A few weeks ago I wrote a blog post about "The Monster Trash", a video my BAMS Tech Club students produced and then entered into the Intermunicipal Relations Committee’s Recycling Video Competition. Well, the results have been tabulated and the winner is… Yep, you got it! Those trashy kids of mine managed to win yet another contest—Boom! My students and I learned of this super exciting news during an Awards Ceremony at an Earth Day event held on Saturday, April 26 at the Logan Valley Mall. Not only did the students earn a very cool plaque and an ice cream party, but their winning video will be entered into the State Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania Film Fest Contest for a chance to win a cash prize. In addition, the submission will be used in future public outreach and education programs. Is that just way cool or what? If you missed my previous post, please take a few minutes to check out the "Monster Trash", a humorous spin on how recycling works in our school. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did! Besides being quite creative, it’s really pretty funny! Here’s what Aubree had to say about our victory: "I am very proud that the Tech Club won the video competition because I think our video really explained the point of the recycling contest." Kermit added, "I think that out of all of the videos we made, this one was the best one yet. We worked for many hours during and after school to make this video." I have to agree with Kermit! This video was the bomb diggity! Not only was it an absolute blast to make, but I was very impressed with the stop animation scenes my students created. Could I be any prouder of them and their terrific efforts? Nope, because they never cease to amaze me! ♥

After years of being embedded as a consultant in organizations who have struggled to move their stakeholders beyond a training-centric model to a performance-improvement approach, I finally realized that our painstakingly slow progress might be due to our own failures in getting our messages heard. We in the workplace learning field are over-reliant on conveying our messages in a way that attempts to connect to our stakeholders' logical, analytical, conscious cognitive processing. The problem with this -- beside the fact that it is obviously not working -- is that most cognition occurs subsconciously. We've been trying to sing underwater. I've always been enamored with the idea that we need to find the most important causal factors and focus on those--not on the hundreds of factors that might have minor impact. I've followed this approach in reviewing the learning research -- finding the most important learning factors, not the fad-of-the-year learning factors. But this leverage-point approach applies to our workplace-learning organizations as well. We should be looking for our most potent leverage points and focusing on those. So, after some lengthy reflection, I have written a book chapter which describes how our leaders -- our chief learning officers, training managers, and other learning executives -- might restructure some of their organizations' standard operating procedures to send stealth messages that resonate at both a conscious and unconscious level with their stakeholders. You can access this chapter -- which I should warn you is in rough-draft form -- by clicking here. If link doesn't work for you, go to Work-Learning Research catalog.   Speaking on Stealth Messaging Also, come here me talk about this at the ASTD International Conference next week (May 7-9, 2012 in Denver, Colorado, US). Here are the details: Tuesday 10:00 to 11:15AM Room: Mile High 1F Research-Inspired Rubrics to Boost Training Transfer to On-the-Job Performance: The Example of the Course Review Co-Presenter: Russ Spaulding of DIA Wednesday 10:30 to 11:45 AM Room: Mile High 1F How Learning Executives Can Use Stealth Messages to Change Their Organizations. For Example:  Moving from a Training-Centric Approach to a Performance-Improvement Approach I'm speaking under the auspices of the ASTD Forum, a group of organizations who meet regularly to share best practices.

School Days Around the World Infographic The School Days Around the World Infographic looks at the differences between elementary/primary education systems across the globe. A sample of countries across Europe,Asia and Africa has been taken in order to compare aspects such as school starting times, the age children begin attending school and national curriculum subjects alongside an interesting, unique fact about regular school life in those countries. The countries sampled in the School Days Around the World Infographic include the UK, Finland, France, Switzerland, China, South Korea, Brazil and Ghana. It has been found that the duration of an average school day also varies quite a bit depending on the country. From looking at the School Days Around the World Infographic one can really see how despite education being a universal system, each country provides an entirely unique experience to its pupils, some being better than others, which might help us figure out what’s best for children all over the world. Via: stuartmorris.co.ukThe post School Days Around the World Infographic appeared first on e-Learning Infographics.

In this scenario, John and his best instructional-design team have to decide whether to utilize concept mapping, question answering, or multiple sessions instead of just presenting material in the normal way. Can you help them make the best decisions?

