Realize Vol4No4 FINAL4

REALIZE Volume 4 Number 4| Sep-Oct 2020

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REALIZE Volume 4 Number 4| Sep-Oct 2020

CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION Page
1.1 From the desk of the Managing Editor
3
2 CAMBRIDGE GLOBAL LEARNING
2.1 International Board of Advisors 4
2.2 Spotlight on Network Affiliate Programs 5
2.3 News from Correspondents 6
2.4 News & Views 8

3 HIGHLIGHTS 10
3.1 Network Dialogue – Educators’ Forum 11
3.2 Conference Updates 12
3.3 Book Review : Teach, Reflect, Learn: Building Your Capacity
for Success in the Classroom 13
15
4 SPECIAL FEATURES 17
4.1 We learn faster when we aren't told what choices to make 18
4.2 New Research on Handwriting and Learning 21
4.3 "Rich" or "Bland" : which diagrams helps students learn 24
4.4 Deliberate practice doesn't align with schooling
4.5 The skills gap : technology first
4.6 Making time for reflective practice

Which Doctorate - a Quiz 26

Twelve Facts on OIPD - UK 27

APPLICATION FORM FOR CGL NETWORK MEMBERSHIP 28

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REALIZE Volume 4 Number 4| Sep-Oct 2020

From the Desk of the Managing Editor So, here is your first shorter version and we
have transferred a lot of the information on
Publishing an e-Journal CGL to our new website. This includes the
(IJPD) with our e- Biodata of all our Advisors, the Benefits of
Magazine on learning - membership, the UK Regulated Qualifications
called REALIZE was an Framework (RQF) and the detailed write-up on
experiment. The feedback our range of Professional Certificate programs.
was that this joint version Now you can browse through these on the
was too long and may not website, whenever you want.
appeal to all, as there are
different readership interests and We have a new section which will now focus on
preferences. Up to then, the most recent news from our ‘Correspondents’ from around
issues jointly was an experiment, where we the world. We thank Dr Sadik for his
combined the first issue of a new REALIZE had contribution from Egypt, also Jimmy Leong
averaged around 90 to 100 pages with 4-6 from Japan and Dr Jeannette from USA, both
issues per year. contributing some news from their respective
countries.
Realize has been published for several years by
Cambridge Global Learning (CGL) and so we The ‘Book Review’ section will still be a feature
have reverted to being a bi-monthly solo and interestingly for this issue, authors Pete
publication again, but a bit shorter. The IJPD Hall & Alicia Simeral have a new book
will be about the same length (30 pages) and published, so we are reviewing that in this
will also be published bi-monthly on alternate issue. Let me acknowledge ASCD for sending us
months. That means members will receive some materials to review.
each but on alternative months.
The short articles range from tips to better
The reason for this experiment, was that CGL learning, especially for schoolteachers or
merged with the Oxbridge Institute of lecturers, but of equal benefit to learners of all
Professional Development (OIPD). CGL ages. Research findings on the role of choice,
members were already receiving REALIZE, yet visual diagrams, use of handwriting, deliberate
OIPD wanted to a Journal in which to publish practise and importance of reflection all show
Post-Doctoral members’ research papers. how these techniques can enhance our
Initially, CGL and OIPD thought they would try learning and recall. There is one article on the
to publish both together, but in two parts, so Technology Skills Gap that I can relate to well,
we tried this and asked members for their considering the age or generational gaps that I
reaction. A few were OK with that, but most am exposed to.
wanted something shorter.

Prof. Dr Peter Shephard “Where is the wisdom we have lost in
Executive Chairman, OIPD knowledge? Where is the knowledge

Managing Editor of REALIZE we have lost in information?”

T.S Eliot. Nobel Prize Winner for Literature, 1948

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REALIZE Volume 4 Number 4|Sep-Oct 2020

International Board of Advisors

We formally recognize the following members of our Board of Advisors and we thank them for their
continuing support. They are:

1. Dr. Asma Abdullah (Malaysia) 9. Mr Mark Treadwell (New Zealand)
2. Dr. Balaji Varadarajan (India) 10. 10. Dr. Michel Gagne (Canada)
3. Prof. Dr. Cameron Richards (Australia) 11. Dr. Peter Kline (USA)
4. Dr. David Chiew* (China/Taiwan) 12. Prof. Dr. Peter Shephard (U.K.)
5. Ms. Elmarie Potgieter (South Africa) 13. Dr. Suresh Marcandan (Indonesia)
6. Mr. Fredrick Mandizvidza (Zimbabwe) 14. Dr. Svend Hollenson (Denmark)
7. Dr. Jeannette Vos (Canada/ USA) 15. Prof. Dr. T.V. Rao (India)
8. Lord Kevin Couling (U.K.) 16. Dr. Will Fastiggi * (UK/Brazil)

NOTE: We are open for more nominations to join the Board, especially from other countries.

CGL Board of Advisors joins the OIPD Board of Assessors
Our dilemma is what to call this new Board? All can advise but not all want to be assessors! A second
dilemma! Some have suggested a Council, but we are governed by a Board of Trustees.

OIPD International Board of Assessors (BoA) also has some new appointees. Congratulations to the
following: Prof. Dr. M. Amr Sadik from Egypt, a CGL Senior Fellow and an OIPD Post-Doctoral Senior
Research Fellow. Prof. Dr. Salim Bhuyan from Bangladesh, a CGL Senior Fellow and, Dr Andal Krishnan
from Singapore, also a CGL Senior Fellow and Dr Peter Ng from the UK, a long-term CGL Senior Fellow
& Country Delegate: UK.

We currently have 20 members on this joint BoA with the aim of bringing this number to 24 people by
2021. One qualification is that each member should ideally have a Doctorate and familiarity with the
research process as well as experience with Viva interviews. Another ideal qualifier is where they come
from, as OIPD is a global entity and we are under-represented in many parts of the world. Today
members are from 15 countries.

So, we welcome any ideas on a new label for these joint ‘Boards’ Also, any nominations to join from
other countries are equally welcome.

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REALIZE Volume 4 Number 4|Sep-Oct 2020

How CGL and its Board of Advisors evolved
In 2010, a then small group of learning professionals, became involved in organizing an International
Conference on Learning and Thinking (ILAT). ILAT had invited 10 speakers, from 10 countries to come
together in Kuala Lumpur on the tenth day of the tenth month (10/10/10). These speakers were
professionals in various aspects of Learning – from Neuroscience, Culture, Coaching, Creativity in
Learning and the Facilitation of group learning. Several of them subsequently were invited to join
CGL’s International Board of Advisors, of whom four were also contributors, in the first issue of the
International Journal of Interdisciplinary Learning-IJIL. Later, IJIL was included in the e-Zine, REALIZE.

So, the idea to build CGL, which was mainly more than a certification body, into a global network,
really took off after ILAT. And now we have representatives (Strategic Network Affiliates) in over 30
countries. And, as a result CGL was constituted in the UK, as a ‘hub’ for the network and decided to
become a virtual global network, and a not-for-Profit, non-sectarian, non-partisan body that is
egalitarian and non-hierarchical. CGL then registered as an approval learning provider, with the UK
Department of Business and Innovation Skills, supported by the UK Department of Employment and
Learning. In 2017, CGL was acquired by the CREDO Trust and Foundation (registered in Ireland) as a
fully autonomous division and retained its Board of Trustees. CREDO hosted its Secretariat. Then in
2020, CGL moved from being under the CREDO Trust, to being an autonomous Division of the Oxbridge
Institute of Professional Development (OIPD). The e-Zine then became part of a new Journal (IJPD).

The Future of IJPD and REALIZE Publications
Publishing e-Journal (IJPD) with our e-Magazine on learning - called REALIZE. The feedback was that
this joint version was too long and may not appeal to all as there are different readership interests
and preferences. Up to then, the most recent issues jointly was an experiment, where we combined
the first issue of a new REALIZE had averaged around 90 to 100 pages with 4-6 issues per year.

Realize has been published for several years by Cambridge Global Learning (CGL) and so it will revert
to being a bi-monthly solo publication again, but a bit shorter. The IJPD will be about the same length
(30 pages) and will also be published bi-monthly on alternate months. That means members will
receive each but on alternative months.

