How we Learn – Getting Information

We all perceive things differently.  Ask four people who viewed an accident about what happened and it is likely that you will get four different answers.  So, the next question might be:  “Who got it right?”  However, the real question should be: “When there was only one event, why would there be so many different answers?”

 The reason is that the way we take in new information is shaped by our own experiences, our own unique “window” through which we view the world — and this means that human perception occurs in an infinite variety of ways. Jung originally defined these variations by identifying four basic functions which he said were opposing modes for making sense of the world – sensing, thinking, feeling and intuition.  In 4MAT we talk about a range of preferences between experiencing/feeling and conceptualising/thinking:

Experience/Feeling—Perception through personal engagement—sensations, emotions, physical memories; the immediate; the self. This is an experiential form of learning

Conceptualising/Thinking—the translation of experience into conceptual form—ideas, words, visuals, hierarchies, knowledge structures and naming systems. This is an abstract approach to learning.

While we all have our own preference for a particular way of perceiving the world, the movement between the “feeling” part of experience and the “thinking” part of experience is crucial to the learning process. This movement connects the personal values, meaning and perceptions of the learners to those of the “expert”. When this movement is missing, learner motivation, engagement and transfer is diminished.

The first two steps of the 4MAT model are designed to lead the learner to internal reflection:

Take a look at the difference between starting your training with a feeling or a thinking task:

Feeling—“Reflect on a time when you experienced excellent customer service. Share your experience with a partner. Why did you find the service so good?”       compared with

Thinking—“What do you think are the key components of effective customer service? Make a list of these at your table.”

Many of us find it easy to skip the “feeling” part of learning in the training process. However, when we begin training with a thinking task, we miss the opportunity to engage the learner from a personal standpoint and connect them to the information we want them to learn. This doesn’t take any longer during the training and can lead to deeper levels of engagement and motivation when it comes to the content delivery part of the training.

What Every Teacher or Trainer should know about Learning Styles

Have you ever noticed how the discussion about learning styles seems to travel in cycles? First there is the information that confirms that learning styles are real and next comes someone that says they are not. It can lead to much confusion and certainly can cause a trainer to wonder what they should do about it…if anything at all! It helps to take a look at what is being said more closely to find the key messages for those of us who have a role in helping others to learn.

What is “Learning Style”?
Learning styles have been described in a variety of ways by different researchers. From the 4MAT perspective, learning style refers to an individual preference for how you like to get your information and then how you process it.

How should I address Learning Styles in the training environment/classroom?
When participants in our training first identify that different people have different learning preferences, a common question we are asked is “ Should we identify the types of learners we have, organise them into groups with the same learning preference and give them a teacher with the same preference?” Your first instinct might be to say “What a great idea!” but this is where the research is useful.

What does the research say?
Much of the research into learning styles focuses on the effectiveness of identifying modality preferences of learners eg visual, auditory etc and then delivering the teaching in a way that addresses that preferred modality. On this issue the results appear fairly clear, there is no scientific proof that students learn better when taught only according to their preferred modality.

Where does this leave us?
The most recent brain research confirms that when we learn anything new, the activity in our brain follows a defined cycle. (Read the book by James Zull in our resource section for more information) This path is governed by our brain physiology and is universal, regardless of learning style. Your learning style merely describes the place in the cycle that you enjoy the most and the way you prefer to approach learning that is new or the way you operate in stressful situations.

The Difference between teaching to a learning style and using brain-based strategies
For true learning to occur ie understanding and retaining information, all learners must move through all four parts of the learning cycle. As trainers this is the key to ensuring that learners achieve the outcomes of our teaching. The 4MAT model provides a framework for meeting the needs of all learning preferences, while ensuring true learning through addressing each step of the brain learning cycle.

So, when you apply the 4MAT model, you accomplish both.

4MAT & E-Learning

We all know the value of applying the 4MAT model to our face-to-face teaching and training but there is no doubt the internet and particularly the web are changing the way training is delivered in a significant way.  At the moment most of our clients are moving into the e-learning space—either developing new content, or trying to rewrite current courses to fit into the online environment. 

While I believe that the model applies everywhere, I think that it is particularly important in the e-learning environment. Although online learning presents a unique opportunity, it also presents challenges and from my experience the two biggest ones that are faced when trying to apply 4MAT into this medium are providing the right opportunities in 1R ie building a powerful connect piece that engages the learner from the beginning; and maintaining the balance between right and left brain activities.

For some learners the online environment is not their preferred way to learn and so a powerful connect piece can be the difference between completing a program or not (recent stats indicate a fairly high non-completion rate for online courses).  Also, while there are some fabulous applications that can be used to generate activities in the right-mode octants—how can we construct the learning so that a) participants complete them and b) they are debriefed in a way that provides strong connections regarding the relevance of these activities to the content so that they don’t just click through to the next screen in the training?

Some of the activities that are proving to be popular with groups we are working with include:

• completing questionnaires/surveys;
• producing a slide show using images or film clips then posting comments via online chats or bulletin boards;
• developing online case studies and scenarios
• art and paint programs which allow learners to draw

What do you find works for you in the e-learning space?

Melinda Zanetich – Director, 4MAT Australia

4MAT System Australia is proud to have Managing Director Melinda Zanetich at the helm creating massive change and generating phenomenal results since taking over the ownership and direction of the company in 2008.

There was never any doubt that Melinda was going to become a teacher and after several decades of teaching and further education, business and personal learning, Melinda has become a learning specialist. Always intensely interested in how the brain works and how people learn, she is delivering an exceptional International Training Concept that facilitates extraordinary results from some of the western world’s greatest leaders, educational institutions and corporate sector companies!

Melinda first came across the 4MAT method in 1993 and implemented this system into her teaching all those years ago. The differences were exponential!  Amazing! – The level of student engagement improved ten-fold with high percentages of students now achieving age appropriate outcomes.  Student attitudes flourished and in turn they began delivering a standard and quality of work that Melinda and her colleagues never thought possible.

In 1996, Melinda became a 4MAT Consultant and has since helped many teachers and trainers to use the same method of instructional design she first saw all those years ago.  Every one of them has experienced the same revelation that Melinda had with testimonies revealing fantastic results from this far more effective method of instruction. It has had such a profound influence in her life that when the opportunity to be the licensed provider for 4MAT in Australia and New Zealand became available, Melinda jumped at the chance.

Melinda has a strong commitment to assisting others to be the best that they can be and has worked alongside principals, executives and staff in both educational and corporate settings to support positive change for both the individuals and the organisation.  A skilled facilitator and leadership coach, Melinda has led individuals and teams through major change projects, assisting them to develop clarity and achieve outcomes through learning and facilitation in fun and challenging ways.

Melinda is passionate about helping people create positive change in their lives through learning and has a particular interest in developing high performing teams, organisational development and continuous workplace learning to support professional growth, but she knows she would never have been as successful or effective without the 4MAT system.  She hopes that you find that too!

Welcome to 4MAT System Australia

Welcome to 4MAT System Australia’s blog.

We will be using this blog to send out valuable information that will assist our clients and others interested in more effective training and education, for children, staff of your organisations, instructional designers and anyone interested in training and development of people.

4MAT Australia invites comments and questions – here and on our Facebook Fan page – education is about collaboration and we value the opportunity to interact with the greater community.