My friend was assigned to a high profile project at her place of work. She is part of the team that is documenting what needs to occur for the organization to transfer from one computer-based management system to another one.
From her description, it seems like everyone meets in a large room. Each person has their own laptop. The project leader discusses different issues, requirements, instructions, and then everyone works on their piece on their laptop. People need to consult with each other as they work on their piece. The project leader is a young guy who is "a 30 year old genius who can multitask" (apparently he can manage both this project and the construction of his own new house at the same time).
As I listen to my friend discuss her experience in this collaborative working environment, I think about how how learning and instructional theory might be applied in this context to facilitate their work.
The 30 year old wunderkind explains what needs to be done verbally to the entire group. Nothing is written down, much to the frustration of my friend. Mr. 30, throughout the day, explains what is to happen, and facilitates the group's activities. This method of "instruction" seems to frustrate not only my friend, but Mr. 30 himself because he seems to tire of having to repeat different pieces of information to the group.
In this situation, it appears to me that Mr. 30 is the SME, and is extroverted personality whose learning style preference is auditory: He likes to discuss stuff. His level of SME-ness means that he already understands the subject matter, and he is impatient because others don't grasp his understanding when he tells them. He does not understand that the others in the room may not share the same learning style, and may prefer to see things written in words, tables, diagrams while listening to his explanations.
I'm certain that the company and the team responsible for this project do not perceive the instructional components of this project. The fact that Mr. 30 SME has stuff in his head that must move from his head to the heads of the people doing the work implies instruction. The complexity of the material, combined with the short deadline (is there ever a long dead line in corporate america), means that some attention to how the transfer of information from the SME to the workers is required. I also think that the term "instruction" is viewed as the opposite and enemy to "collaboration": We don't have to organize how we present our content. We'll just put everyone in a room, throw the content out in the room, and let them collaboratively figure out what it means and what to do. If they have questions, they can ask. While they're collaboratin', I'll check in on my house contractor.
My friend is frustrated because she can't remember everything Mr. 30 tells her. She explains her "deficiency" by stating that she doesn't remember stuff she doesn't need in the moment. She also says that she needs time to process what is explained to her. Specifically, she needs to go to a quiet place with her computer, read stuff, and work through the material to understand it. I tried to explain that there's nothing wrong with her "old" brain, that her brain is working normally. Of course she wouldn't remember what she doesn't need to know -- she didn't perceive it or attend to it. Nor did she encode it in her long-term memory. She requires time to employ the learning strategies that work for her to actually make sense of what was explained during the day. She has to LEARN IT! But she perceives herself as being a slow learner because she can't simply take Mr. 30's words and immediately move them to long-term memory. Because she can't recall what she never perceived or learned in the first place. Sigh.
If I'm put in charge of a project, I'll recall this scenario. And I'll use my IDD expertise. Instruction and learning happen in the darndest places.
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