The reason was that CGL merged with the Oxbridge Institute of Professional Development (OIPD)
registered in the UK. CGL members were already receiving REALIZE, yet OIPD needs a Journal in which
to publish Post-Doctoral members’ research papers. Initially, CGL and OIPD thought they would try to
publish both together, but in two parts, so we tried this as an experiment and asked members for their
reaction. A few were OK with that, but most wanted something shorter.

Spotlight on Network Affiliate Programs.

(Each program earns 160 CPD’s & has 40 contact hours using a blended learning approach. Assessment
is based on two assignments. Duration is from 3 to 6 months. aligned to RQF Level 7)

The main or more popular programs are:
1. Certified International Professional Trainer (CIPT) & a CPT
2. Advanced Professional Certificate in Accelerative Learning (APCAL)
3. Post Graduate Diploma in Learning and Development (PG. Dip. LAD)
4. Certified International Professional Coach™ (CIPC)
5. Certified International Professional Leader (CIPL)
6. Certified International Professional Strategist™ (CIPS)
7. Certified International Professional Facilitator (CIPF)
8. Certified Professional Learning Interventionist (CPLI)
9. Certified Human Resources Practitioner (CHRP)

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News from Our Correspondents REALIZE Volume 4 Number 4|Sep-Oct 2020

News from our Egypt Correspondent - to the 20% capital limit under the new decree.
Prof Dr. M. Amr Sadik. Sept 2020 The implementation of the decree is yet to be
tested, particularly with regard to the number
Report No 1 of ownership layers that would be subject to
The Egyptian government considered the review by the Ministry of Education.
project to establish ‘King Salman bin Abdulaziz
International University” in Egypt as one of the How current and future businesses are
country’s national projects. affected
Schools whose current ownership structure
The university has three campuses in South includes more than 20% capital owned by
Sinai governorate in the cities of El-Tor, Sharm foreigners will be required to take the
El-Sheikh, and Ras Sedr. necessary measures to request an exemption.
The new decree requires that current and
The first phase of the project includes the future businesses, and investors, wanting to
establishment of 10 faculties. Five other push capital beyond 20% foreign ownership
faculties are planned to be added to the must submit a request for an exemption to a
university in its next phase. committee of the Ministry of Education. In case
of approval, no further assignment, transfer or
The university extends over an area of 35 acres changes to the ownership structure would be
and includes four faculties, as well as a number allowed without the prior approval of the
of administrative, sports, service, and housing committee.
blocks. It also accommodates about 20,500
students. What is required to tap into the exemption
request
Report No 2 In order to apply for the exemption, the school
According to the Egyptian cabinet, the decision will need to furnish a memo clarifying the
issued aims at expediting the project's nationality of its shareholders intending to
implementation in accordance with the own more than 20% of its capital. The memo
required conditions, as it is scheduled to begin will need to provide details of the foreigner’s
operating in the next academic year 2020- role in the school’s management and
2021. operation. If the shareholders are natural
persons, a copy of their passport will also need
On 14 November 2019, a new decree was to be presented. A copy of the articles of
issued that might bring the previously association must be provided if the
witnessed rapid increase of private sector shareholders are juristic persons. The
investments in the education industry to a halt. documents must be submitted to the
The decree limits the ownership of foreigners competent department at the Ministry of
in the capital of private schools, and schools Education, which in its turn will be sent to the
applying an international curriculum in Egypt, committee for deliberation.
to 20%. This new limit is unprecedented in the
education industry and has never been set Conclusion
before. This limit may be a deterrent to many As outlined above, schools that currently
and may effectively lure less investors who had consist of a foreign ownership structure in
been previously interested in the industry. excess of 20%, and owners of schools that are
or will be party to a merger, acquisition
A point of interest: it remains unclear whether, transaction or sale of equity that would result
for example, a two-layer restructure in in a more than 20% foreign ownership
ownership would be a successful workaround structure, will be subject to the new decree
and will be required to apply for the exemption

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accordingly. Only time will reveal the impact of REALIZE Volume 4 Number 4|Sep-Oct 2020
this decree on the investment landscape and
the appetite of foreign investors in the News report on USA Education. By Dr
Egyptian education industry. Jeannette Vos, USA Correspondent,
September 2020.
Education Minister Tareq Shawqy said Egypt is
seeking to benefit from foreign expertise in In 2015, Mikhail Gorbachev said, ‘We are all
developing Egyptian education. interconnected, but we keep acting as if we are
completely autonomous …’ He explained how
Report No 3 the planet is overburdened with
During a phone call with Extra News channel environmental problems, with a shortage of
late Saturday, Shawqy referred to the clean fresh water to drink and with billions
partnership with USAID for honing skills of starving for proper food. Now, five years later,
teachers. He noted that there are partnerships we have the same problems — but worse,
with other international organizations, because of Covid-19. The pandemic affects
including UNICEF and UNESCO. everyone, especially in education. I have lived
in four countries and travelled extensively,
He added that there are 40 Egyptian-Japanese gaining a sense of the best and worst in
schools in Egypt, noting that President Abdel education. As an American reporter and
Fattah El Sisi is keen on managing these schools commentator having a global perspective, I see
in accordance with the Japanese mechanism. that education in this country is hurting —
He added that about 15 Japanese experts and hurtling through the chaos of politics, climate
teachers came to Egypt to teach at the change, race relations, and a health crisis —
Japanese schools probably as in most other countries. In the
United States, typically, the education sector
Report from our Correspondent in Japan: still homes in on test scores. Most schools still
Jimmy Leong (Country Delegate. Japan) require teachers to cover textbooks, whether
Sept. 2020 students are back to the classroom (despite
Covid-19) or learning online.
Japan's Prime Minister has just recently
resigned due to health issues and they're The same big questions always remain. When
looking at a few candidates at the moment to teachers teach: Are students learning? Are
replace him. they doing their homework? How can teachers
assess what they are doing? Are students really
Professional learning wise, I've seen many doing the work or are their parents and siblings
Japanese ex-colleagues consuming books like doing it for them? Covid-19 makes the
water. They pick up anything that can help in teacher’s role more difficult. How can we
their professional development career and ‘engage’ students to become self-learners,
spend personal time to read it and try to apply whether in the classroom or at home?
them.
American teachers tend to use strategic
Many Japanese companies believe that it's the methods, such as, personalized learning,
individual's responsibility to do this, hence do blended learning and team building. These
not allow work hours to be spent on personal often focus on another trend in the USA: STEM
progression which is required for their jobs. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) or
STEAM (adding the Arts). Through these
approaches, teachers have an opportunity to
integrate multiple subject areas within
projects.

Project-learning schools (such as High-Tech
High in San Diego) eagerly embrace projects in

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REALIZE Volume 4 Number 4|Sep-Oct 2020

the curriculum. For example, some projects instruction, group work, and projects that are
have an environmental base: ‘Here Now, Gone driven by technology, skills, competencies,
Tomorrow,’ ‘Ocean Explorers,’ ‘The Bee inquiries or any other way that successfully
Project,’ and ‘The Next Hundred Years.’ meets students’ needs.
Projects make learning meaningful and real,
through combining subject areas, such as, The key is to meet each student’s needs,
math and language arts with science and the wherever they are! Although directed teaching
humanities. Even with the Covid-19 pandemic, and these other strategic methods can make
such projects can still move forward. How do effective teaching tools, in reality, when a
schools accomplish project learning? This teacher teaches, students may not be learning.
author has coined the term self-learning. For Teaching does not necessarily make students
teachers, this means to facilitate the learning into self-learners. Students become self-
process as a journey toward deep meaning and learners only when they use their innate self-
a higher consciousness. Self-learning applies to learning abilities, such as creativity, curiosity,
students, each beginning where their self-direction, self-management and self-care.
awareness may be ‘at.’ Teaching can Welcome to The Self-Learning Revolution! We
encompass a number of ways: individualized can do this together!

