Sharon L. Bowman's Blog

To all my blog viewers:  I am now consolidating blogs and will be posting regularly to my Ning social network – a group of teachers, trainers, and presenters who have as their commonality brain-based instruction, Accelerated Learning, and concepts from my books, especially "Training from the BACK of the Room!" If you would like to receive an invitation to my Ning network, please email me at SBowperson@gmail.com and I will be happy to send you an invitation from the Ning site (it's free to join). Alternatively, you can click HERE for a link. Cheers! Sharon

For the September 11th 2013 CCCCD workshop participants:

Here is a new blog entry so that we all can post comments about the warm-ups (pre-workshop assignments), the workshop itself, or the homework (post-workshop assignments). Let the rest of our class know what you learned, how you plan to use it, and any questions, suggestions, or opinions you want to share about the workshop. Also, please share any "best practice" that you think might be beneficial for us all to learn. Just click on "comments" and type away. And thanks, again, for contributing to our ongoing learning adventure! Cheers to all - Sharon

For those of us who have been doing this "teaching/training" thing for awhile, we often seem to base it on "Well, if it works for me, it should work for others." If a particular strategy works for us when we learn something new (example: being lectured to), then others should be able to learn just fine when we lecture to them. And perhaps some do. But a lot don't. Couple that with the explosion of technology – and all the ways of learning that are now available online – and we are finding that we have to change our ways of teaching/training to accommodate the upcoming learners who are now in our educational and corporate learning environments. Enter Gen Y!

I found an excellent, short introduction to Gen Y, and how they learn, on Slide Share: Teaching Gen Y . Thought-provoking and image-rich, it really applies to the learning being done by all of us now: multi-media, connected and networked, just-in-time, informal, collaborative, challenging, and relevant to our jobs and/or our lives.

For Gen X-ers and Gen Y-ers, the learning elements listed above are even more important. The jobs they get will be largely based on some form of technology and using technology to learn from is second nature to them. That doesn't mean that classroom instruction is going the way of the dodo bird (although certainly the straight-lecture format of most formal learning IS outdated, antiquated, and irrelevant to most learners today). It simply means that the more ways learners have of accessing relevant information, and the more engaged they are in the learning process, the better they will learn.

Enjoy the slide presentation – and the learning! Sharon

Okay, I have to admit that I check email quite a number of times when on the computer. Do a little work here, check email there. More work, more email. And maybe I throw in a Google search (or two or three) for good measure. Searching work-related topics? Sometimes, sometimes not. I also must admit that there is a bit of a buzz (the brain chemicals that kick in whenever I anticipate a future pleasure) when I do these things. Brain scientists say that our brain releases more pleasure chemicals when we anticipate something positive than when the positive event actually occurs. Think upcoming holidays, vacations, a package in the mail, ordering something online – well, you get the picture.

So what does this have to do with email and Internet searches? Imagine my surprise when I found this article in Newsweek (July 16, 2012): Tweets, Texts, Emails, Posts: Is the Web Driving Us Mad? 

While I can honestly say I'm not as "wired" as many people are these days, I certainly feel the lack when I don't have my computer or iPad handy (I don't, as yet, have a smart phone, but am thinking about getting one because most of my friends seldom use email anymore; instead, they text). So the Newsweek article made me pause and think about my Internet use. No, I haven't changed much yet, but I'm more aware of the large chunks of time I consume meandering all over the cyber world. And I'm more convinced now that the Internet has the possibility of being as addictive as television or physical substances, or certain behaviors (like shopping). 

So I leave you with this thought from the last paragraph of the article: "All of us, since the relationship with the Internet began, have tended to accept it as is, without much conscious thought about how we want it to be or what we want to avoid. Those days of complacency should end. The Internet is still ours to shape. Our minds are in the balance."  Cheers! Sharon

If you have participated in one of my workshops, you now have dozens of instructional strategies and learner-centered activities to use in your own teaching and training. Don't drive yourself crazy by trying to implement it all. Read through the list of suggestions below to help you transition from trainer-centered to learner-centered instruction:


1. SMALL  STEPS.  If you're not used to including many active learning tools take baby steps! Choose only one or two activities to practice with in each of your classes. Use the same ones a few times until you are totally comfortable with them. Then add one or two new ones to your repertoire. 

