The Majority of Employers Do Not Take into Consideration Learner Readiness or Learner Styles

The Majority of Employers Do Not Take into Consideration Learner Readiness or Learner Styles

Broward College

MAN4900

Professor

27, June 2012

Contents

Abstract 3

Learner Readiness 4

Learner Styles 7

Survey Questions 10

Individual Surveys 13

Survey Results by Question 74

Analysis of Questions by Results 86

Comparison of Like Survey Questions 89

Annotated Bibliography 91

Works Cited 97

Abstract

According to the trainees (learners), learner styles and readiness are not being taken into consideration when they are being trained. According to the trainers, learner styles and learner readiness are being taken into consideration. What does this mean? Fortunately or unfortunately, the people who are best to judge this are the ones who are doing the actual learning. The perception of the trainers needs to be addressed, because the trainees are the ones actually held responsible for the information being taught. The following data and information will prove my theory that learner styles and learner readiness are not being taken into consideration by the employers who are training them.

The Majority of Employers Do Not Take into Consideration Learner Readiness or Learner Styles

What is Learner Readiness?

Education.com describes learner readiness in the following way:

"State or condition of an individual that makes it possible for him or her to engage profitably in a given learning activity -- learning readiness depends on such factors as past experiences, cognitive development, affective factors, and motivation as well as on the instructional methods and materials to be used." (Glossary of Education, None Given)

In essence, we are talking about an employee's ability to learn, based on their present state of mind. Let's go through the definition point by point.

The first point made was that past experiences may impact learner readiness. Especially in people that are of working age, they have a lot of things that went on in their pasts that influence their present. For example, in the past, an employee may have been brought to an office to be scolded or "written up". If this is the case, when a supervisor calls that employee into the office for training purposes, the employee already fears the worst. Not only are they not ready to learn, but they may have turned off to the whole concept of learning. In this case, it is up to the trainer to make it clear to the trainee that they have done nothing wrong, and this is just part of their development.

The second point in the definition is that cognitive development impacts learner readiness. Farlex Medical Dictionary defines cognitive as: "the development of intelligence, conscious thought, and problem-solving ability that begins in infancy." (The Free Dictionary by Farlex, 2012) This really has to do with making sure that the material being taught is something that the learner can comprehend. In other words, it is futile to teach over the heads of your learners. You cannot expect an employee with a high school diploma to understand the intricacies of rocket science.

The third point in the definition is that affective factors must be considered. Affective factors are emotional factors that can influence learning and the ability to learn. In other words, what emotional state is the employee in today? Especially today, adults are riddled with pressures. There are a tremendous amount of monetary as well as social pressures that simply did not exist 100 years ago. It is not uncommon for an employee to come to work after nursing a sick child all night, and fighting with their spouses over finances in the morning. In the abovementioned case, how would that person be able to comprehend training at work that same day? Chances are, the information would be only partially absorbed, if at all. The employee is affected by their lives at home.

The fourth point in the definition of learner readiness is that motivation means something to the learner. Oftentimes, trainers approach training sessions as an everyday part of their jobs. That may be the case, but what if the trainers could figure out what motivates the employees? Some employees may be motivated by money. Some may be motivated by time off. Others may be motivated by a new title. Whatever the motivation is, the trainer should take the time to figure it out. Learner readiness is directly impacted by it.

The fifth factor to consider is instructional methods. There are some learners that may be happy with being lectured to. There are some who may be hands on. There are visual learners, people who learn best through music and people who may learn best while standing on their heads and reciting the National Anthem. The point is that the instructional method being used needs to meet the needs of the audience, or in this case, the employees being taught. If a method of training is being used that the employee cannot relate to, they cannot process the information in the manner of which it is intended. If that is the case, the employee may mentally shut down before the training even begins. The instructional method surely impacts learner readiness.

The last issue to consider in the area of learner readiness is the material being used to present the new information. This is a more practical matter than it suggests. For example, if an employee training session begins at 7am, and the employees just go to the convention hotel at 11pm. the night before, chances are the audience will fall asleep if a training video is used. This just makes sense. Would the abovementioned learners be ready to pay attention in a dark room, when they are already tired? Rather than go that route automatically, the learner readiness levels really need to be considered. It may be worthwhile to start the day with a coffee and donut