubungkan materi dengan pekerjaan dan kehidupan mereka.

Pelajar dapat belajar secara efektif dan mandiri jika mereka tertarik pada hal yang sedang mereka pelajari. Namun, kebanyakan pelajaran di ruang kelas sering dianggap tidak menarik, dan ini menjadikan proses pembelajaran lebih sulit.

Tantangan berat bagi pelatih adalah menjadikan pembelajaran lebih menarik, bermakna, dan aktif. Sesungguhnya, inilah tujuan utama pelatihan Train the Trainer dan merupakan salah satu aspek sulit dalam perancangan pelatihan yang baik.

Perkokoh

Sepanjang pelatihan, instruktur perlu mendorong dan memperkokoh. Instruktur harus memberi ganjaran bagi perilaku baik – sekecil apa pun itu – secara positif dan sering. Ganjaran tersebut tidak harus berbentuk fisik. Cukup ucapkan “bagus” atau “terima kasih untuk masukannya” sudah sangat berarti bagi pembelajar dewasa.

Ulangi

Pengulangan merupakan salah satu dasar pembelajaran. Orang-orang perlu mendengarkan suatu hal hingga tiga kali sebelum mempelajarinya.

Itulah sebabnya mengapa proses untuk mengajarkan suatu keterampilan adalah dengan: 1. membangkitkan minat (Persiapan) 2. menjelaskan atau memperlihatkannya (Presentasi) 3. meminta pembelajar melakukannya (Praktik) 4. meminta pembelajar melakukannya dalam keadaan nyata (Kinerja)

Gunakan semua indra

Semakin banyak kombinasi indra kita yang terstimulasi dalam pembelajaran, semakin besar peluang keberhasilan pembelajaran. Sebagai contoh, diperkirakan bahwa kita mempelajari:

• 10% dari hal yang kita baca
• 20% dari hal yang kita dengar
• 30% dari hal yang kita lihat
• 40% dari hal yang kita lihat dan dengar
• 50% dari hal yang kita diskusikan
• 70% dari hal yang kita alami
• 90% dari hal yang kita ajarkan

Pahami kurva pembelajaran

Pembelajaran adalah proses yang berlangsung terus-menerus, tetapi kecepatannya bisa berbeda-beda. Sebagai contoh, ketika Anda baru mulai mempelajari hal baru, kemajuannya sering kali sangat lambat untuk beberapa lama, kemudian Anda tiba-tiba merasa mempelajari banyak dalam waktu yang jauh lebih cepat.

Namun, kecepatan pembelajaran ini sering akan menurun lagi dan Anda merasa hanya mengalami sedikit kemajuan, meskipun berusaha sama keras seperti sebelumnya. Pada saat ini, Anda sedang mengkonsolidasikan hal-hal yang telah dipelajari, tetapi periode ini sering kali sangat membuat frustrasi. Umumnya diperlukan upaya terus-menerus untuk menciptakan lonjakan pembelajaran yang baru.

Bantulah pelajar untuk memahami bahwa lonjakan dan penurunan kecepatan pembelajaran merupakan hal biasa dan jika tetap tekun, mereka akan kembali merasakan kemajuan. Ini akan membantu mereka mempertahankan keyakinan dan motivasi saat mengalami penurunan kecepatan pembelajaran.

Jangan salah gunakan rentang perhatian

Perhatian berperan sangat penting dalam pembelajaran. Tanpa perhatian yang baik, pembelajaran kemungkinan hanya terjadi sebagian dan tidak efektif. Tentu saja, kemampuan kita untuk mempertahankan perhatian akan lebih besar jika kita termotivasi. Sebuah skenario pengajaran yang sering terjadi adalah ketika instruktur terus bicara dan bicara. Hal ini menyebabkan perhatian kita cenderung menurun dengan cepat.