"But I can’t think of anything to write." Can you even count the number of times you’ve heard that line? Probably not. We’ve all experienced those moments when students sit and stare at blank sheets of paper or screens, almost as if they have been asked to do the impossible. Well, the next time you assign a writing activity, take the handicap away from hesitant writers by providing them with a visual prompt—a picture or image used to trigger personal experiences, thoughts, feelings or even questions that can be transferred into words to craft a piece of writing. So, where do I find these visual cues? A great starting place would be to check out the winning entries in the Smithsonian’s 11th Annual Photo Contest in which 60 finalists were selected from over 50,000 images submitted by photographers from 132 different countries. With categories such as the Natural World, Travel, People, Americana, Altered Images and Mobile, there surely has to be a picture or two from this collection of original photos that can ignite creative writing within your students. Check out one of my most favorite winning photos below. Classroom Connection: Use photos from the Smithsonian Photo Contest (or any other resource) as a way to visually motivate students to write essays, stories, poems, etc.

Sign up today for the eLearning Guild's Thought-Leaders series -- where they've asked me to reflect on my 15 years bridging the gap between research and practice. It's not until September, but sign up is now open. Click here to view details and to sign up... The description begins this way: As workplace learning-and-performance professionals, we live in world of shiny toys, blinding clouds of floating ash, and darkness. While we have passion and good intentions, we are unable to maximize performance because we are infected with misinformation about how learning really works. Should be fun!

Leading the Learning Revolution Infographic There is a Math Crisis in the United States. Early math skills are the number one predictor of later academic success, yet less than half of students are proficient in math. In addition, jobs in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields are outpacing job growth in other fields. A solid foundation in math is the basis for success in science, technology and engineering. In order to fill these jobs with future Americans, the Leading the Learning Revolution Infographic highlights that we need to improve math education, starting with our youngest students. MIND Research Institute is a neuroscience and education social benefit organization. Their mission is to ensure that all students are mathematically equipped to solve the world’s most challenging problems. Through the visual, non-language-based approach to teaching math — delivered through their ST Math instructional software — over 800,000 students across the country are deeply understanding math, developing perseverance and problem-solving skills, and becoming life-long learners prepared for success. MIND Research Institute also brings math to life for students, families and communities through innovative events and activities. Via: blog.mindresearch.orgThe post Leading the Learning Revolution Infographic appeared first on e-Learning Infographics.

Hey, you! Are you tired of typing on that screen of yours? Well, forget Bluetooth gadgets, use paper! Yes, paper. For real! So, how does this nifty gimmick work? First of all, download a copy of the iOS Paper Keyboard app and let the virtual reality begin! Start by printing a PDF file on paper and use it as a keyboard to do one or more of the following: Practice typing skills, chat with friends, send an in-app email or use the paper keyboard to draft info that can be pasted into any text editor, formatted and utilized with other apps. Wondering how the magic works? After placing your device in the correct placement on the paper, the built-in camera detects the user’s fingers with state of the art algorithms to map the taps to letters as if typing on physical keys was really taking place. Yeah, seriously… Don’t believe me? Check it out for yourself. It’s really worth a look! Below is picture of my Tech Kids Aubree, Kermit and I experimenting with the Paper Keyboard app. We were amazed at how cool—and accurate—it is! The Paper Keyboard app requires iOS 6.0 or later and is compatible with the iPhone 4 (and later), iPad, and iPod touch devices. Classroom Connection: So, you want students to practice their typing skills, but they only have access to a mobile device… Or what about those students who have difficulties typing on screens? If you encounter any of these scenarios, then the Paper Keyboard app is an option for you! On a less serious note, you could just fire up this app for the pure coolness factor!

