Social Learning Instructor Guide
TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface ..............................................................................................................................................7 What is Courseware? ................................................................................................................................ 7 How Do I Customize My Course? .............................................................................................................. 7 Materials Required ................................................................................................................................... 9 Maximizing Your Training Power .............................................................................................................. 9 Module One: Getting Started ........................................................................................................... 11 Housekeeping Items................................................................................................................................ 11 The Parking Lot ....................................................................................................................................... 12 Workshop Objectives .............................................................................................................................. 12 Module Two: Setting the Right Group Dynamic (I)............................................................................. 13 Communicating....................................................................................................................................... 13 Collaborating .......................................................................................................................................... 14 Sharing of Best Practices ........................................................................................................................ 15 Refining Ideas ......................................................................................................................................... 16 Case Study............................................................................................................................................... 17 Module Two: Review Questions.............................................................................................................. 18 Module Three: Setting the Right Group Dynamic (II) ......................................................................... 21 Diversity Builds Knowledge ..................................................................................................................... 21 Social Interactions................................................................................................................................... 22 People Are Different ............................................................................................................................... 23 Dealing with Difficult People .................................................................................................................. 24 Case Study............................................................................................................................................... 25 Module Three: Review Questions ........................................................................................................... 26
Module Four: Develop a Social Learning Culture at Work (I) .............................................................. 30 Making the Connection........................................................................................................................... 30 Tagging Star Employees ......................................................................................................................... 31 Recognizing Teaching Moments ............................................................................................................. 32 Culture of Questioning ............................................................................................................................ 33 Case Study............................................................................................................................................... 34 Module Four: Review Questions ............................................................................................................. 35 Module Five: Develop a Social Learning Culture at Work (II) .............................................................. 38 Safe to Share Environment ..................................................................................................................... 38 Instilling a Passion for Learning .............................................................................................................. 39 Instill a Sense of Sharing ......................................................................................................................... 40 Learning in the Social Unit ...................................................................................................................... 41 Case Study............................................................................................................................................... 42 Module Five: Review Questions .............................................................................................................. 43 Module Six: Develop a Culture of Social Learning at Work (III) ........................................................... 46 Remove Fear of Feedback or Criticism.................................................................................................... 46 Creating a Social Unit ............................................................................................................................. 47 Imitation and Modeling .......................................................................................................................... 48 Empowering Learners ............................................................................................................................. 49 Case Study............................................................................................................................................... 50 Module Six: Review Questions ................................................................................................................ 51 Module Seven: Role Playing (I) ......................................................................................................... 54 Identify Work Related Scenarios ............................................................................................................. 54 Add Variables .......................................................................................................................................... 55 Assign Roles ............................................................................................................................................ 56 Prepare Role-Players............................................................................................................................... 57
Case Study............................................................................................................................................... 58 Module Seven: Review Questions ........................................................................................................... 59 Module Eight: Role Playing (II) .......................................................................................................... 62 Act It Out................................................................................................................................................. 62 Debrief .................................................................................................................................................... 63 Mirror Good Examples ............................................................................................................................ 64 General Role Playing Tips ....................................................................................................................... 65 Case Study............................................................................................................................................... 66 Module Eight: Review Questions ............................................................................................................ 67 Module Nine: Utilizing the Right Tools (I) .......................................................................................... 