News & Views

Contacts

Firstly, OIPD has a new website, and it is: www.oxbridgeipd.org.uk
Our linked-in account is: Oxbridge Institute of Professional Development-UK (OIPD)
Cambridge Global Learning (CGL) has its own website: www.cambridgegl.co.uk
CGL also has its own Facebook page: Cambridge Global Learning (CGL) UK
Telephone Numbers: UK +44-7714-291885 International Secretariat +6-012-2739444.

Fee Increases for OIPD in 2021. (The special 6-month introductory promotional rate ends soon)

If you were definitely planning to do your Doctorate, don’t delay beyond year-end, as the special
introductory promotional fee will increase from £1650 to £2000. A saving of £350.

If you are too busy now to put together your Portfolio Report, all you now need to do is sign up by
completing an application form (Part A) and to pay your membership fee of £250, by 31 December.

The good news is that this £250 is a one-time fee for 'Life-membership’ and will be deducted from the
current Doctoral fee, so the balance of £1400 can be paid next year.

The other good news is that if you have a detailed Resume that shows the certificates or courses etc.
and conferences attended, then you do not need to spend time searching for all your documents and
dates to apply for all your RPEL and CPD credit points. You need not fill out forms B. C & D.

With Whom Should We Benchmark Against?

Many would say Universities, as they also offer Doctoral awards. However, these are Academic
Degrees. OIPD is not a University and our awards are not Academic, but Professional. Universities are
not the same! They have very different aims, structures, and processes.

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REALIZE Volume 4 Number 4|Sep-Oct 2020

We believe we should benchmark against other UK Professional membership bodies. One such very
well-established body is the UK based ‘Academy of Multi-Skills’ (AMS) in Bedford Square, London.
They have operations in Africa, Middle East, and Asia, with a global membership. They offer
Professional Fellow & Professional Doctoral awards, a Journal that is on average once a year and award
ceremonies in different geographic centres, similar, to OIPD.

Many would say Universities, as they also offer Doctoral awards. However, these are Academic
Degrees. OIPD is not a University and our awards are not Academic, but Professional. Universities are
not the same! They have very different aims, structures, and processes.

We believe we should benchmark against other UK Professional membership bodies. One such very
well-established body is the UK based ‘Academy of Multi-Skills’ (AMS) in Bedford Square, London.
They have operations in Africa, Middle East, and Asia, with a global membership. They offer
Professional Fellow & Professional Doctoral awards, a Journal that is on average once a year and award
ceremonies in different geographic centres, similar, to OIPD.

How do AMS and OIPD compare in their awards, grades and fee structures?

Level 8 (RQF) Professional Doctorate and Fellow (AMS) Senior Fellow (OIPD) AMS Fee OIPD Fee
Level 7 (RQF) Professional Cert/P.G. Dip/Masters, Fellow grade £6000 £1650
Institutional/Corporate Membership (AMS – 1 Year) £5000 £450
OIPD (5yrs) CEO becomes a Senior Fellow
£750 £250

We leave it for you to compare, but AMS is not a virtual body and it has large fixed overheads!
OIPD is a pioneer in being able to offer professionals an opportunity to obtain a recognized award
at a lower cost than other Professional bodies and far lower than an Academic degree. And, to apply
Recognized Prior Experiential Learning (RPEL) credit points, as well as Continuing Professional
Development (CPD) credit points towards the award. We reward members for their work-based
experience and competencies. They do not have to go back to school to earn a Doctorate!

Institutional Membership and Talent Retention

We are now promoting Institutional membership for corporations as well as for members of other
professional bodies, so they can offer the Oxbridge Institute's Doctorate for their
employees/members to benefit from a special discounted rate.

For Corporate members, they can use this as a strategic Learning and Development intervention to
retain top talent. They can either pay for their key top executives to do a Doctoral program as a
retention incentive and a reward/recognition strategy. A minimum of 4 candidates in a year qualifies
for a 25% fee reduction off the normal £1650. Or pass on the 25% discounted fees to staff who may
want to pursue a Doctorate on their own.

One can apply the same discounted rate for members of any Professional body as a benefit to them.

A Referral Fee

If you are a Talent Management Consultant or Learning Provider, this can be a talent retention
method for you to propose to your corporate clients. OIPD pays a 'referral' fee of 15% to its members
for any candidates that come from their contacts. For example, this is around £250 if a contact signs
up for their Professional Doctorate.

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REALIZE Volume 4 Number 4|Sep-Oct 2020

Network Dialogue – Educators Forum

THE PURPOSE OF LEARNING - Your Thoughts Please!

To explore some of these issues, discussion and answers are welcomed on any of the questions below.

This is a network – member interactive page. Please send us your thoughts on this topic. Here we
pose 10 questions, to which any reader is invited to contribute their answers.
Here we pose 10 questions, to which any reader is invited to contribute their answers.

1. Why do we learn? (See diagram below and, also IJIL Vol.1 No.2.)
2. What do we need to learn from birth (or before) to survive and grow? (See Vol.2 No.2)
3. What are the basic or primary purposes of learning? (See Vol.2 No.1)
4. Is learning instinctively and innately inborn? (See Vol.2. No.1.)
5. Is the brain ‘hardwired’ for all people to learn some skills?
6. What is the role of language learning?
7. How critical is early language development to successive learning?
8. What are the higher purposes that come later in life?
9. Is there a hierarchy of learning needs or purposes – and how might it look?
10. Can we create a hybrid model – using for example “Maslow’s Motivational Hierarchy of Needs,”

or “Bloom’s Taxonomy” or Gagne’s “Hierarchy of Learning”?

For your thoughts, ideas or more questions – please email to [email protected]

A trigger for your ideas! Here is one contribution from a network member, shown as a
hierachy of learning needs. Please comment or add!

Hi ghes t Wi s dom Ol der
Lower Quality of Life – Good citizenship, protection of planet, Bi rth
enhancing ecology, health and happiness of self and others,

spiritual wellness
Higher Level – Meta Cognitive Skills – Conceptual and

Systems Thinking

Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS)

Learning higher study skills
Appreciation of Aesthetics, Design, Architecture, Fine Music

and own Culture
Emotional Self-Management, understanding own
Personality, Temperament, Aptitudes, Traits, Drives

To learn creative and problem solving Skills

To develop kinaesthetic and motor skills

To learn how to learn

To learn how to communicate

Develop useful routines and habits

To survive from birth until we talk

Biological – at Pre Natal level – Sounds, Tones, Rhythms

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REALIZE Volume 4 Number 4|Sep-Oct 2020

Conference Updates

ATD (Association for Talent Development) 2020 Asia-Pacific
Conferences.
1. Taipei, 2-3 December 2020
2. Japan Virtual Conference, 10-11 December 2020
3. South East Asia Virtual Conference, 1-2 December 2020
Contact Details: [email protected]

ICTEL (International Conferences on Teaching, Education, and Learning)
Contact Details: [email protected] Facebook: www.facebook.com/eurasiaresearch

1. London (UK) 07-08 December 2020

2. Dubai, 08-09 December 2020

3. Berlin, 25-26 January 2021
4. Kuala Lumpur, 04-05 May 2021

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REALIZE Volume 4 Number 4|Sep-Oct 2020

Book Review

Teach, Reflect, Learn: Building Your Capacity for Success in the Classroom

Pete Hall and Alisa Simeral

"It's not the doing that matters.
It's the thinking about the doing."

