Fabulous Adult Learning

Last time I wrote about the unrealized potential of some adult learning opportunities. Now I have the pleasure of sharing an amazingly great adult learning experience that I had just last week!


As a part of my work as an instructional coach, one of my clients held a day-long retreat for the six of us who coach community college teams around the country in the delivery of their two programs. So what made this an A+ adult learning experience? I think it was a combination of the following:

1) Our facilitator began by asking each of us to share one question we wanted to have answered by the end of the day. These were recorded and attended to throughout the day.

2) We didn't all know each other so an icebreaker was in order. To my great delight, the icebreaker (A Penny for Your Thoughts) was actually connected to the reason we were there and had purpose beyond getting to know each other. One of the other coaches facilitated a get-acquainted activity by passing out pennies with different dates on them (all within the last five years) and asked us to tell what we were doing the year the penny was minted and how those events had contributed to being present this day as an instructional coach on contract with our shared client. This was a nice reflective activity for coaches  hired to build instructional capacity in others as we considered the kinds of activities that build an effective teaching practice and one I will likely borrow to use with my assigned college teams.

3) The facilitator introduced each of our coaching tasks but then turned discussion over to the group ( a mix of new and returning coaches). What made this such a rich experience is that no two of us had the same education, experience, or expertise. The benefit of having a diverse skill set sitting around the table was that we could explore our "educator coaching" tasks from a variety of perspectives, strengths and lenses. This resulted in engaging and lively discussion (in which we didn't always agree) about the nuances and responsibilities of our coaching role. Each task discussion concluded however, with agreed upon criteria that blended the best of the wisdom represented by the diverse group.

4) A lot of time was devoted to "how to's" with "examples". This included a few priceless, "whatever-you-do-don't-do-this" and "whatever-you-do-make-sure-you-do-that" gems from the returning coaches. These, of course, were the golden jewels that will save the rest of us from learning those lessons the hard way! If you read my last post, you'll be reminded that this is where it seems adult learning opportunities often miss their chance to harness the wisdom in the room for a transforming learning experience for all.

5) To continue our professional learning community our client provided a Wiki, a shared web space where we will continue to connect with and learn from each other. We can upload our travel calendars, share resources, post questions and initiate discussions. We can, of course, follow updates to any of the pages we desire.

I left this meeting thrilled, renewed, inspired, in deep reflective thought about my practice, and deliciously exhausted by the day we spent together. If only every conference, training, and continuing education course could be like this one!