Bubbling with excitement, I raised my hand. I loved answering questions.
My teacher asked, "Gwen - what are the main classifications for living things?"
"Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species." (I used a mnemonic to remember those: Dear King Phillip Cut Open Five Green Snakes.)
As a child, I loved to learn. I still love to learn, but I noticed that other kids lost their enthusiasm and joy after grammar school. They didn't see how technical terms for the classification for living things would help them in life. I could see their point. Taxonomy hasn't helped me much in the computer industry.
As my peers got older, it got to the point where they needed a reason to learn or they wouldn't.
Different strategies are required for teaching adults and children.
When teaching adults, always remember Step No. 0—Answer the question "Why should I bother with this?"
Most adults are stuck in that frame of mind. Why should I bother? Learning something new takes a time investment—time that could be spent doing other important things, or even having fun.
Answering that question — Why should I bother? — should be the first task accomplished in an adult learning situation.
Here's an example:
The company is changing from one tool to another. You need to know this new tool to do your current job.
Newsflash. People hate changing tools just for the sake of changing tools.
➤ Explain why the tool is being changed. →The old software is no longer supported. The company is switching to a tool that will be supported for years to come.
➤ Explain how this will be better. → Not only will the new tool be supported, but it will be more secure and save most people an hour a week after they learn the tool.
➤ Finally, create a reward around the learning, or a friendly competition. → We've designed this nice company schwag. After you finish this, you'll get 'that schwag', and then 'that schwag' will never be available again. The first five people to finish, get an extra 'that schwag' to share with an important person in your life.