Because you dear readers must care that learning interventions are research-based, this job may be of interest: JOB DESCRIPTION Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center  Position Title: Director of Learning Sciences Program in the Department of Surgery Department/Section: Surgery Reports To (Position Title): Vice Chair of Education and Chairman of the Department of Surgery Expectations for All Employees:  Supports the organization’s Code of Excellence and Values by exhibiting the following behaviors:  Integrity, Respect, Compassion, Excellence, Stewardship and Community. Age Specific Care Requirements:  N/A Position Summary:  The Department of Surgery at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center has embraced a goal of international recognition for innovative learning strategies that foster the acquisition of skills and knowledge.   Current initiatives include developing surgical residents as educators; improving the lecture experience through flipped classroom, simulation, and team based learning; and enhancing the intraoperative teaching experience. We are seeking a Director of Learning Sciences to help develop and implement a strategy that creates and sustains a community of learners to meet this goal.  A background in medical education is not essential. In the process of this endeavor, the Director would work with our clinical education faculty and students to foster and promote opportunities for interactive learning, including networked learning and team-based learning, as well as to support active learning by providing multi-modal learning opportunities.  It is anticipated that Director would provide guidance on effective teaching and learning strategies, particularly with regard to educational technologies. We seek a leader who can develop relationships across Harvard University (Harvard Graduate School of Education, Harvard Business School, as well as Harvard Medical School’s Office of Global Programs, Center for Educational Technology, and Department of Continuing Education). Reporting directly to the Vice Chair of Education and Chairman of the Department of Surgery, the Director or Learning Sciences is responsible to assess needs, plan, develop, implement, and evaluate educational activities, including those directed at Harvard medical students, surgical residents, and postgraduate continuing medical education.  The position will focus on the application of state of the art and emerging instructional technology related to online and classroom learning, intraoperative learning, including both instructional design and assessment..  This position will work closely with faculty from different divisions and will also work collaboratively with a range of departmental offices focused on research programs and faculty development and promotion.  The position may also interact with faculty in the Learning Technologies Center at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and across the University as needed. Primary Duties and Responsibilities Resident and Medical Student Education: Implement and evaluate rotation specific (synchronous) educational activities and instructional technology to improve learning outcomes related to acquisition of technical skills and enhanced clinical decision making. Apply state of the art and emerging instructional technology to improve quality and content of asynchronous didactic lectures and assess impact of these initiatives. Research and test instructional technologies. Guide the usage synchronous and asynchronous delivery technologies. Create / assist in the creation of course-related digital content Advise faculty on technology components of multimedia assignments and provide troubleshooting to students on multimedia projects. Assist faculty in design and deliver highest quality education, including use of instructional technology and coaching sessions on teaching and learning, as needed. Contribute to consultations with community regarding meeting pedagogical challenges through the thoughtful and appropriate use of technology. Collaborate with faculty to improve intraoperative teaching experience and assess impact of these initiatives with and without the application of instructional technology in the operating room setting. Initiate a program to enhance the capacity of surgical residents to serve as educators for fellow residents and medical students through curriculum design directed at small group discussion and case method teaching.  In the process, it is anticipated that resident presentation skills will be enhanced and residents will acquire skills in teaching through application of simulation and educational technology.   Postgraduate Continuing Medical Education (CME) Collaborate with faculty to develop innovative CME offerings, such as traditional courses, online programs, and other postgraduate education that generates income for the department   Other 1. Consult on preparation of grant proposals and manuscripts in surgical education. 2. Assist in the design and evaluation of resident, fellow, and faculty education research projects.   Qualifications/Skills & Knowledge Requirements: The appropriate candidate for this position will have 5+ years of experience in education with a minimum of a MA degree. A Masters in Educational Technology is strongly preferred.  The ideal candidate should have excellent computer, writing, communication, and organizational skills, and be able to manage a multitude of tasks and meet deadlines.  Candidate needs to be proficient with MS Word, Excel, and Powerpoint and needs to be adept using web-based applications.   Supervisory/Management Responsibility: Responsibilities may include managing Harvard Presidential Instructional Technology Fellows, as well as an administrative assistant who will also be responsible for supporting the surgical faculty Harvard Medical School promotions process and other faculty professional development initiatives.  

In Thiagi's Newsletter this month, he has a wild stream of reflections about SMART goals. Kind of funny. Nice to have the broad perspective. Check it out here...