—John Dewey

As a teacher, you work hard to make a positive reflect on your instruction, and begin to forge
difference in the lives of your students. But this a path toward continuous growth and
kind of progress does not happen overnight, educational excellence.
and it does not happen accidentally. It is the
result of intentionality, planning, effort ... and Book Contents
thought. Dedication
Preface
The difference between learning a skill and Acknowledgments
being able to implement it effectively resides in Chapter 1. If You Can Read This, Thank a
your capacity to engage in deep, continuous Teacher
thought about that skill. In other words, Chapter 2. Reflections on Self-Reflection
recognizing why you do something is often Chapter 3. Reflective Self-Assessment Tool
more important than knowing how to do it. Chapter 4. The Continuum of Self-Reflection
Chapter 5. The Unaware Stage: What Does
To help you deepen your thinking and reflect Unaware Mean, Anyway?
on your capacity as an educator, Pete Hall and Chapter 6. The Conscious Stage: Is the
Alisa Simeral return to the Continuum of Self- Knowing-Doing Gap Real?
Reflection, which they introduced to coaches Chapter 7. The Action Stage: What Happens
and administrators in their best-selling Building When Art and Science Collide
Teachers' Capacity for Success, and redesign its Chapter 8. The Refinement Stage: Smoothing
implementation so you can take charge of your Out the Rough Edges
own professional growth. Chapter 9. Conclusion
Appendix A: Self-Assessment Chart
In these pages, you'll find tools specifically Appendix B: Reflective Cycle Goal Chart
made to enhance self-reflection on Appendix C: Quick-Win Goal-Setting Form
professional practice, including the Continuum Bibliography
of Self-Reflection and the Reflective Cycle. About the Authors

You'll be able to assess your current self- Courtesy: Related ASCD Resources©
reflective tendencies, identify opportunities to
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REALIZE Volume 4 Number 4|Sep-Oct 2020

Special Features

We Learn Faster When We Aren’t Told What Choices to Make

By Michele Solis (Courtesy, Scientific American Mind)
The way we decide may even give insight into delusional thinking.

In a perfect world, we would learn from Using disarmingly simple tasks, Palminteri’s
success and failure alike. Both hold instructive team found choice had a clear influence on
lessons and provide needed reality checks that decision-making. Participants in the study
may safeguard our decisions from bad observed two symbols on a screen and then
information or biased advice. selected one with the press of a key to learn,
through trial and error, which image gave the
But, alas, our brain doesn’t work this way. most points. At the end of the experiment, the
Unlike an impartial outcome-weighing subjects cashed in their points for money. By
machine an engineer might design, it learns careful design, the results ruled out competing
more from some experiences than others. A interpretations. For example, when freely
few of these biases may already sound familiar: choosing between the two options, people
A positivity bias causes us to weigh rewards learned more quickly from the symbols
more heavily than punishments. And a associated with greater reward than those
confirmation bias makes us take to heart associated with punishment, which removed
outcomes that confirm what we thought was points. Though that finding resembled a
true to begin with but discount those that positivity bias, this interpretation was ruled
show we were wrong. A new study, however, out by trials that demonstrated participants
peels away these biases to find a role for choice could also learn from negative outcomes. In
at their core.A bias related to the choices we trials that showed the outcomes for both
make explains all the others, says Stefano symbols after a choice was made, subjects
Palminteri of the French National Institute for learned more from their chosen symbol when
Health and Medical Research (INSERM), who it gave a higher reward and when the unchosen
conducted a study published in Nature Human one would deduct a point. That is, in this free-
Behaviour in August that examines this choice situation, they learned well from
tendency. “In a sense we have been perfecting obtained gains and avoided losses.
our understanding of this bias,” he says.
That result looked like a confirmation bias,
with people embracing outcomes—positive or

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negative—that confirmed they were right. But REALIZE Volume 4 Number 4|Sep-Oct 2020
there was more to it. The experiments also
included “forced choice” trials in which the not involved in the study. He studies the origins
computer told participants which option to of delusional thinking and agrees that an
select. Here, though the subjects still pressed individual’s perception of control in a situation
keys to make the instructed choices, can shift their interpretation of the events
confirmation bias disappeared, with both around them. “Feeling as though you are the
positive and negative outcomes weighted architect of the outcomes you experience is
equally during learning. powerful and certainly would lead you to
strengthen beliefs about those contingencies
This impartiality might seem optimal, yet the much more strongly,” he says.
learning rates were slower in the forced-choice
situation than they were in the free-choice The role for choice found here suggests that
one. It is as though the participants were less our sense of control in a situation influences
invested in the outcomes—showing how we learn—or do not learn—from our
ambivalence about learning from them experiences. This insight could also help
somewhat like a child woodenly practicing explain delusional thinking, in which false
their scales on the piano to please a parent. beliefs remain impenetrable to contrary
evidence. An outsize feeling of control may
Because the confirmation bias arose only contribute to an unflagging adherence to an
during the free-choice situations, the authors erroneous belief.
dubbed it “choice-confirmation bias.” The
tendency persisted in both poor and rich Delusions can be a hallmark of psychosis, in
conditions, when rewards were scant or which they may involve extreme beliefs about
abundant. “Our human subjects were not alien abduction or being a god. Milder
capable of adjusting the bias as a function of delusionlike thinking also touches otherwise
the environment,” Palminteri says. “It seems healthy people, such as a sports fan with a
to be hardwired.” superstition about wearing a lucky shirt to
ensure a team’s win. More harmfully, the
This observation means the brain is primed to current coronavirus pandemic has wrought
learn with a bias that is pegged to our freely some delusions of its own, such as one that
chosen actions. Choice tips the balance of holds that mask wearing causes sickness.
learning: for the same action and outcome, the
brain learns differently and more quickly from So, a false belief remains fixed, and any
free choices than forced ones. This skew may outcomes that contradict it are not accepted
seem like a cognitive flaw, but in computer by the brain. If choice is the point of reference
models, Palminteri’s team found that choice- that governs our learning style (with or without
confirmation bias offered an advantage: it confirmation bias), then maybe something
produced stabler learning over a wide range of about choice or an inflated sense of control
simulated conditions than unbiased learning pushes people toward delusions. Perhaps
did. So even if this tendency occasionally individuals with delusions are choosing to have
results in bad decisions or beliefs, in the long particular experiences to support a false belief
run, choice-confirmation bias may sensitize the and choosing to interpret information in a way
brain to learn from the outcomes of chosen that supports that belief. This possibility has
actions—which likely represent what is most not been tested. Questions for future research
important to a given person. to answer, however, would be how beliefs are
updated in a person with delusions and
“The paper shows that this bias isn’t whether this process differs when choices are
necessarily irrational but actually a useful forced or made freely. To help individuals with
mechanism for teaching us about the world,” delusions, the current findings suggest, it may
says Philip Corlett of Yale University, who was be more effective to examine their sense of
control and choices than to try to convince

14

them with contradictory evidence—which, REALIZE Volume 4 Number 4|Sep-Oct 2020
over and over, has not been shown to work.
the impact of 2020—a year battered by the
Another question raised by this research is: pandemic and economic and political
What might influence a person’s sense of uncertainty—on an individual’s cognition.
control? It may be an inherent feature of an
individual’s personality. Or it could be more “There’s this general sense that the rules don’t
pliable, as suggested by a recent study of apply anymore, and that is really unmooring
people in the military in Belgium published in for people and can lead to unpredictable,
Nature Communications. The paper reported a irrational behavior,” says Corlett, who recently
greater sense of control among senior cadets, conducted a not yet published preprint study
who are further along in their officer training that tracked changing levels of paranoia before
and give orders, compared to privates, who and during the the global spread of COVID-19.
obey them. The latter individuals’ sense of
control, also called agency, was equally It’s not clear whether the newfound choice-
diminished in both free-choice and forced- confirmation bias could inform public health
choice situations. “They don’t experience messaging during a pandemic. For example,
agency, even when they’re free to choose what maybe voluntary mask-wearing should be
to do, which should not be the case,” says encouraged and coupled with rewards for
study leader Emilie Caspar of the Free choosing to put on a face covering and
University of Brussels (ULB). occasional punishments for not doing so.

Whether a diluted feeling of control affected Palminteri says it is hard to extrapolate from
those subjects’ learning was not studied, and his experiments to the messy, complicated and
current work is examining whether this somewhat removed contingencies of mask
mindset follows participants beyond a military wearing. But the stark bottom line is that
setting. But if a person’s sense of control biased thinking runs deep in the human
influences the strength of that their choice- psyche. “Even when the stakes are so high, you
confirmation bias, it is interesting to consider may think humans would behave rationally,”
he says. “But that’s far from clear.”

Have I been spectacularly wrong for years? New Research on Handwriting
and Learning

Posted on: Andrew Watson

about the superiority of handwriting for taking
notes.

Here’s the story.

Back in 2014, two Princeton researchers did a
study which concluded that handwritten notes
lead to better learning than notes taken on
laptops.