70 Mentoring ............................................................................................................................................... 70 Social Media ........................................................................................................................................... 71 Critical Thinking ...................................................................................................................................... 72 Gamification ........................................................................................................................................... 73 Case Study............................................................................................................................................... 74 Module Nine: Review Questions ............................................................................................................. 75 Module Ten: Utilizing the Right Tools (II) .......................................................................................... 78 Relevant Resources Selection ................................................................................................................. 78 Job Shadowing ........................................................................................................................................ 79 Knowledge Management ....................................................................................................................... 80 Social Facilitation .................................................................................................................................... 81 Case Study............................................................................................................................................... 82 Module Ten: Review Questions .............................................................................................................. 83 Module Eleven: Modeling and Observational Learning ...................................................................... 86 Inspired by Leaders ................................................................................................................................. 86 Boosting Self-Efficacy.............................................................................................................................. 87
Peer Role Models .................................................................................................................................... 88 Generating Engagement......................................................................................................................... 89 Case Study............................................................................................................................................... 90 Module Eleven: Review Questions .......................................................................................................... 91 Module Twelve: Wrapping Up .......................................................................................................... 94 Words from the Wise .............................................................................................................................. 94 Review of Parking Lot ............................................................................................................................. 94 Lessons Learned ...................................................................................................................................... 94 Completion of Action Plans and Evaluations .......................................................................................... 95
Tell me and I will forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I will learn. Benjamin Franklin Preface What is Courseware? Welcome to Courseware.com, a completely new training experience! Our courseware packages offer you top-quality training materials that are customizable, user-friendly, educational, and fun. We provide your materials, materials for the student, PowerPoint slides, and a takehome reference sheet for the student. You simply need to prepare and train! Best of all, our courseware packages are created in Microsoft Office and can be opened using any version of Word and PowerPoint. (Most other word processing and presentation programs support these formats, too.) This means that you can customize the content, add your logo, change the color scheme, and easily print and e-mail training materials.
How Do I Customize My Course? Customizing your course is easy. To edit text, just click and type as you would with any document. This is particularly convenient if you want to add customized statistics for your region, special examples for your participants’ industry, or additional information. You can, of course, also use all of your word processor’s other features, including text formatting and editing tools (such as cutting and pasting). To remove modules, simply select the text and press Delete on your keyboard. Then, navigate to the Table of Contents, right-click, and click Update Field. You may see a dialog box; if so, click “Update entire table” and press OK.
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(You will also want to perform this step if you add modules or move them around.) If you want to change the way text looks, you can format any piece of text any way you want. However, to make it easy, we have used styles so that you can update all the text at once. If you are using Word 97 to 2003, start by clicking the Format menu followed by Styles and Formatting. In Word 2007 and 2010 under the Home tab, right-click on your chosen style and click Modify. That will then produce the Modify Style options window where you can set your preferred style options. For example, if we wanted to change our Heading 1 style, used for Module Titles, this is what we would do:
Now, we can change our formatting and it will apply to all the headings in the document. For more information on making Word work for you, please refer to Word 2007 or 2010 Essentials by Courseware.com.
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Materials Required All of our courses use flip chart paper and markers extensively. (If you prefer, you can use a whiteboard or chalkboard instead.) We recommend that each participant have a copy of the Training Manual, and that you review each module before training to ensure you have any special materials required. Worksheets and handouts are included within a separate activities folder and can be reproduced and used where indicated. If you would like to save paper, these worksheets are easily transferrable to a flip chart paper format, instead of having individual worksheets. We recommend these additional materials for all workshops:
Laptop with projector, for PowerPoint slides
Quick Reference Sheets for students to take home
Timer or watch (separate from your laptop)
Masking tape
Blank paper
Maximizing Your Training Power We have just one more thing for you before you get started. Our company is built for trainers, by trainers, so we thought we would share some of our tips with you, to help you create an engaging, unforgettable experience for your participants.
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Make it customized. By tailoring each course to your participants, you will find that your results will increase a thousand-fold. o
Use examples, case studies, and stories that are relevant to the group.
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Identify whether your participants are strangers or whether they work together. Tailor your approach appropriately.
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Different people learn in different ways, so use different types of activities to balance it all out. (For example, some people learn by reading, while others learn by talking about it, while still others need a hands-on approach. For more information, we suggest Experiential Learning by David Kolb.)
Make it fun and interactive. Most people do not enjoy sitting and listening to someone else talk for hours at a time. Make use of the tips in this book and your own experience to keep your
participants engaged. Mix up the activities to include individual work, small group work, large group discussions, and mini-lectures. 
Make it relevant. Participants are much more receptive to learning if they understand why they are learning it and how they can apply it in their daily lives. Most importantly, they want to know how it will benefit them and make their lives easier. Take every opportunity to tie what you are teaching back to real life.