2. LOW RISK FIRST. Start with the low risk activities, before moving to more high risk ones. Low risk activities are those that do not require learners to speak or present to the whole group: pair-share, think-and-write, standing survey, data hunt, shout out (they don't have to speak, if they wish), and small group discussions. Log onto the Articles link on my website at www.Bowperson.com for activity descriptions and instructions. Also, while you are there, view my newest micro-course: "How to Map Your Instruction in 4 Simple Steps."

3. TEACH IT TO OTHERS. Teach other instructors what you learned in the workshops because "you master what you teach." Do some demo lessons for other colleagues if you can, so that they can see the Accelerated Learning concepts applied to instruction. Or volunteer to do a community or church group workshop and teach others what you now know about how the brain learns best.

4. FREE MATERIALS FROM THE WORKSHOPS. If you haven't already done so, log onto my website at www.Bowperson.com and view or download all the great materials that are posted there. You will be glad you did! 

The title of this blog entry came from a friend in the speaking industry - a motivational speaker who was trying his hardest to change his own habit of speaking while not allowing any audience participation. As he began to engage his audiences by using short, quick activities sprinkled throughout his speech, he realized how challenging it was to move away from the "sage-on-the-stage" role. Even something as simple as tossing a beach ball around the room to elicit feedback to a question was difficult: he still commanded "center-stage" by having audience members return the ball to him after each toss. He realized that he needed to step off that "center-stage" place and allow the audience members to toss the ball to each other while responding to the question.

Simple things make the difference between "teacher-centered" and "learner-centered" instruction. For example, when you ask a table group to summarize a discussion they just had, do they face you and tell YOU the summary, or do they face the other participants and talk to the WHOLE GROUP? By doing the latter, the focus is on the group, not on you. The difference is subtle: participants are now in charge of their own learning and they don't have to look to you for agreement or approval.

Anything you consider important enough for learners to remember should be repeated by them in some fashion: verbally, in writing, with images, in small group discussions. If it's important enough for YOU to say, it should be equally important for THEM to say. And when they are talking, you close your mouth, move to the side of the room, and give them the space and time to LEARN the content, not just HEAR it. The more they talk about the content, the more they learn and the less you have to say.

Browse the free articles on my website for short, quick ways to engage any group of learners. These strategies will help you move from a "sage-on-the-stage" to "guide-on-the-side" teaching and training role. Good luck!

Greetings to all Training Live + Online Brain Science Clinic Participants!

For your clinic project, please use the "comment" link below this blog posting to publish your clinic project. Also please read all the comments before the Nov. 17th class and comment on at least one of the projects posted there.

You can read all the published projects and comments by clicking on the "comments" link.

We will discuss the projects, comments, and related topics and questions at the Nov. 17th clinic session. Enjoy the learning! Sharon

Greetings from snowy Lake Tahoe, Nevada, to my new international friends!

By now you have received the updated (3 times) class email list and Gerry has sent you this fabulous community site so that we can stay connected. I hope to add more to it in the next few weeks. Meanwhile, feel free to post items to your heart's content.

It was a delight spending two days with you. Did you know that we had 15 countries and 5 continents represented? Truly a global community of trainers!

May blessings abound for you and yours during the upcoming holiday season and into the New Year! Sharon (your guide-on-the-side)

It is always a joy to be invited to participate in your Peace Officer's Standards Training Symposium! My thanks to the San Diego Regional Training Center for the invitation. I know everyone learned so much from not only the conference sessions, but also the networking, collaborating, and sharing best instructional practices. What a super group of instructors you are!

Remember the six trumps: When learning -

1. Movement trumps sitting.
2. Talking trumps listening.
3. Images trump words.
4. Writing trumps reading.
5. Shorter trumps longer.
6. Different trumps same.

Enjoy the learning and teaching journey! Sharon

A heartfelt "thanks a gazillion" for sharing your expertise, energy, and enthusiasm with your colleagues and with me! I learned SO much about your world during the two-day conference, and have even more motivation now to become an experienced rider, not just a new rider! My deepest thanks, too, to Ray Petry, for bringing me into your riding world, for the honor of being part of the 2010 Continuous Improvement Workshop experience, the Harley-Davidson Museum tour, and for an unforgettable two days in Milwaukee!

Please feel free to add your comments, suggestions, and best practices to this blog so that we can all continue learning from one another. See you on the road! Sharon