Long-timer readers know my weakness. That’s a helpful question to have answered,
and so I read their study with a mixture of
I’m usually an easy-going guy. But if you want curiosity and gratitude.
to see me frantic with frustration, tell me

15

Imagine my surprise when I found that their REALIZE Volume 4 Number 4|Sep-Oct 2020
conclusion rests on the assumption that
students can’t learn to do new things. (That’s a Believe it or not, I rather enjoy finding research
VERY weird belief for a teacher to have.) that encourages me to change my mind. That
process reminds me of the power of the
If you believe a student CAN learn new to do scientific method. I believe one thing until I see
things, then the researchers’ data strongly better evidence on the other side of the
suggest that laptop notes will be better. argument. Then I believe the other thing.

Oh, and, by the way, their study does not So, AT LAST, I got to read the research showing
replicate. that handwriting helps students learn more
and remember better.
Despite these glaring flaws, people still cite this
study — and look at me with pity (contempt?) Want to know what I found?
when I try to convince them otherwise. “But
research says so,” they say wearily. I seethe, The Study
but try to do so politely. The researchers did not test anyone’s learning
or memory.
Today’s Exciting News
When I try to explain my argument, my You read that right. This article claims that
interlocutor often says something like handwriting improves learning and memory,
“handwriting engages more neural processing but they didn’t test those claims.
through kinesthetic yada yada,” and therefore
boosts learning. This research team asked 24 participants —
twelve adults and twelve 12-year-olds — to
In the first place, that’s NOT the argument that write by hand, or write on a laptop. They then
the Princeton researchers make. It might be observed the neural regions involved in those
true, but that’s changing the subject — never a tasks.
good way to prove a point.
Based on what they saw, they inferred that
In the second place, where is the evidence of handwriting ought to result in better learning.
that claim? I’d love to review it.
But they did not test that hypothesis.
To date, no one has taken me up on that offer.
So, based on a tiny sample size and a huge leap
But — [sound of trumpets blaring] — I recently of neuro-faith, they have concluded that
found a post at Neuroscience News with this handwriting is better. (And, astonishingly,
splendid headline: “Why Writing by Hand some big names in the field have echoed this
Makes Kids Smarter.” claim.)

Here’s the first sentence of the article: The Bigger Picture
Children learn more and remember better Believe it or not, I’m entirely open to the
when writing by hand, a new study reports. The possibility that handwritten notes enhance
brains of children are more active when learning more than laptop notes do.
handwriting than typing on a computer
keyboard. I’m even open to the possibility that
kinesthetic yada yada is the reason.
“Learn more.” “Remember better.” That’s
impressive. At last: the research I’ve been To take one example, Jeffrey Wammes has
asking for all these years! done some splendid research showing that —
in specific circumstances — drawing pictures
helps students remember words and concepts.

16

If drawing boosts learning, maybe handwriting REALIZE Volume 4 Number 4|Sep-Oct 2020
does too. That’s plausible.
hard to disprove his interpretation of the data.
But here’s the thing: before Wammes made his Only when he couldn’t did he admit that —
claim, he tested the actual claim he made. indeed — drawing can boost learning.

He did not — as the Princeton researchers did Before I believe in the superiority of either
— start from the assumption that students handwritten notes or laptop notes, I want to
can’t learn to do new things. see the study that works hard to disprove its
own claims. At present, the best known
He did not — as this current research does — research on the topic conspicuously fails to
extrapolate from neural patterns (of 24 meet that test.
people!) to predict how much learning might
happen later on. Do you know of research that meets this
standard? If yes, please let me know!
Wammes designed a plausible study to
measure his hypothesis. In fact, he worked

“RICH” OR “BLAND”: Which diagrams helps students learn deeply?

Posted on: Andrew Watson

Here’s a practical question: should the but result in long-term limitations (difficulties
diagrams we use with students be detailed, with transfer). If so, blandly-decorated
colourful, bright and specific or Black & White? diagrams might be the better pedagogical
choice.

Today’s Research
Scholars in Wisconsin — led by David
Menendez — have explored this question.

Specifically, they asked college students to
watch a brief video about metamorphosis.
(They explained that the video was meant for
younger students, so that the cool college kids
wouldn’t be insulted by the simplicity of the
topic.)

We might reasonably assume that DETAILS and
COLOURS attract students’ attention. If so,
they could help students learn.

We might, instead, worry that DETAILS and
COLOURS focus students’ attention on surface
features, not deep structures. If so, students
might learn a specific idea, but not transfer
their learning to a new context.

In other words: richly-decorated diagrams
might offer short-term benefits (attention!),

17

For half the students, that video showed only REALIZE Volume 4 Number 4|Sep-Oct 2020
the black-and-white diagram to the left, for the
other half, the video with the colours and dots. Some Caveats
Did the different diagrams shape the students’ First: as is often the case, this effect depended
learning? Did it shape their ability to transfer on the students’ prior knowledge. Students
that learning? who knew a lot about metamorphosis weren’t
as distracted by the “rich” details.
Results, Please…
No, and yes. Well, mostly yes. Second: like much psychology research, this
study worked with college students. Will its
In other words: students who watched both core concepts work with younger students?
videos learned about ladybug metamorphosis
equally well. As it turns out, Team Menendez has others
studies underway to answer that very
But — and this is a BIG but — students who question. Watch This Space!
watched the video with the “rich” diagram did Third: Like much psychology research, this
not transfer their learning to other species as study looked at STEM materials. Will it work in
well as students who saw the “bland” diagram. the humanities?

In other words: the bright colors and specifics What, after all, is the detail-free version of a
of the rich diagram seem to limit poem? How do you study a presidency without
metamorphosis to this specific species right specifics and details?
here. An abstract representation allowed for
more successful transfer of these concepts to When I asked Menendez that question, he
other species. referred me to a study about reader
illustrations. I’ll be writing about this soon.
In sum: to encourage transfer, we should use
“bland,” abstract diagrams. In Sum
Like seductive details, “rich” diagrams might
By the way: Team Menendez tested this seem like a good teaching idea to increase
hypothesis with both in-person learners and interest and attention.
online learners. They got (largely) the same
result. Alas, that perceptual richness seems to help in
the short term but interfere with transfer over
So: if you’re teaching face-to-face or remotely, time. To promote transfer, teach with “bland”
this research can guide your thinking. diagrams — and use a different strategy to
grab the students’ interest.

Deliberate Practice Does not Align With his research into expertise – concert-level
with Schooling (Well: not Precisely) violinists, world-ranked chess players, elite
runners – Anders Ericsson more-or-less
By: Andrew Watson created a new field of study.

How can we become amazingly awesome at
challenging tasks? Ericsson has a system:
deliberate practice.

18

As described in his book ‘Peak’ (written with REALIZE Volume 4 Number 4|Sep-Oct 2020
Robert Pool), deliberate practice has four key
components: These inaccuracies – important in themselves
 Well defined, specific goals, – also remind us: if we want to apply Ericsson’s
 Focus, research to our school work, we have to be
 Feedback (often from an expert, or an more careful than Gladwell.

experienced teacher), and With that guidance in mind, let’s consider the
 Getting out of your comfort zone. fit between deliberate practice and education.