Pros and Cons of Open Source LMSs Infographic Open source software is disrupting the world of enterprise software. The Pros and Cons of Open Source LMSs Infographic explores the advantages and disadvantages of open source learning management systems compared to commercial systems. There are a few open source LMSs addressed in this infographic: Moodle- a widely-used open source learning management system that was originally designed for educational use Totara LMS- a version of Moodle with added features to support enterprise and workplace learning Canvas LMS - a relatively new LMS that was designed for educational use. Instructure also has released Bridge, which is designed for enterprise and workplace learning but is not open source. The Pros and Cons of Open Source LMSs Infographic covers sections such as: Suitability for a workplace learning Support Complexity Customisations Support for blended integrated learning e.g. the 70:20:10 learning model Price Suitability for Workplace Learning Open source: Open source LMSs such as Moodle and Canvas were originally designed for the educational market and they lacked some of the key features needed for workplace learning .e.g. organizational hierarchies. Totara LMS is designed to solve these problems. It is basically Moodle but with added features that support organizations’ hierarchical and performance management. Enterprise: Workplace learning is what most commercial LMSs were designed for. Their weakness is that they focus on self-paced learning and are often just a database of modules. Support Open source: The powerful thing about Moodle is that you can download and install it yourself, but what you don’t have is any support. Most support is forum based and if someone in the community is not interested in your problem it‘s often hard to find a solution. The Moodle partner network is designed to provide a better level of support. Totara LMS also has a partner network that provides the type of support that commercial LMS providers offer. Enterprise: A high level of support is one of the services that LMS providers do really well. Complexity Open source: An LMS is a complex piece of software. Often, open source projects pay less attention to interface and usability. One of the great things about Canvas LMS is that it is easy to use. Enterprise: Commercial LMSs often have fewer features than open source LMSs, which helps to reduce their complexity. Also, their user interfaces are often easier to use. Customizations Open Source: Most LMSs require extensive configuration to suit a given organization. Commercial providers will say that the need for extensive customization is the weakest part of an open source LMS. One of the powerful features of open source software is the ecosystem of plug-ins that already exists. Enterprise: In reality, both commercial and open source LMS providers make most of their profit from customizations and integration. Support for Blended Intergrated Learning e.g.the 70:20:10 learning model Open Source: Totara/Moodle’s roots are in the educational area, where the approach to blended learning has matured. Support for blended integrated learning is one of the strengths of open source software. Enterprise: Commercial LMS’ roots are in the delivery of self-paced modules. If they do have features like discussion forums, they often work in a way where they are tacked on and not truly integrated. Price Open Source: Open source LMSs are cheaper. Enterprise: Commercial providers will say that open source systems are more expensive because of the customization costs. However, in the long term commercial LMSs are more expensive than the open source LMSs. Via: sproutlabs.com.auThe post Pros and Cons of Open Source LMSs Infographic appeared first on e-Learning Infographics.

Too many organizations insist on using slide templates (slide decorations) in their training slides and presentations. This is a bad idea, and I've created the following narrated slide deck to make a research-based case against these bedeviling adornments: On YouTube On Vimeo

4 eLearning Trends To Watch Infographic Online options are growing, and the classroom format is changing to incorporate the technology. The 4 eLearning Trends To Watch Infographic presents a few trends on the cusp of explosive growth this year, including big data, mobile learning, personalization and edutainment. 1. Big Data Big Data = Big Results By tracking where students struggle, excel, spend the most time, and individual learner and group patterns, eLearning professionals can understand how learners are digesting the information and pinpoint areas that may need to be fine-tuned within a course. 2. Mobile Learning Learn anywhere at any time. With mobile use continually on the rise, it’s becoming an increasingly dominate medium for learning material. Little screens means delivering content in smaller, more digestible, easily-sharable chunks in the form of photos, infographics, short sentences, and quotes. 3. Personalization Mass Customization Mass Production Student-centered courses are moving from an option to a must-have feature. The more customization available for students the better. With data telling eLearning professionals and educators how students are performing in real time, and what concepts they are struggling or excelling with, no two eLearning experiences should be the same. 4. Edutainment Less lecturing, more doing. Edutainment (educational entertainment) and gamification engage and motivate students to achieve goals through active learning. Based on Edgar Dale’s Cone of Experience, only 10% of learners remember what they read, 20% remember what they hear, 30% will remember what they see and hear, but a whopping 90% will remember a task they do themselves, even if it’s only in simulation. Via: www.wherelearningclicks.comThe post 4 eLearning Trends To Watch Infographic appeared first on e-Learning Infographics.

You have successfully signed up for my newsletter. Thanks for your interest! --Will   Will Thalheimer, PhDPresidentWork-Learning Research, Inc.   P.S. Feel free to look around the Work-Learning Research website (links above), or my blog, my book website, or my website on audience-response technology (links top of rightmost column).

It’s not the first time, and it certainly won’t be the last, but check out the latest video my Tech Club students created using one our all-time favorite tools—Animoto. For those of you not familiar with this digital storytelling gem, Animoto is an online and mobile video creation service that makes it both easy and fun for anyone to create and share extraordinary videos using their own pictures, video clips, words and music. Here’s how it works: After choosing a theme (this will determine the look and feel of the video), simply upload pictures and video clips to the video editor. Next, personalize your movie with text and music—either select a tune from the music library or upload your very own. Once you’re satisfied with the layout of your media, then click the produce button for the magic to begin. Animoto‘s cinematic technology brings your media to life with a pretty amazing orchestrated production that can be shared with teachers, classmates, colleagues, family and friends. With that said, when the folks at Mending Hearts Animal Rescue requested that my students create a slideshow highlighting adopted animals for an annual fundraiser, is it any wonder that we looked no further than this super cool tool? Check out the "Who Rescued Who?" video below—one that has been a huge hit! Pretty swanky, eh? Yeah, with Animoto—your finished products look like they’re ready for the big screen! A special shout out to Aubree and Maggie for all of their efforts in creating this pretty nifty masterpiece! Classroom Connection: Because there are countless ways in which Animoto can integrated across the K-12 curriculum, it is the perfect digital storytelling tool for the classroom. For example, biographies, field trips, book report projects, movie trailers and more can all be captured with this quick and easy slideshow tool. So, what are you waiting for? Inspire creativity in your students by giving them the opportunity to showcase knowledge in a fun, innovative and educational way using a really nifty resource! Oh, and did I mention that Animoto provides educators with free classroom accounts for use with up to 50 students? Yep, all for free! Sign up for yours today right here! For additional info, examples and resources regarding the use of Animoto in the classroom, check out the Teach Web 2.0 wikispace.