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Keep an open mind. Many trainers find that they learn something each time they teach a workshop. If you go into a training session with that attitude, you will find that there can be an amazing two-way flow of information between the trainer and trainees. Enjoy it, learn from it, and make the most of it in your workshops.
And now, time for the training!
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To know oneself is to study oneself in action with another person. Bruce Lee
Module One: Getting Started We are continually placed in social learning situations. Whether we are continuing education, learning new skills at work, or participating in a club, learning often takes place in social settings. By fully understanding the process of social learning, it is possible to enhance both social and learning skills to reap the full benefits of any social learning situation.
Housekeeping Items Take a few moments to cover basic housekeeping items.
If you need an opening or a way to introduce the participants to each other, utilize the Icebreakers folder to begin or between breaks during the day.
Let participants know where they can find washrooms, break facilities, and fire exits.
Ask participants to turn off their cell phones or at least turn them to vibrate. If they must take a call, request that they do it outside.
Take this time to encourage the group to ask questions and make this an interactive workshop.
Write the words Respect, Confidentiality, and Practice on a piece of flip chart paper and tape it to the wall. Explain to participants that in order to get the most out of this workshop, we must all work together, listen to each other, explore new ideas, and make mistakes. After all, that’s how we learn!
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The Parking Lot Explain the concept of The Parking Lot to participants.
The Parking Lot is a visible place where you will “park” ideas that arise which are not on the agenda, may be off topic, or are better addressed outside of the program.
At the end of the session, we will review parked ideas and follow up, or make suggestions for your own investigation when you are back at work.
Suggestions for the trainer: 1. If you are working with a large group of participants, you may wish to nominate a recorder to park items as you are facilitating. 2. It’s a good idea to note the name of the contributor along with the parked item. 3. Items noted on the parking lot can be useful to you later as you plan future training sessions.
Workshop Objectives Research has consistently demonstrated that when clear goals are associated with learning, it occurs more easily and rapidly. With that in mind, let’s review our goals for today. At the end of this workshop, participants should be able to:
Define and use social learning.
Identify social learning tools.
Manipulate group dynamics and culture.
Craft and lead role play scenarios.
Practice being a role model.
Understand modeling and observation.
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The path to greatness is along with others. Baltasar Gracian
Module Two: Setting the Right Group Dynamic (I) Most people belong to groups. Groups may be formal, such as work groups, or informal, like book clubs. The success of any group depends on its dynamic. Group dynamics are how the members of the group interact. Leaders have a responsibility to establish a strong foundation in groups. Setting the right dynamics in communication, collaboration, and sharing will improve the success of the group and enhance social learning.
Communicating No group can be effective without constant and effective communication. It is essential that all members of the group understand this concept. The methods of communication will vary with each social group. Some large groups will require more centralized communication than other groups do. Many smaller groups benefit from open communication. This allows all members to actively communicate and share ideas, which encourages creativity and builds teams. Open Communication Strategies:
Be positive and respectful. Be open and honest. Adjust your communication style for a diverse group. Give feedback immediately, especially when in a leadership role.
Estimated Time
10 minutes
Topic Objective
Introduce digital communicating. Communicating
Topic Summary Practice communication.
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Materials Required
01-Communicating
Planning Checklist
None
Recommended Activity
Break into pairs and follow the directions in the handout.
Stories to Share
Share any personal or relevant stories.
Delivery Tips
Encourage everyone to participate.
Review Questions
What is essential for an effective group?
Collaborating Collaborating is an important part of any group dynamic. When done correctly, it spurs success. When done incorrectly, it can lead to failure. Anytime you work with another person, you are collaborating. When you are working collaboratively, expect to hear many different viewpoints. Embrace the diversity and creativity of your group, and never cut people short. How to Collaborate:
Listen carefully: Listen to the ideas that other group members share. Ask questions: Ask for clarification. Commit to the group: Focus in the success of the group rather than your ego.