Gosh, that sounds a lot like school, doesn’t it? The GOALS Are Different
If we could structure our school thinking Research into deliberate practice focuses quite
according to Ericsson’s research, perhaps we narrowly on specific kinds of learning.
could help all our students become concert- He studied people wanting to be world
level chemists, world-ranked fraction champions in one (and only one) very
multipliers, and elite poetry analysts. specialized skill: chess, or hurdling, or concert
piano playing.
In fact, we already try to do so much of this,
don’t we? We write goals on the board, In fact, I don’t want them to focus single-
encourage students to concentrate, give lots o’ mindedly on any one thing. I want them to
feedback, and encourage students to try new make gradual progress in all sorts of disciplines
things. and skills: pottery, cooperation, Spanish,
history, citizenship, driver’s ed.
In other words: deliberate practice seems a
perfect fit for schools. Or, again: maybe not. It’s possible that deliberate practice will
improve all kinds of learning – including school
The Popular Mistakes learning. But: let’s not be like Gladwell and
Ericsson’s work has been most popularized by simply make that assumption.
Malclom Gladwell’s book Outliers. You might
oversimplify that book with this sentence: “The Our UNDERSTANDING OF TEACHING Is
Beatles succeeded so spectacularly because Different
they practiced 10,000 hours in Berlin.” Ericsson puts it this way:
One of the things that differentiates violin
Peak briskly summarizes Gladwell’s views: training from training in other areas – soccer,
First: 10,000 hours is a catchy round number, for example, or algebra – is that the set of skills
but lots of other numbers would have been expected of a violinist is quite standardized, as
just as accurate. 10,000 hours applies to one are many of the instruction techniques.
category of budding experts (musicians) at a
particular stage (the age of 20) of learning one Because most violin techniques are decades or
specific skill (the violin). even centuries old, the field has had the
chance to zero in on the proper or “best” way
Second: even this much-touted number is to hold the violin, to move the hand during
correct only as an average. Half of the violinists vibrato, to move the bow during spiccato, etc.
whose data went into this number has
practiced LESS than 10,000 hours. The various techniques may not be easy to
master, but a student can be shown exactly
Third: the Beatles weren’t practicing. They what to do and how to do it.
were performing. Ericsson’s research shows
clearly: deliberate practice looks substantially Does that sound like education to you? Heck,
different from ultimate successful we can’t get the field to agree on teaching
performance. strategies for one of education’s most
foundational skills: learning how to read.

19

Almost everything in our world is up for REALIZE Volume 4 Number 4|Sep-Oct 2020
contentious debate.
Experts don’t become experts because they
Note that Ericsson is explicit: instruction enjoy this work more. They keep going despite
techniques for algebra do not fit the pattern he their lack of enjoyment.
studied. We don’t have old tried-and-true
techniques for teaching algebra or grammar! For instance, he describes a study of
participants taking a singing lesson. Those
That’s why education is now looking at participants who were NOT professional
psychology and neuroscience for answers. singers felt relaxed, energized, and elated after
the lesson; it allowed them to express
The Role of FEEDBACK Is Different themselves in a way they didn’t usually have.
Ericsson’s model follows a precise feedback
pattern: However, the participants who WERE
 The student practices a discrete skill. professional singers felt relaxed and energized,
 The teacher provides specific feedback. but NOT elated. They were working, not
 The student tries again and improves. expressing themselves. In Ericsson’s words,
 The student recognizes their immediate “there was focus but no joy”.

progress and continues to grow. Schools, however, want at least a little fun –
maybe even a little joy – during the day. We
In education, however, the cause/effect needn’t focus excessively on making
relationship between feedback and progress everything delightful. But, more than a
gets MUCH more complicated. deliberate practice model, we should keep in
mind our students’ rightful need for
Specifically, we know that short-term connection and even elation.
performance does not reliably predict long-
term learning. In a research review that I cite In Conclusion
often, Soderstrom makes this important claim: First: although I’m arguing that deliberate
practice doesn’t necessarily promote the kind
“Improvements in [short-term] performance of learning that schools undertake, I do (of
can fail to yield significant [long-term] learning. course!) admire this research pool, and
In fact, certain actions can have opposite Ericsson’s towering role in it.
effects on learning and performance.” Second: Education suffers from a strange
problem right now: we’ve got too many
In fact, we’ve got an entire field of memory varieties of plausible-sounding guidance.
research that focuses on “desirable Third: The problem isn’t finding something to
difficulties.” The relevant headline: if students try. It’s deciding which of the dozens
get everything right immediately, their work (hundreds?) of options to choose.
isn’t difficult enough. We need them to be
struggling more to ensure long-term learning. A deliberate practice model might be useful for
teachers to know – especially teachers who
If Soderstrom and the “desirable difficulties” focus on creating world-class experts.
team are right – and I certainly think they are –
then the feedback pattern essential to But: I don’t think it should be the primary
deliberate practice doesn’t align with the kind educational model for most of us.
of teaching and learning that schools prioritize.
We should think about managing working
We Think Differently about FUN memory overload. And fostering attention.
Throughout Peak, Ericsson and Pool emphasize And creating the optimal level of desirable
that deliberate practice requires difficulty.
determination and focus, and rarely in fun.

20

The Skills Gap: Technology first REALIZE Volume 4 Number 4|Sep-Oct 2020

By Sheri Weppel In the past 10 years, technology and learning
have become incredibly complicated and
Mind the gap: Whether it be skills, unpredictable. Learners now have a variety of
competencies or the space between you and means of access to learning content, whether
the train, these gaps are critical to identify, from their work computer, home computer,
especially when it comes to technology. The tablet or mobile device. Learning is now also
technical industries have been facing a skill gap accessible from a variety of places, including
for years, centered on the impending corporate tools such as Teams, LMSs and
departure of our tribal knowledge. learner experience platforms, and other tools
such as Zoom, mobile apps, YouTube and
Organizations have been challenged to quickly myriad other options. Even the means in which
capture that knowledge and implement formal we connect has changed from a stable
training programs supportive to millennials hardwire connection to cellular and WiFi as an
and Gen Z. As we navigate these challenges, we option. What used to be a simple orientation
should ask ourselves some questions: to technology for new hires is now a continued
 Do these new programs engage our aging learning experience throughout a learner’s
journey.
workforce?
 Are newer technologies, such as mobile Virtual tools literally in the palm of our
hand
learning, augmented reality, virtual reality Often when discussing the technology gap, age
and social platforms, accessible in our is referenced as a metric. However, we find
work environments? that age is becoming less of a defining
 Do these programs engage our future characteristic in technology adoption. We are
workforce as well? fortunate that, according to Pew Research
Center, “Seniors are also moving towards more
This technology gap can be challenging to digitally connected lives. Around four-in-ten
senior employees finishing their career and (42%) adults ages 65 and older now report
adapting to new tools. They need our support owning smartphones, up from just 18% in
now more than ever. 2013,” and we have been able to leverage that
connectivity as everyone transitioned to
Technology then and now working from home. However, “Some 34% of
Technology used to be quite simple — each older internet users say they have little to no
learner typically had access to a desktop confidence in their ability to use electronic
computer. The connection to the internet was devices to perform online tasks, while 48% of
usually stable, and all learning was accessed seniors say that this statement describes them
through the learning management system. very well: ‘When I get a new electronic device,
I usually need someone else to set it up or
show me how to use it.’”

When we consider what adults over 50 are
using smartphones for, only 13 percent are
using them for streaming videos and only 3
percent are using them for podcasts. This
proves to be the cause of the annotations next
to the technology gap in our agenda — as we
are now providing remote help and setup for

21

these individuals in a socially distant manner. REALIZE Volume 4 Number 4|Sep-Oct 2020
Smartphone use is primarily utilitarian, with
email, weather, traffic and photos topping the understand. If you embark on a new virtual
scales. platform, be sure to provide an orientation for
those users who may not find it intuitive.
But don’t be discouraged or count technology
out for this population! We can split our Create a one-page job aid, which will be
learners into three brackets: new users, helpful for training and introducing users to
regular users and super users. While earlier we the new tool or technology.
discussed age as a concern, as you take a step
back and look at your learner population, see if Ensure access
you can identify with the following examples; Before taking a course, it is important for a
learners will often break the age definition. learner to know that they are connected to a
Even some of your millennial and Gen Z strong signal and that the software is available
population may prefer more analog methods. on their computer. Complications with
Your new users have a mobile phone, but it is connection or access can cause a frustrating
often not next to them; they do, however, use experience, the belief that the tools are broken
it for calls, emails and the camera. and lack of adoption. Explain that, while in
Support with definitions normal life less than four bars simply means
While technology terms may come naturally to slow access, when connecting to an LMS or
many of us, clear definitions and explanations other tool, four bars are required for success.
are helpful. One example is the difference Learners also need to be educated on
between cellular data and WiFi. For many downloading for offline viewing while
users, the internet has an “on” or “off” status, traveling, using WiFi instead of cellular, and
but the difference between cellular and WiFi staying within data allowances to avoid a
can be huge on a monthly bill once learners are slowdown in speed. Ensuring that learners
using personal devices to access training. Keep have the software installed prior to the session
the definitions simple, and use analogies when is also critical, as many individuals no longer
possible to make technical jargon easy to have the access to install software.