Subscription Learning is one way to implement the spacing effect--one of the best ways to help people learn so they don't forget, so that they can actually remember what to do on the job. The best way to experience subscription learning is to sign up for a subscription learning thread. With this in mind, I've created a free subscription-learning thread on how to give learners feedback. You can check it out by clicking here.

As Quincy Jones once remarked, "I’ve always thought that a big laugh is a really loud noise from the soul saying, "Ain’t that the truth." That said, Edu-fun Friday is a series devoted to adding some humor to the lives of teachers who visit this blog. After all, there’s nothing better than ending the week on a positive note! Plus, do we have the best topics to provide us with some comic relief or what? Um—yeah… I’m afraid this is really what it’s coming to! In fact, I even frustrated myself the other day when I repeatedly tried to zoom in on the details of a magazine ad. Then I cracked up when I realized it was an actual print copy and not my iPad. Help me! Thanks to artist Randy Glasbergen for the TGIF edtech humor!

Understanding the Teen Brain Infographic Ready to crack the code and solve the mystery behind why teens act the way they do? There are no instruction manuals for raising teens, but the Understanding the Teen Brain Infographic will take you through the science of the teen brain and help you determine the dangers and recognize the potential for the teens in your life. The Science of the Teen Brain The teen brain’s frontal lobes, used for decision making and problem solving, are not yet fully insulated so signals move slowly to the rest of the brain. This lack of full insulation leads to impulsive decisions. Determine the Dangers Because their brains are still maturing, teenagers are more prone to addiction than adults. Kids who drink alcohol before the age of 15 are five times more likely to develop alcoholism or dependence than those who begin drinking after the age of 21. Beware of Driving Distractions Teens are four times more likely to crash their cars than adults. According to AAA, distraction is a factor in more than half of teen car crashes. Set Limits! Kids average more than 10 hours of media time every day! That’s about 68% of the time they’re awake. Get More Rest! Sleep is essential for learning. Teens should get 8-10 hours of sleep. 9.25 hours is recommended. The Science of Sleep Most high school students are sleep deprived. Stay off the cell phone at night. Artificial light is a stimulus and decreases the chemicals that bring on sleep. 90% of Americans use some type of electronic device before bedtime. Monitor this activity! 68% of 15-to-I7-year-olds said they keep an electronic device on throughout the night. 20% fall asleep in class Teens who get less than 6 hours of sleep are more likely to perform poorly on tests. Promote the Possibilities Teens have better memory! Incidental memory peaks at age 12 and then continues to decline through adulthood. Use it or lose it! As teens learn and experience new things, they will continue to make and build new brain connections. IQ scores can rise or fall 20 pts. Recognize their potential Since a teen’s brain is still changing, there’s high potential for increasing IQ. Once you understand the mysteries of your teen’s brain, you can protect them from bad behaviors and help them benefit from their amazing potential to learn and mature! Via: www.learningliftoff.comThe post Understanding the Teen Brain Infographic appeared first on e-Learning Infographics.