Estimated Time
5 minutes
Topic Objective
Introduce collaborating Collaborating
Topic Summary Discuss collaboration tips. Materials Required
Flipchart/board and marker
Planning Checklist
None
Recommended Activity
Share strategies that you have found effective when collaborating. List these on the flipchart/board.
Stories to Share
Share any personal relevant stories.
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Delivery Tips
Encourage everyone to participate.
Review Questions
What will spur success?
Sharing of Best Practices All groups and organizations can benefit from best practices. A best practice is any practice that consistently delivers positive results. Group members have an opportunity to identify and share best practices. In a group setting, it is important to promote cohesion within the group and gain the involvement of all participants. There are several ways to identify and share best practices:
Meetings Social network sites Blogs Newsletters
All group members should have the opportunity to share their best practices, and all information shared should be treated with respect.
Estimated Time
7 minutes
Topic Objective
Introduce the concept of best practices and how to share them. Sharing the Best Practices
Topic Summary Discuss ways to share best practices. Materials Required
Flipchart/board and marker
Planning Checklist
None
Recommended Activity
As a group, discuss ways that you share best practices. List the methods that you find effective on the flipchart/board.
Stories to Share
Share any personal, relevant stories.
Delivery Tips
Encourage everyone to participate.
Review Questions
What is a best practice?
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Refining Ideas Effective groups will be able to discover and refine ideas. Refining ideas requires constant feedback from the group, which leads to change. This change will produce constant growth, which helps the group reach better and better solutions. The process of refining ideas makes them clearer and more specific. There are many different ways to discover and refine ideas:
Brainstorm: List ideas as a group and them discuss which ones are best. Narrow a topic: If ideas are too broad, work together to narrow the topic, it should look like an outline. Ask questions: Ask who, what, where, when, and why about each idea.
No matter which method you choose, make sure that everyone is involved in the refining process.
Estimated Time
9 minutes
Topic Objective
Introduce the concept of refining ideas. Refining Ideas
Topic Summary Practice refining ideas. Materials Required
02-Refine
Planning Checklist
None
Recommended Activity
Complete the worksheet individually. Share your answers with the rest of the class.
Stories to Share
Share any personal, relevant stories.
Delivery Tips
Encourage everyone to participate.
Review Questions
What does refining ideas require?
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Case Study Devon was leading a team tasked with finding a way to recreate the company’s brand. He had a definite direction in mind. In the first meeting, he asked members to brainstorm and refine strategies. Devon immediately dismissed any comments that conflicted with his preconceived ideas. On the second day, he again dismissed any ideas that conflicted with his. By the third day, he noticed that the group was no longer very communicative, which annoyed him. At the end of the week, he was complaining that he might as well finish the project himself.
Estimated Time
5 minutes
Topic Objective
Outline the Setting the Right Group Dynamic (I) case study. Case study
Topic Summary Discuss the importance of open communication. Materials Required
None
Planning Checklist
None
Recommended Activity
Discuss the outcome of the case study. What should Devon have done differently?
Stories to Share
Share any personal, relevant stories.
Delivery Tips
Encourage everyone to participate.
Review Questions
What was the result of Devon’s communication?
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Module Two: Review Questions 1. When should feedback be given? a) b) c) d)
Immediately Only at set times At the end of the day At the beginning of the day
Feedback should be given immediately. This is a necessary part of open communication, and it helps keep an open dialogue. 2. What type of communication helps facilitate idea sharing? a) b) c) d)
Closed Direct Open All types
Open communication creates a dialogue. This is the type of communication that facilitates the sharing of ideas. 3. What should be expected in collaboration? a) b) c) d)
Teamwork Diversity Homogeneous teams Nothing
Collaborating will bring diverse groups of people together. The diverse peoples and ideas should be embraced. 4. What should be the focus of when collaborating? a) b) c) d)
Ego Personal growth Gaining skills Group success
Collaboration may be connected with learning new skills. The focus, however, should be on group success.