Update frequently
Gone are the days of yearly updates to
software. At any given moment, there may be
45 updates pending on my phone popping up
on a weekly basis and weekly on my computer.
Sometimes these updates appear as I go to
launch a meeting, causing unnecessary delays.
These updates are often the key to successful
app use and the first line of defense when
troubleshooting. Getting users familiar with
checking for frequent updates is critical to
success. Having your learners remember to be
connected to WiFi before updating will save
money on your phone bill.

Consider making updates a habit of a 1:1
session. During a 1:1 session, there should
be minimal multitasking, which makes it a
great time to have users update applications
while talking to ensure the most current
versions are available

Your regular users have a mobile phone and
use it for a variety of activities, including

22

social media and other apps, but also opt for REALIZE Volume 4 Number 4|Sep-Oct 2020
other forms of communication, such as in
person. are mentoring on skills, the new employees
can be sharing technology skills and best
Provide options practices.
It’s important that we provide options during a
transitional period. Not all learners are adept Pair your learners up for reverse mentoring.
at checking messages and notifications related While their tribal knowledge is passed to the
to social learning. This includes options for next generation, the next generation assists
reminders as well as for interaction. During with technology adoption. The result is both
one to one sessions, review any notifications populations are enabled and empowered.
around learning that may be unnoticed in a sea
of apps or emails. Providing in-person social Your super-users are always on, with a phone
experiences can help to bridge the gap, rarely out of reach, multiple apps open at a
blending the new and the old together into a time and always multitasking.
supportive solution.
Reverse mentoring for tribal knowledge
Blended learning is a great solution for this Allow your super-users the opportunity to
population. Consider using mobile to mentor their team members. Mentoring can
introduce topics and provide follow-up be enabling to one population and
while still allowing for in-person or live demotivating to the population being
interactions when possible and accessible. mentored. Reverse mentoring allows for an
even share. The entering workforce can
Provide technology training mentor on digital technology and solutions
Our younger employees may pick up new while being mentored for the tribal knowledge
technology quite easily, as they have grown up that needs transferring. This will provide a
in a very technical world. Older employees, great opportunity for individuals who have
however, may need support during technology worked together their whole lives to support
adoption. If we think back to when we first each other in the transition.
implemented e-learning, we provided
instructions on how to navigate, use the This is the other half of the reverse
volume and find the captions and other mentoring approach. The new workforce
elements that are now second nature. With needs to learn a lot of tribal knowledge and
new tools and technologies, we need to having skills to exchange with seasoned co-
provide training and support to ensure we are workers makes the learning process more
successful in the transition. of a trading event.

During your implementation, remember Feedback
what we did when we first implemented e- It’s important to allow your super-users to
learning. Provide instructions on how to provide feedback on what they are hearing
operate apps and tools to ensure through the grapevine. This can allow you to
technology isn’t a barrier to learning. understand how the implementation is
proceeding, where the trouble spots are and
Reverse mentoring for technology skills what else is needed to ensure success. Think of
Mentoring can work both ways. For someone how often we see feedback requests on social
tenured in your organization, it can be hard to media and mirror those interactions. A simple
accept that mentoring is needed so late in multiple-choice question can be a great pulse
one’s career. Reverse mentoring allows for an check on how your implementation is
even share in knowledge, which levels the proceeding and allow you to ensure your
playing field. Include technology adoption in change-management efforts are succeeding.
your mentoring program so the mentoring is a
two-way street. While your older employees Send out quick surveys that are two to three
multiple-choice questions as an easy way to
capture feedback during your pilot.

23

Age is irrelevant REALIZE Volume 4 Number 4|Sep-Oct 2020
When it comes to the technology gap, we tend
to think in terms of age, as those are the gaps programmed the airport into her GPS. What
that we notice the most. In my own life, changed? During that year, she had answers to
despite being the same age, my husband is questions, demonstrations, support and
squarely in the “new user” category while I am encouragement to be more effective on her
firmly in the “super-user” category. This mobile device. Simple actions for both of us led
becomes most apparent when we travel. My to her jumping into the super-user category in
in-laws, both in their 70s, allowed me to carry just 12 short months. As for me? I’m still the
the mobile boarding passes, work the kiosk to one carrying the boarding passes for my
check bags and manage the GPS the entire trip. husband and me, but he manages the GPS
Fast-forward to the following year: Imagine my now, and together we work in the digital
delight when my mother-in-law texted me that future.
she had gone online, got her mobile boarding
pass, checked her luggage so she could do a Simply put, support your learners, and they can
curb-side drop-off for her bag and pre- adapt, adopt and excel in a new technology-
driven environment.

Making Time for Reflective Practice

By John Kamal

Jotting down short notes after every lesson helps
teachers contemplate what worked, what didn’t,
and how to improve their skills.

Deep, thoughtful reflection is at the heart of at Science Leadership Academy, a public
the practice for many educators. John Dewey magnet high school in Philadelphia, iteration
connected learning to the reflection of and improvement on evolving units and lesson
experience—not just having experience. plans is critical.
Despite its importance, classroom teachers
struggle to find time for quiet reflection in the CAPTURE THE DATA
whirlwind of the school year. After teaching a Capturing as much data as possible during the
full day, grading assignments, providing school day can provide a basis for deeper
feedback to students and families, meeting reflection once the school year ends. I use the
with advisees and colleagues, and then summer months to really dig into what worked
preparing for the next day, it can be a challenge and what didn’t during the previous year. Key
to find the time or head space for reflection. data critical to planning include:
That’s especially true as a new school year gets Learning: What do the data say about what
underway. students learned?
Student experience: What did students think
But for teachers who create their own project- and feel about their experience and what they
based learning (PBL) curriculum, as we do here learned? What could be changed?

24

Improvement: What curriculum and REALIZE Volume 4 Number 4|Sep-Oct 2020
supporting approaches need to be improved?
Timing: How did the timing of a lesson, project, the smartphone’s memo recorder, and get into
or unit compare with the plan? the habit of creating quick summaries of the
outcomes of every project and unit.
MAKE IT EASY
To make this work, data capture must become STUDENT SURVEYS
a simple and seamless routine in each day, Use a Google Form at the end of each unit and
week, and unit. Setting too high a standard for quarter to provide voice to students. Ask the
the quality and completeness of this process direct questions that will lead to better
during the school day can lead to frustration learning:
and ultimately to failure. To be successful,  How did this unit go for you?
develop habits that can be easily followed.  What did you learn?
 What was taught that you feel you didn’t
JOURNALING
Capture quick notes from each class: learn?
 What parts of the daily plan were met or  What should I go slower or faster at?

delayed? At the end of each unit, read through all these
 Where should the class pick up next time? surveys and make a list of a dozen key
 Which students need special support? takeaways that will be reviewed during deeper
 What activities went well or poorly? reflection time. When a teacher models a
 How did you feel about the experience of process of openness, vulnerability, and a desire
to improve, students see another way for them
your students? to develop.

WEEKLY PLANNERS TWO-WAY PEER OBSERVATION AND REFLECT
A paper printout of each week’s roster Peer or mentor observation is another critical
provides a place to quickly lay out planned component to reflection. Implement a
timing and then update as the week program where teachers can pair up for two-
progresses. A small stack of these for the way observations. A teacher can request that a
coming four to six weeks allows for quick partner deeply observe and reflect on one or
planning or replanning and note taking in a way two specific areas of their practice.
that an online calendar alone can’t match.
FOLLOW THE ACTION LEARNING CYCLE
VOICE MEMOS
In the quest to not lose information, time is not 1. Do First.
a teacher’s friend. Clarity about what just 2. Then Reflect (What worked or Didn’t)
happened during a day or unit, what went well, 3. Theorize (Why what worked or why it
what needs improvement, and individual
observations of student performance quickly didn’t work)
degrades with every hour that passes. To 4. Do Again (Based the Learning) and
preserve this fidelity, leverage the power of
continue to repeat this process.
(This is often also called the ‘Experiential
Learning Cycle)

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REALIZE Volume 4 Number 4|Sep-Oct 2020

Which Doctorate – A Quiz

CHOOSING BETWEEN A PROFESSIONAL VS AN ACADEMIC AWARD

A Doctoral (PhD/ED/MD etc) award is usually an Academic Degree on a specialized topic given by a University.
However, there is an alternative if you aspire to attain a Doctoral award in a shorter time period, and at a lesser
cost! This is a Professional Specialist Doctorate (e.g. Dr.S/DBA) awarded by a Professional Body.