As a youth soccer coach for many years I have struggled to evaluate my own players and have seen how my soccer league evaluates players to place them on teams. As a professional learning-and-performance consultant who has focused extensively on measurement and evaluation, I think we can all do better, me included. To this end, I have spent the last two years creating a series of evaluation tools for use by coaches and youth soccer leagues. I’m sure these forms are not perfect, but I’m absolutely positive that they will be a huge improvement over the typical forms utilized by most youth soccer organizations. I have developed the forms so that they can be modified and they are made available for free to anyone who coaches youth soccer. At the bottom of this post, I'll include a list of the most common mistakes that are made in youth-soccer evaluation. For my regular blog readers--those who come to me for research-based recommendations on workplace learning-and-performance--you'll see relevance to your own work in this list of evaluation mistakes. I have developed four separate forms for evaluation. That may seem like a lot until you see how they will help you as a coach (and as a soccer league) meet varied goals you have. I will provide each form as a PDF (so you can see what the form is supposed to look like regardless of your computer configuration) and as a Word Document (so you can make changes if you like). I've also provided a short set of instructions. Instructions and Rationale    The Forms 1.   Player Ranking Form:  This form evaluates players on 26 soccer competencies and 4 player-comparison items, giving each player a numerical score based on these items AND an overall rating. This form is intended to provide leagues with ranking information so that they can better place players on teams for the upcoming season. PDF---Will's_Youth-Soccer_PLAYER_RANKING_FORM_v2.0 WORD---Will's_Youth-Soccer_PLAYER_RANKING_FORM_v2.0    2. Player Development Form:  This form evaluates players on the 26 soccer competencies. This form is intended for use by coaches to help support their players in development. Indeed, this form can be shared with players and parents to help players focus on their development needs. PDF---Will's_Youth-Soccer_PLAYER_DEVELOPMENT_FORM_v2.0 WORD---Will's_Youth-Soccer_PLAYER_DEVELOPMENT_FORM_v2.0     3. Team Evaluation Form:  This form helps coaches use practices and games to evaluate their players on the 26 key competencies. Specifically, it enables them to use one two-page form to evaluate every player on their team. PDF---Will's_Youth-Soccer_TEAM_REVIEW_FORM_v2.0 WORD---Will's_Youth-Soccer_TEAM_REVIEW_FORM_v2.0    4. Field Evaluation Form:  This form enables skilled evaluators to judge the performance of players during small-group scrimmages. Like the Player Ranking Form, it provides player-comparison information to leagues (or to soccer clubs). PDF---Will's_Youth-Soccer_FIELD_EVALUATION_FORM_v2.0 WORD---Will's_Youth-Soccer_FIELD_EVALUATION_FORM_v2.0    The Most Common Mistakes in Youth-Soccer Evaluation When skills evaluated are not clear to evaluators. So for example, having players rated on their "agility" will not provide good data because "agility" will likely mean different things to different people. When skills are evaluated along too many dimensions. So for example, evaluating a player on their "ball-handling skills, speed, and stamina" covers too many dimensions at once—a player could have excellent ball-handling skills but have terrible stamina. When the rating scales that evaluators are asked to use make it hard to select between different levels of competence. So for example, while "ball-handling" might reasonably be evaluated, it may be hard for an evaluator to determine whether a player is excellent, very good, average, fair, or poor in ball-handling. Generally, it is better to have clear criteria and ask whether or not a player meets those criteria. Four or Five-Point scales are not recommended. When evaluators can’t assess skills because of the speed of action, the large number of players involved, or the difficulty of noticing the skills targeted. For example, evaluations of scrimmages that involve more than four players on a side make it extremely difficult for the evaluators to notice the contributions of each player. When bias affects evaluators’ judgments. Because the human mind is always working subconsciously, biases can be easily introduced. So for example, it is bad practice to give evaluators the coaches’ ratings of players before those players take part in a scrimmage-based evaluation. When bias leads to a generalized positive or negative evaluation. Because evaluation is difficult and is largely a subconscious process, a first impression can skew an evaluation away from what is valid. For example, when a player is seen as getting outplayed in the first few minutes of a scrimmage, his/her later excellent play may be ignored or downplayed. Similarly, when a player is intimidated early in the season, a coach may not fully notice his/her gritty determination later in the year. When bias comes from too few observations. Because evaluation is an inexact process, evaluation results are likely to be more valid if the evaluation utilizes (a) more observations (b) by more evaluators (c) focusing on more varied soccer situations. Coaches who see their players over time and in many soccer situations are less likely to suffer from bias, although they too have to watch out that their first impressions don’t cloud their judgments. And of course, it is helpful to get assessments beyond one or two coaches. When players are either paired with, or are playing against, players who are unrepresentative of realistic competition. For example, players who are paired against really weak players may look strong in comparison. Players who are paired as teammates with really good players may look strong because of their teammates’ strong play. Finally, players who only have experience playing weaker players may not play well when being evaluated against stronger players even though they might be expected to improve by moving up and gaining experience with those same players. When the wrong things are evaluated. Obviously, it’s critical to evaluate the right soccer skills. So for example, evaluating a player on how well he/she can pass to a stationary player is not as valid as seeing whether good passes are made in realistic game-like situations when players are moving around. The more game-like the situations, the better the evaluation. When evaluations are done by remembering, not observing. Many coaches fill out their evaluation forms back home late at night instead of evaluating their players while observing them. The problem with this memory-based approach is that introduces huge biases into the process. First, memory is not perfect, so evaluators may not remember correctly. Second, memory is selective. We remember some things and forget others. Players must be evaluated primarily through observation, not memory. Encouraging players to compare themselves to others. As coaches, one of our main goals is to help our players learn to develop their skills as players, as teammates, as people, and as thinkers. Unfortunately, when players focus on how well they are doing in comparison to others, they are less likely to focus on their own skill development. It is generally a mistake to use evaluations to encourage players to compare themselves to others. While players may be inclined to compare themselves to others, coaches can limit the negative effects of this by having each player focus on their own key competencies to improve. Encouraging players to focus on how good they are overall, instead of having them focus on what they are good at and what they still have to work on. For our players to get better, they have to put effort into getting better. If they believe their skills are fixed and not easily changed, they will have no motivation to put any effort into their own improvement. Evaluations should be designed NOT to put kids in categories (except when absolutely necessary for team assignments and the like), but rather to show them what they need to work on to get better. As coaches, we should teach the importance of giving effort to deliberate practice, encouraging our players to refine and speed their best skills and improve on their weakest skills. Encouraging players to focus on too many improvements at once. To help our players (a) avoid frustration, (b) avoid thinking of themselves as poor players, and (c) avoid overwhelming their ability to focus, we ought to have them only focus on a few major self-improvement goals at one time.  