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5. Who should share best practices? a) b) c) d)
All members Leaders Top members Researchers
The best practices of all people should be shared. This should not be limited to those in leadership. 6. What is Not a method used to identify and share best practices? a) b) c) d)
Meetings Blogs Newsletters Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a useful tool, but the other answers are effective at sharing best practices. 7. How often should feedback be given? a) b) c) d)
Daily Constantly Weekly It does not matter
Feedback needs to be constant. This provides the information necessary to create change. 8. What is the first step to refining ideas? a) b) c) d)
Ask questions Narrow topics Brainstorming Build community
Brainstorming generates ideas. These ideas are refined through asking questions and narrowing topics.
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9. On which day did the participants drop their participation? a) b) c) d)
First Third Second A week
Devon ignored ideas the first two days. Participation began to fall on the third day.
10. How long before Devon complained about the group? a) b) c) d)
First Third Second A week
Problems began on the first day, and they progressed. By the end of the week Devon was complaining about the team.
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The same dynamics that support performance also support behavioral change. Katzenbach & Smith Module Three: Setting the Right Group Dynamic (II) There are always pros and cons to social learning. The diversity and differences that make a group strong will also cause friction in social settings. Effective groups will address these issues as they develop and manage to keep the communication civil. Knowing how to create a diverse and respectful social learning group will make the experience more efficient.
Diversity Builds Knowledge When creating social groups, it is important to make sure that they are diverse. Compiling a diverse group takes time. It is necessary to choose people with diverse cultures, skills, backgrounds, and strengths. These differences will make the team stronger. Only choosing like-minded people will weaken the group and stifle creativity. Diversity builds knowledge and challenges the group to grow. When choosing a diverse group, you need to focus on the skills that will benefit the group. For example, a group could benefit from mixing people with academic understanding of a subject and others who have real world application. It is also beneficial to blend people from different levels within the same organization.
Estimated Time
7 minutes
Topic Objective
Introduce the importance of diversity. Diversity Builds Knowledge
Topic Summary Consider ways to improve diversity. Materials Required
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03-Diversity
Planning Checklist
None
Recommended Activity
Complete the worksheet individually. Share your answers with the rest of the class.
Stories to Share
Share any personal, relevant stories.
Delivery Tips
Encourage everyone to participate.
Review Questions
What must be considered when choosing a diverse group?
Social Interactions Social settings and interactions require basic social skills. This may seem like common knowledge, but you will have to remind people to behave and assess their social skills. There are basic social skills that people need to master in order to make sure that the social interactions in the group go smoothly. Basic social skills include:
Listen to other people. Express positive thoughts or feelings in a civil manner. Express negative thoughts or feelings in a civil manner. Make requests. Appreciate people and thank them.
If anyone lacks these basic social skills, social interactions in the group will suffer. Social skills training can improve social interactions for people who need to improve their social skills.
Estimated Time
9 minutes
Topic Objective
Introduce basic social skills. Social Interactions
Topic Summary Consider your social skills. Materials Required
04-Social Skills Checklist
Planning Checklist
None
Recommended Activity
Complete the worksheet individually. Share your answers with the rest of the class.
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Stories to Share
Share any personal, relevant stories.
Delivery Tips
Encourage everyone to participate.
Review Questions
What do social settings require?
People Are Different Everyone is unique. This can be both beneficial and cause problems to group dynamics. The positive aspects include:
Creative problem solving Enhance synergy in teams Attracts talented people Challenges individuals to grow
The cons of having a diverse group include:
Personality clashes Competition for promotions Competition for work
Acknowledging that there are cultural and personality differences between people and preparing for these differences will help create a functional learning group.
Estimated Time
5 minutes
Topic Objective
Introduce the effect of differences in groups. People Are Different
Topic Summary Address differences. Materials Required
Flipchart/board and marker
Planning Checklist
None
Recommended Activity
Discuss the pros and cons of having unique individuals in a social group. Share strategies that you have found effective in handling personality clashes and other cons. List these on the flipchart/board.
Stories to Share
Share any personal, relevant stories.