Below are some questions or statements to help you choose between an academic and a professional award.
This could be a major ‘Life Changing Decision’.

To help you make this decision, please read all the questions or statements in each column below, tick those
that describe your preferences better and that suit your personal and professional needs or situation.
Whichever column you had more ticks in, will provide some clues to whether you should pursue a professional
or an academic doctoral award.

A PROFESSIONAL DOCTORAL AWARD. (DrS/DBA). AN ACADEMIC DOCTORAL AWARD (Ph.D/MD/ED)

o Are you over 40 years old, with many years of work? o Are you under age 40 with a master’s degree?
o Do you have 20+ years of professional experience? o Do you have limited professional experience?
o I have limited time to read, research, write or study? o I have 4 to 6 years to do research, writing & study?
o I prefer to save money but able to spend up to £2000. o Can I find between £12,000 to £25,000 for my
o Are you recognised as an expert in a specialized field?
o Do you feel confident & knowledgeable in a specific study?
o You want to gain deep knowledge in specific field?
field and comfortable talking on your specialization? o I do not yet feel confident or knowledgeable
o I would like to gain recognition for my professionalism
o I deserve a reward for my many years of experience. enough to lecture or write in your field of interest?
o I feel a sense of satisfaction when I can contribute to o I want to gain academic recognition from my

the growth and success of others in my organization. studies.
o Can I wait 3-5 years to be awarded with a

Doctorate?
o Will I feel a sense of accomplishment when I have

graduated and know it will help with my career
path?

Both a Professional and an Academic Doctorate are well established and widely recognised awards.
The first, the Professional Doctorate, is more a recognition of one’s past learning, practical experience, and
present level of specialized competence and professional expertise. You’re rewarded for past
achievements.

The second is a recognition of academic and theoretical knowledge in a specialist subject, not yet achieved.

Of course, a lot depends on the quality and credibility of the institution providing the awards. Just as some
Professional bodies and Universities have a long and well-established history, others may be relatively new
and contemporary in nature. Some maybe local and others global and virtual. Selecting the right institution
is another big decision. The Oxbridge Institute of Professional Development is relatively new, virtual and
global.

Please contact us at the Oxbridge Institute of Professional Development-UK (OIPD) if you need more help.
We have some very highly qualified and experienced Career Counsellors and Life-Coaches to assist you!

www.oxbridgeipd.org.uk. Email: [email protected]

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REALIZE Volume 4 Number 4|Sep-Oct 2020

Twelve Facts on OIPD - UK

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REALIZE Volume 4 Number 4|Sep-Oct 2020

APPLICATION FORM FOR CGL NETWORK MEMBERSHIP AND/OR
FELLOWSHIP AWARDS and/or OIPD MEMBERSHIP

Issued by Cambridge Global Learning (CGL) – UK-- a Division of the
Oxbridge Institute of Professional Development – UK (OIPD)
Courses are Accredited by the OIPD–UK

which is listed in the British Professional Qualifications Register

A. COLLEGES/ACADEMIES/INSTITUTIONS/ASSOCIATIONS. (STRATEGIC ALLIANCE NETWORK ASSOCIATE – SANA – A/B)

Organization Name: __________________________________Tel: __________________ E-Mail: _______________________

Address: _____________________________________________________________________Country____________________

Reg. No._____________ Type of Organization: _______________FEES: SANA-A GBP150_________SANA-B GBP100_________
Please attach profile of the organization and the name of the Principal/CEO, who will qualify as a Senior Fellow.
To join the Oxbridge Institute of Professional Development - UK (OIPD) an additional £100 should be added. E.G. £250 for SANA B
NOTE: OIPD also awards Fellowships, as a grade, upon attaining a Professional Specialist Doctorate (Dr.S) @£1650, or a Post-
Doctoral Research Fellow @£250, which comes with the title ‘Professor’. If interested, please email: [email protected]

B. INDIVIDUAL AWARDS (Self nominated) FEES: FELLOWSHIP Members - INAF/INRF - GBP75_______

ASSOCIATE Members - INAS - GBP50______INRA-GBP50______TVET (Graduates of short courses) UKP10______
(TVET Associates are nominated by their Training Institution, with a minimum Number of 10 Graduates)
Name: ________________________________________________ Passport/ID Number: _______________________________

(as it should appear on certificate)
Salutation: _______________________ Job Title: __________________________ Main Function: _______________________
Tel: ______________ E-Mail: _______________________ Mailing Address____________________________________________
Please attach a comprehensive Bio Data which includes work experience and qualifications

C. Payment – Includes Network Membership and a subscription to REALIZE e-Zine, jointly produced

Payment Mode: Cash/Cheque/Direct Transfer/Telegraphic Transfer (TT). Amount: ________Date_______ Pay to:
Cam Global Learning. CIMB Bank, TTDI, Kuala Lumpur. Account Number: 8008484510. SWIFT CODE: CIBBMYKL
Please scan & email the completed form to [email protected], with copy of proof of payment. Or you may send to the CGL’s
‘Country Representative’, or for enquiries, contact: +6-012-2739444

FOR OFFICE USE ONLY

Date/Rec’d:______________________ Fee Paid ________________________ Balance Due GB: ___________________________
SANA – A/B Certificate No: _______________Principal(s) Fellow Certificate No(s): ______________________________________
SANA Fellowship & Award Notified by: ______________________________ Cert(s) Despatch Date: ________________________
INAF/INRA/INAS/INRA/TVET Certificate No(s)_________________________Despatch Details_____________________________

Notes The certificate is valid for Life or 10 years from the date of the certificate (renewable)
1. One fellowship award is automatically awarded to the Principal. Subsequent nominations can be submitted with a fee of
2. GBP50.00 for another ‘Co-Principal/Partner/Director of the same Institution. A separate form(s) must be completed.
Any additional information can be attached on a separate sheet(s) of paper.
3. All awards are valid for life and all network members will receive a copy of the joint periodical e-Zine, REALIZE & the IJPD
4. Completed forms & documents should be scanned and emailed to: [email protected]
5.

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REALIZE Volume 4 Number 4|Sep-Oct 2020

CAMBRIDGE GLOBAL LEARNING (CGL) IN A NUTSHELL

CGL:
 Is a Virtual Global Network of Learning Practitioners in over 30 countries.
 Originally Registered in 2010, as an Approved Learning Provider with the UK
Department of Business Innovation and Skills, supported by the then UK
Department of Employment and Learning.
 In 2020, it merged with the Oxbridge Institute of Professional Development,
which is established in UK, as a ‘not-for-profit’ Educational Trust.
 Offers Professional Certification courses that are Accredited by the Oxbridge
Institute and listed in the “British Professional Qualifications Handbook” (UK)
 Has a Board of Assessors of 20 professionals from 15 countries, most having a
doctoral degree, with wide experience in Education, Learning & Development.
 Enhances the status and recognition of Learning Practitioners through awards
of Distinguished, Senior, Research, Associate Fellows & Associates.
 Certifies Practitioners, Academies, Colleges, Consultancies, Institutes, and their
Programs – promoting Life-long and Continuous Learning.
 Thus, appealing to Coaches, Consultants, Lecturers, Researchers, Teachers or
Trainers who can earn CPD credits through Recognized Prior Learning (RPL)
 Publishes a bi-monthly e-Zine on Education, Learning & Development, called
REALIZE (Research, Education, And Learning Info Zine) - which incorporates the
International Journal of Interdisciplinary Learning (IJIL).
 CGL also publishes Books and a Blog on matters related to learning.

y

 We work with Learning Practitioners
 Who seek to Facilitate more Effective Learning
 We Enhance their Professional Branding and Status

CGL’s Motto:

“Learning Insights Shared Globally”

Check our Website – and Join our Network – You may qualify as a Certified Professional
or a Fellow

www.cambridgegl.co.uk
Emails: [email protected] or [email protected]

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