In a recent, NY Time Article, GRETCHEN MORGENSON cited a paper (Executive Superstars, Peer Groups and Over-­‐Compensation -Cause, Effect and Solution) by Charles M. Elson and Craig K. Ferrere who compile research from others (see citations below) that basically shows that CEO's do NOT successfully transfer their skills from one company to another. CEO's who are hired from within tend to do a much better job than CEO's brought in from the outside. We in the learning-and-performance field should take note. The reason this is true is because it takes real-world expertise, gained through long bouts of experience in a particular set of situations, to give people the tools they need to be experts. This we should all know. If you want to be good in calculus as it applies to astronomy, you ought to get practice in applying calculus to astronomy. It is not enough to just learn calculus and learn astromony. And certainly it is not helpful to learn Latin to learn math, or even to learn other languages. Anybody who has been to graduate school in learning should have learned about how unlikely it is for learning to transfer from one domain to the other. Thorndike anyone? Donald Clark has a nice blog post on Thorndike and the uselessness of learning latin. So, from both a training and on-the-job learning perspective, we should be giving our learners extensive opportunities to learn their areas of expertise. This doesn't mean they should never dabble in other domains. In fact, creativity research shows that "domain-spanners" are more likely to be creative than those who only learn with a narrow focus. HOWEVER, people who are only domain-spanners (and don't know a field really well) tend to just be good at coming up with ideas--but not generally good ones. Expertise matters! Those of you in the United States who are thinking about our election in terms of this lack of transfer from one job situation to another could have a field day...or a depression.   Some of Elson and Ferrere's citations showing that CEO's skills don't transfer well: Richard A. Cazier and John M. McInnis, Do Firms Contract Efficiently on Past Performance When Hiring External CEOs? (Working Paper, 2010) (studying 192 external successions from 1993-2005 they find a negative correlation between excess compensation and future performance;; paradoxically the superstars underperformed). Gregory L. Nagel, William G. Hardin III, The Transferability of CEO Skills, (Working Paper, 2007) Mark R. Huson, Paul H. Malatesta and Robert Parrino, Managerial succession and firm performance, 74 J. FIN. ECON. 237, 237 (2004) (finding that "the appointment of outside successors [is] not significantly related to post-turnover performance changes in [their] regression analysis.") Chuck Lucier, Steven Wheeler, and Rolf Habbel, The Era of the Inclusive Leader, 47 STRATEGY+BUSINESS (2007) (finding that "experienced CEOs", though hypothesized to bring experience in dealing with stakeholders and shareholders actually underperformed). James S. Ang and Gregory L. Nagel, The Financial Outcome of Hiring a CEO from Outside the Firm, (Working Paper, 18, 34, 2011) (using a structural self-selection model to estimate counterfactual performance that would have been obtained if the firm hired an insider rather than an outsider and vice-versa, at all target levels of performance internal hires stochastically dominate outsiders).

