Easter gave me an opportunity to look at social learning in context. We have a house full of my family ranging in ages from 12 to 80. Learning from family is full of opportunity and challenge.

Experience

There were many examples of older people in our family helping younger members complete tasks. My Grandma helping my cousin with a sewing project (pictured), my Mum helping me make the potatoe bake, my Mum and my Aunt helping me understand the impact of Web2.0 on families and classrooms.

• You know their experience, this makes it easier to apply their ‘teaching’ to your own situation
• You trust they have your best interests at heart so you feel freer to object and question
• You often get views that you normally wouldn’t listen to but which still help you clarify your own views or adopt new views

The church

I’m not particularly religious but I do attend church with my family. This Easter the church put on a very engaging mass with a dramatisation of a young child asking an older person questions about the meaning of Easter.

• They set clear guidelines about the ideal way to participate – attend mass regularly and follow the scripture
• They are explicit about the purpose – follow the church’s teachings and you’re life will be richer
• They keep reiterating the key messages
• They use stories and imagery to help individuals see the relevance to their own situations

The challenges

It was good to step away from the computer and see that there is rich learning occurring everywhere. However it also highlighted the challenges of learning together.

• Sometimes it is the most challenging situations where you learn the most – this isn’t always comfortable. (This must be one of the hardest aspects to deal with in an online environment.)
• It takes a long time or a very specific purpose to build a community who trust and respect each other.

People like learning from models but… not just any models. They’re a choosey lot.

• If you want people to engage in the learning experience your offering you should ask what your learners want, you should demonstrate the highest standards for your profession and you should provide ample reason for them to trust you professionally and personally.

Online application – What do you do with different level of experience in your online community? What do you do if you can’t gather enough people together around a common learning experience?

Learning on my own

An individual is only going to be motivated to learn in a group if they believe that it will be quicker than trial and error.

• You can help them understand the value of the learning if you set clear parameters for the learning.
• You need to put thought into how what your teaching in a group context is going to be applied by the learner in their context

Online application – How do you ensure that you give the right cues for how to apply the learning in your own setting?

Comparing myself to others

Individuals sometimes make goals for their learning by comparing themselves to others.

• By providing opportunities for both experts and other learners to demonstrate their knowledge you provide the maximum opportunity for new learners to contribute.
• Another strategy may be to provide opportunities to practice in small groups to test their competence.

Online application – How do you help people find the appropriate person/s for social comparison online? How do you provide opportunities for novices to see the work of experts and other novices as well as practice participation in less threatening environments?

Making judgements

Individuals have a sweet spot where they can learn new ideas outside their pre-conceived goals for learning.

• By providing a safe, genuine, respectful environment individuals are more likely to disclose information that is valuable in determining where the sweet spot is.
• This type of environment also provides the opportunity for the individuals participating to test out new ideas to see if they are useful.

Online application – How do you provide a safe environment online without applying so much control that individuals don’t feel that they can test new ideas?

Self disclosure

Individuals learn through personal stories.

• Sharing of educator and participant stories should be encouraged.
• No-one individual in the group should monopolize the time.

Online application – How do you ensure that the individuals sharing provides contributions appropriate to the medium? Eg some personal disclosure but more focus on learning outcomes.

Self-monitoring

Individuals may either contribute too much or too little depending on their ability to determine the appropriate action for the group.

• Provide information about the value of the learning taking place to make it really obvious to those who may take longer to ascertain the value of the learning
• Provide clear criteria for assessing whether learning is going on

Online application – When developing online learning communities how much focus should be given to helping the learner assess whether learning is going on?

Feedback

Adults can learn from feedback. Feedback is best received when you have broken down any barriers between you and the receiver by developing a trusting relationship.

• Make sure you’ve built trust through disclosure and collaboration first.
• Don’t be judgeMENTAL.
• Keep it confidential.

Online application – How do you avoid hurt feelings and misunderstandings when it comes to giving feedback online? What if you’re the right person to give the feedback in the online community but you haven’t spent time building the relationship, is it still appropriate?

Learning conversations

Discussion and collaboration can provide rich experiences for learning.

• Distribute the air-time equally between the mentors and the learners
• Provide opportunities for all levels of participants to provide supporting evidence for their feedback & link it back to practice
• Questioning skills are also very important to facilitate maximum learning in these conversations

Online application – Can you provide a framework to assist the learners and mentors to improve the quality of their conversations?

Group Dynamics

People can be strongly influenced by belonging to a group. Mostly this works for the growth of the whole. Sometimes it can get out of hand and people can lose their sense of self and responsibility.

• Encourage ‘you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours type relationships’. They stimulate individuals to work toward the group goals.
• Give opportunities for individuals to share the leadership roles
• Build cohesiveness. Use names, create an expectation of sharing, discuss goals, shared activities.
• Encourage free discussion and debate.

Online application – In an online community how do you engage outsiders to keep the ideas fresh without alienating those who feel strongly attached to the group?

From a review of an article by Saunders, S. (1999). “The Social Psychology of Adult Learning” in J. Athanasou (ed.). The Psychology of Adult Learning, Sydney: Social Science Press.