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Delivery Tips
Encourage everyone to participate.
Review Questions
What causes benefits and problems in group settings?
Dealing with Difficult People In any social situation, you will have no choice but to deal with difficult people. People are difficult on different levels. Some may not be invested in the learning process and others will actively push back against the group dynamic. People who passively resist social learning may refuse to participate in discussions or leave tasks incomplete. The best way to handle passive people is to address the reason behind their behavior. It is important not to push people too hard to participate. You should offer assistance as needed. Some people aggressively resist social learning. They push back by causing trouble and trying to take over the group. Problems include verbal attacks and disruptive behavior. It is important not to take the attacks personally and to make sure that the person acting out is told that the behavior is not appropriate. If the individual become too aggressive, he or she may need to be removed from the group dynamic.
Estimated Time
7 minutes
Topic Objective
Introduce dealing with difficult people. Dealing with Difficult People
Topic Summary Discuss ways to deal with difficult people. Materials Required
Flipchart/board and marker
Planning Checklist
None
Recommended Activity
Discuss and share successful strategies for dealing with difficult people. List these on the flipchart/board.
Stories to Share
Share any personal, relevant stories.
Delivery Tips
Encourage everyone to participate.
Review Questions
How are people difficult?
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Case Study Mitchell is taking a training course at his company. One of his peers is taking the class with him, but he is not happy about the course because he does not believe that he needs any training. He argues with the instructor, and refuses to do any assigned work. Mitchell is miserable in the class because his friend feels that the class is a waste of time. Mitchell tried to talk his peer into behaving better, but this only resulted in verbal abuse. The entire class suffered because one person did not want to use basic social skills and chose to be disruptive.
Estimated Time
5 minutes
Topic Objective
Outline the Setting the Right Group Dynamic (II) case study. Case Study
Topic Summary
Discuss the group dynamics. What could have been done to address the problem? Who should have addressed the problem?
Materials Required
None
Planning Checklist
None
Recommended Activity
Discuss the outcome of the case study. What would you have done?
Stories to Share
Share any personal relevant stories.
Delivery Tips
Encourage everyone to participate.
Review Questions
What is the social learning situation?
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Module Three: Review Questions 1. What makes a team stronger? a) b) c) d)
Diversity Time Culture Nothing
Diversity is useful in a team. This makes a team stronger. Lack of diversity weakens a team. 2. What should the focus of diversity be? a) b) c) d)
Age Culture Skills Academics
The focus of team building in diversity should be the team. The focus needs to be on skills that will benefit the group. 3. What needs to be expressed in a civil manner? a) b) c) d)
Negative feelings Positive and negative feelings Positive feelings Nothing
It is important to express all feelings in a civil manner. This includes positive and negative feelings. 4. What can improve social interactions? a) b) c) d)
Participation Civility Punishment Training
Sometimes people do not have effective social skills. Social skills training will help people who need it.
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5. Choose the con of people being unique. a) b) c) d)
Challenges people Personality clashes Provides synergy All of the above
Personality clashes are a con of unique groups. The other answers are pros of the situation. 6. Choose the benefit of people being unique. a) b) c) d)
Personality clashes Competition for work Competition for promotion Challenges people
A group of unique individuals will challenge each other to grow. The other answers are the cons of working with unique individuals. 7. What should be done if an individual is actively aggressive? a) b) c) d)
Remove the participant Not take it personally Discover the reason for the behavior Nothing
Aggressive participants need to be handled carefully. If they become too aggressive, they should be removed from the group. 8. Someone who does not participate are showing which type of resistance? a) b) c) d)
Neutral Passive Active None of the above
People will actively or passively resist. Passive resistance includes disinterest or refusing to participate.
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9. Who addressed the problem group member? a) b) c) d)
Leader Mitchell A peer No one
Mitchell’s peer caused problems in the group. Mitchell addressed the problem. 10. What was the response to Mitchell? a) b) c) d)
He was ignored Agreement Verbal abuse There was no response
Mitchell tried to address the problem in class. This resulted in verbal abuse.
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