A few weeks ago I shared a post pertaining to using images—like the winning entries in the Smithsonian’s 11th Annual Photo Contest—to spark student writing. Since then I’ve discovered a really neat Pinterest board chock-full of ideas regarding the use of picture prompts in the classroom. Check out Quick Write Picture Prompts, a collection of images and corresponding writing ideas, curated by a fourth grade teacher. An example of one of these story starters is shown below. Suggested Use: Writer #1—Tell the story about what was happening when this picture was taken. Writer #2—Add to the first writer’s story. Writer #3—Share your thoughts or the life lesson. Writer #1: Read the story. Edit and revise it for clarity. Give the picture a title. Even if none of the images in this collection apply to your grade level and/or curricular area, there are plenty of ideas that can be tweaked to suit your needs. Classroom Connection: Regardless of the resource utilized to obtain images, the use of picture prompts is an excellent way to motivate students to write essays, stories, poems, etc.

A while back, I wrote an article for the eLearning Guild which was essentially about measuring social media as a learning tool. We called social media "Learning 2.0" but the issue is the same. Here is the article. I'm reprising that here, because I just read Ettiene Wenger's (2011) article where he talks about measuring social media, and I am once again disappointed that opportunity costs and costs of bad-information are not recognized.

The Value of Organizational Learning Infographic How do you gauge the business impact of organizational learning programs? What are the main obstacles encountered when linking learning programs and business outcomes? What steps do you need to take to move the needle? ASTD and the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) have released The Value of Learning: Gauging the Business Impact of Organizational Learning Programs research report focused on how organizations measure the effectiveness of the learning programs and products they design and implement. This report offers both a quantitative and qualitative perspective from leaders responsible for organizational learning. This study looks at responses of 431 learning professionals representing organizations across all sectors and of varying sizes and geographic locations that were collected in September and October of 2013. Interviews with 11 industry leaders, such as Yum! Brands, Caterpillar, and Walgreens, support and bring depth to the survey findings. While there’s no matching the analysis and recommendations found in the report, ASTD has compiled The Value of Organizational Learning Infographic to get you started. Via: www.td.orgThe post The Value of Organizational Learning Infographic appeared first on e-Learning Infographics.

If you’re a regular visitor to my blog, especially as of late, it’s no secret that I’ve been sharing tools and resources that could help teachers spark an interest in writing. And that’s because I am a huge proponent of teaching visual literacy skills. Considering the mass media, digital age we are immersed in, I feel it’s imperative that students have the ability to interpret, negotiate and make meaning from information presented in the form of an image, which extends the meaning of literacy beyond printed text. Combine that notion with the super popular quote images that are now splashed all over the place—social media, the Internet, billboards, etc.—and what do you have? The opportunity to develop the perfect activity to integrate pop culture with the honing of skills students need to communicate in a highly complex world. Yep, I’m talking about the creation of a project that combines images, text, writing and even classroom discussions or debates. And the tool to get the job done? None other than QuotesCover.com. It’s no secret that one way to make pictures more memorable is by making them pop off the page. But designing elements such as typography, shapes, color combinations and composition can be a complex process. Well, until now, that is. QuotesCover.com has now become my favorite go-to web tool for taking one of my very own photos, adding text and generating an image to represent exactly what I am so totally thinking or feeling. Not only does it transform the ordinary into the extraordinary, this nifty application is pretty simple to use. Check out my refuse to give up example below. ♥ Want to make your own "eye candy"? Then check out QuotesCover.com and start your design by following three easy steps: Select your text by either adding your own or choose a famous quote, proverb or greeting from the online collection. Next, use the graphic editor to determine the type and size of image you would like to create. Lastly, experiment, tweak and play with the font and color combinations, drawing tools, effects and customizable background image to create your masterpiece. Once you’re satisfied with the result, just download it for future use—on blogs and web or social media sites and/or in print projects such as newsletters or brochures. Classroom Connection: The use of quotes combined with images used to motivate and inspire students is not a new concept. As a classroom teacher, I personally incorporated both on a regular basis and can honestly say that this strategy was one of my most favorite ways to kickstart class, regardless of the content area. That said, QuotesCover.com is a fabulous tool for teachers who are looking for a quick and easy yet powerful way to create their own quote images and/or who want their students to do the same. As previously mentioned, we live in a world in which our students are constantly bombarded with images; thus, it is essential for them to have the skills to recognize, interpret and understand the context of these signs, pictures, graphics and symbols in order to make meaning of their environment. So, if you’re going to use this particular visual literacy teaching strategy to generate writing and/or thought-provoking discussions, why not add a layer of technology to the process by having students create their own quote images with a tool like QuotesCover.com? Finished products can be utilized for writing prompts, classroom conversations or both. For example, students can jot a thought and/or discuss in a small or whole group setting what the quotes actually means to them.