The Four Criteria for Making Classroom Learning Work
After college, there were two classrooms that changed the trajectory of my life. I could hardly drive to the first course, I was so anxious about taking a public speaking course. But I pored over the material and thought about it between each class. My reaction to the other life-changing class was more like respectful ambivalence. It was a personal finance class, and I already had my university degree in finance. But the material challenged me, and the classmates inspired me. As a result of that class, my whole approach to money — how I share it, save it, and spend it — will never be the same.
Inspiring Classroom Experiences
Beyond these two classes, several other adult classes have helped me see myself more clearly, make helpful connections, and make adjustments to how I operate.
In fact, I can’t think of a single class I’ve taken that wasn’t worth it, because I decided to make them all worthwhile.
Some reputable organizations have rejected classroom training and education unless it offers a necessary degree or credential. Others suggest the only “classes” you need are short videos. For instance, one organization declares, “Formalized development is rarely effective, and we don’t try to do it.” Other organizations promote tuition assistance policies that pay for people’s ongoing growth and development…so long as it confers on them a degree or designation. It seems the learning is irrelevant, perhaps not even expected. Just get the letters behind your name.
Are you skeptical about the return on investment you’d get from taking an adult class — whether for public speaking, business writing, or basket weaving?
Different Opinions on Adult Classroom Learning
Maybe most adult classrooms are ineffective. Or perhaps most adults aren’t ready to learn. Understanding the reasons may open more opportunities for you to benefit from positive growth and change.
Dale Carnegie has conducted classes for five generations of adults in hundreds of countries around the world. (Disclosure: My family has been certified to offer these courses for three generations.) One might think they’ve learned something about how to structure a class for an adult, and what adults need to do to benefit from them.
Dale Carnegie’s Cycle of Performance Change
- Establish the mindset. First, you have to believe that you need to grow. Most people, as a wise marriage therapist once told me, are not willing to confront their own need to grow. People compare, justify, blame, and rationalize to avoid facing the gap between their real and idealized self. Once you do accept the need to change, you need to decide that you want the change, that you can make the change, and you will commit to it. This has nothing to do with being a Millennial or an accountant. Your head has to be in the right place, and the class should be structured to support that.
- Make the learning simple and memorable. According to Ebbinghaus’ Forgetting Curve, humans quickly lose most of what they learn. To mitigate this, learning has to be clear, simple, and memorable. Short mantras, lessons, or principles combined with easy-to-understand patterns work well. Also, repeating the learning in intervals strengthens the memory like a muscle. For instance, when I read nonfiction, I highlight short sections or phrases, re-type them into a document, paste them into my website, and be sure to explain them to others as quickly as possible.
- Rehearse, practice, and apply. As I’ve written before, perhaps no one has explained the path to high performance better than Anders Ericsson. He is widely recognized as the expert on learning to become excellent. One of the primary contributing factors, according to Ericsson, is deliberate practice — repeat the learning with constraints and immediate feedback. In other words, force yourself to use the learning under uncomfortable conditions. You might go to the driving range to hit golf balls, for example, with a forced guide to your swing path. Then record the hitting and/or have a coach who can immediately provide feedback for adjustments. As IBM CEO Ginni Rometty says, “Growth and comfort don’t co-exist.”
- Remain vigilant and intentional…for a while. It takes 66 days of effort to form a habit. You can’t just attend a conference or a class and expect change overnight. To get lasting change, you need two months of trying. Ongoing reminders, rewards, and required implementation will translate into ingrained skill or knowledge. In fact, the learning may become so embedded into your core that you might just forget where it came from…and forget to credit that it came from a class.
These are the characteristics of a well-formed class and effective learning. Additionally, classes often happen along with other people, which is proven to yield more learning benefits than learning alone.
So, if you want to grow, if you want to improve, consider the possibilities of a class. And determine how you will make sure all four elements of the Cycle of Performance Change are present.
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