The implications of this for teaching are very important. It shows that long periods of talk by the instructor, without opportunities for student participation, are likely to be ineffective as a method of teaching. This is a typical mistake made by instructors who think that more input by them equals more learning. This is clearly shown to be incorrect. Your own experience of being a student will fully bear this out.

Avoid long presentations. Break up long presentations with quick activities such as getting participants to quickly recap the most important points they have heard, or, ask if they can anticipate what is coming next or in pairs, to share any questions they want answered in the following part of the presentation.

Encourage the effective use of memory

How memory works

It is useful to think of our memory systems as possessing two interrelated components: 1. A short-term memory system (STM),which can only cope with approximately seven bits of information at one go. 2. A long term memory system (LTM), which has almost an infinite capacity for storing information. This contains all the information we can recall.

The effective transfer of information from STM to LTM is crucial for the acquisition of knowledge. In order to achieve this transfer, it is essential that the information makes sense to the learner (is meaningful); is in manageable chunks (around seven bits); is organised; and is sufficiently rehearsed (repeated a number of times until easily recalled).

How forgetting occurs

There are a number of theories concerning forgetting. Most important for our purpose as instructors is that over 60% of factual information will be lost within 48 hours if there is no subsequent rehearsal or review of what was learned. Skills and understanding are much more resistant to forgetting. For example, once you learn to swim, it is unlikely that you will ever forget how to swim, even if you do not swim for many years.

The more information is reviewed in the first day or so after it is ‘learned’, the more likely is the chance of it becoming established in long term memory.

Implications for teaching and learning

It is good to remind students of these basic principles of memory. This will save them making the typical mistake of trying to memorise too much too quickly. From the point of view of teaching, we must recognise that if we speak for long periods, there is little likelihood that much in formation will actually be memorised. It is important to keep information well organised and allow students time to digest the content, either through question an answer sessions or follow-up activities.

Tips on helping people to remember content

• Keep the attention of your participants especially when you are making key points
• Prepare people before you introduce information by asking thought provoking questions which makes them engage with the material before hearing any specific content
• Ask questions throughout the training which make participants recall the content, summarise and demonstrate content in different ways. Have quick quizzes.
• Use case studies to help participants apply information in different ways
• Use repetition and reinforcement by asking people to rephrase, discuss or create graphics, for example.
• Ask what have been the most important points (one per participant)
• Draw out discussion so that participants come to the key points themselves rather than being told what they are.
• Show similarities and associations with other relevant aspects or topics.
• Use different ways to show or draw out information
• Use a variety of materials and teaching tools
• Make sure people are relaxed and have had enough pauses
• Summarise the key points at the end.

Accommodate different learning styles

As individuals we have our own characteristic ways of processing information, feeling and behaving in learning situations. In basic terms this means that while all of us learn through acquiring knowledge, thinking and doing, we have different approaches and preferences in terms of how we do these activities.

One area of research has shown that there can be significant differences in the ways in which people approach a learning task. For example, some people will try to get an overall picture or understanding of the task before they focus on more specific details and linkages. In contrast, other people will approach the task in a more sequential manner, making linkages gradually and methodically, and only building up to an understanding of the overall task much later in the learning process. The most effective learners seem to be able to adopt both of these styles simultaneously and in a versatile manner.

Some people clearly have preferences in terms of the way they best learn:

• visual - seeing pictures, words, diagrams
• auditory - listening to explanations
• tactile - actually doing the activity

There are important implications in different learning styles for the ways in which we teach. These differences clearly suggest the need for learning to involve the range of senses and provide many different ways in which learners can go about their learning.

Of course, it is not possible for instructors to cater for all preferences all the time. However, it serves as a reminder to use a range of instruction methods and provide a variety of learning sources for students whenever possible.

Ensure effective feedback

A trainer should give feedback to participants frequently throughout the course. It is reassuring and helps offer guidance. Later in this guide we will talk more about ways to give useful feedback and even ways to get feedback for your own training.