Dr John Kenworthy | Tag | Methods and Theories

Strategies for engaging adolescents

Posted on June 15, 2010 by Dr John Kenworthy 0

Learn about effective communication and engagement and reflect on the relevance of this with respect to young learners.
Take part in a Play of Life® 3D simulation technique to fast track personal learning insight into better student engagement.
Learn about some of the hidden factors impeding the achievement of young learners and share some practical pointers for effective curriculum delivery.
Identify practical steps as to what can be done personally and as a faculty to improve student learning.

In this one-day workshop participants will enjoy an opening session delivered by Psychiatrist and Counsellor, Dr. Carlos A. Raimundo on the neuro-science behind effective communication and engagement. Participants will have many opportunities to reflect on the relevance of this information with respect to Young Learners. Then, we will guide the group through a Play of Life® 3D Simulation technique to fast track personal insight into better student engagement and to identify the first practical step needed to make it a reality in the classroom.

The technique is fun, elegant and respectful. We will talk about the neuroplasticity of the brain and the conditions needed for Young Learners to sustain positive change. And then about some of the hidden factors impeding the achievement of young learners and share some practical pointers for effective curriculum delivery. The group will then engage in another Play of Life® exercise called the Towards and Away From technique. Participants will identify immediately practical steps as to what can be done personally and as a faculty to improve student learning on campus through better student engagement and a more conscious containment of one another as colleagues.

If you are struggling with Gen “Why” – you need this.

Workshop Agenda

8:30-9:00 Registration and coffee

9:00- 11:00 The Neuro Science behind Communication and Engagement- How it works in the brain.

Getting inside the minds of Young Learners- How are their needs different? At what level of thinking do they operate? Why engagement and containment are so essential for learning.

The Relational Model of human interaction compared to Traditional Western thinking. An invitation to change the way we view our students.

11:00- 11:15 BREAK (15 minutes)

11:15-12:45 The Power of the First Step technique – A hands on Personal Transformation Exercise

What can I do to practically enhance my own engagement and communication with the young learners in my care? Get ready to enjoy a Play of Life® 3D simulation exercise for fast-tracking personal insight and turning theoretical knowledge about engagement into practical action.

12:45-1:15 LUNCH (30 minutes)

1:15-2:45 Can people really change? What are the conditions necessary for a Young Learner’s change to be sustained? What’s my constructive role in the process? What does that look like in my classroom?

This is an interactive seminar on the Neuroplasticity of the brain and the social and emotional factors and hidden learning disabilities potentially impeding Young Learners’ vocational outcomes. Some practical tips will also be shared on how to cover the curriculum without sacrificing engagement.

1:45-2:45 The Towards and Away From technique – A hands on Group Transformation Exercise

What are we doing individually and collectively as a faculty towards helping our students optimally achieve desired vocational outcomes. What are we doing that is moving us away from our goals?

2:45- 3:00 BREAK (15 minutes)

3: 00-3:45 Group Discussion and Analysis of discoveries made: What are the common denominators for moving forward to ensure we are providing the conditions necessary for our Young Learners to reach desired outcomes? What practical steps can we implement tomorrow to ensure both we and our students feel contained and supported in the journey towards excellence?

3:45-4:00 Feedback and Evaluations

Is leadership more than management? Or is just an aspiration?

Posted on November 25, 2009 by Dr John Kenworthy 0

There is a debate we need to address, and that is the distinction between leadership and management.

Chris Mabey suggests that seperating the qualities of leaders and managers is traced back to Zaleznick (1977). Kotter (1990) reinforced this distinction, that:
good management brings order, consistency and quality to otherwise chaotic organisations
Contrasting this with leadership which is preparing the organisation for change and helping employees cope with the struggle of changing it.

But now

Organisations are ‘de-layered’ – the defined functions of “management” are less absolute and a manager‘s power base of influence has had to shift from positional power to personal.

The traditional theories (theory X etc) and frameworks are seen to be lacking and more emergent leadership rather than prescribed.

Management and leadership has been greatly studies form a western, male perspective – this is changing

The split may simply be part of the aspirational values attached to leadership over management. Though it appears that effective and successful leaders, according to our research demonstrate five competency areas that go beyond ‘management’. They:
1. Use the exchange principle
2. Take responsibility
3. Earn the right to lead
4. Communicate a shared vision
5. Show flexibility in their leadership

Mapping the ‘traditional’ managerial competencies shows how ‘agile’ leaders go beyond the expected managerial standards:

Is there a difference bewteen leadership and management?

Is it just aspirational?

Or is there something important that is missing here?

Simulations – Bridging from thwarted innovation to disruptive technology

Posted on June 2, 2009 by Dr John Kenworthy 0

SIMULATIONS – BRIDGING FROM THWARTED INNOVATION TO DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGY –

Gartner Research dubbed simulation the new “killer
application” in e-learning (Lundy et al., 2002) but even
assuming the best estimates for the adoption of simulations,
they represent a tiny proportion of the annual spend in
training and education. Considerable research has been done
to evaluate the effectiveness of simulations and, by and
large, the results suggest that simulations are effective but
there are doubts about even the most fundamental claims of
the efficacy of simulations (Feinstein and Cannon, 2002)
partly because there isn’t a clear, acceptable methodology,
partly because there is no real agreement on definitions, and
partly because there is little agreement on what should be
evaluated. Burns et al. (1990) consider the multi-fold
problem with evaluating experiential pedagogies stating that
there is firstly a need to compare the efficacy to ‘traditional’
approaches, and there is a need to compare alternative
experiential pedagogies competing to achieve the same
learning. Not surprisingly, they note a paucity of solid
empirical evidence regarding the relative effectiveness of
experiential techniques. Other authors (e.g. Pierfy, 1977)
note two particular problems with respect to evaluating
simulations or experiential techniques: the first being the
conceptual problems pertaining to definitions, domain
boundaries and the theoretical basis which underpin and
frame pedagogical research. The second fundamental
problem is that there remain significant methodological
difficulties including experimental design, constraints
within the organisations and institutions, time
considerations and ethical questions associated with any
comparative study.
This paper does not intend to argue in favor of one
approach, method or definition over another but to consider
why simulations have not yet emerged as training and
education’s “killer application” and how it may be possible
to bridge from being a thwarted innovation (Zemsky &
Massy, 2004) to a disruptive technology (Christensen,
1997).