CTM 1 Flashcards
Critical thinking def
“Critical thinking is the disciplined art of ensuring that you use the best thinking you are capable of in any set of circumstances.” (Paul & Elder, 2014)
Characteristics of critical thinkers (8)
Intellectual humility Intellectual justice Intellectual perseverance Intellectual fair-mindedness Confidence in reason Intellectual courage Intellectual empathy Intellectual autonomy
Intellectual humility
aware of knowledge limitations
Intellectual justice
Evaluation of two sides fairly
Intellectual perseverance
Working with complex problem instead of simple solution
Intellectual fair-mindedness
To apply same standards to all view points
Confidence in reason
Belief that reason is the best way to go in decision making
Intellectual courage
face and fairly assess ideas, beliefs and viewpoints in which others have strong negative reactions
Intellectual empathy
Putting yourself in the place of others to understand them
Intellectual autonomy
Thinking for ourselves, rather than uncritically accepting the views of society
benefits to learning logic and arguments
- it helps you make good decisions
- it helps you justify your decisions, especially to critics
- it helps you to evaluate the strength of other people’s arguments
- It helps you become a better writer
contention
the argument that someone wants you to accept eg. Jim is a strong candidate for the role
premise
any reason that supports our conclusion eg. Jim is highly experienced
objection
counter argument against conclusion eg. Jim does not have all the required skills for the job
rebuttal
an objection to the objection eg. Jim does not have all the required skills for this job but Jim is a fast learner
Deductive
Conclusion guaranteed to be true if the argument is valid and sound
Inductive
The premises (and evidence offered) support the conclusion, but do not guarantee it
Valid
Conclusion is guaranteed to be true if the premises are accurate
Sound
Argument is valid
Premises are actually true
about Argument map 7
representing what the arguer is trying to do
ideas at the heart of the argument
filter out what is not important to us
figure out conclusion
Next step
Isolate and give a number to each premise
each premise is a single idea give number
Sense-making
is the process of interpreting the world around you, and finding meaning in what you perceive
7 characteristics of sense making
Ongoing – it’s happening all the time, and our understanding is constantly being updated
Retrospective – we process past experiences and make guesses about the future
Plausible – our understanding is never perfect, but is usually good enough to be believable to us
Images – we try to relate experiences to mental maps and things that we already know
Rationalise – if something is unclear, we often make a judgement to make it clear
People – sense-making occurs in our heads, but it’s often not done alone (e.g., with co-workers)
Doing – sense-making occurs not just through thinking and observing, but doing (e.g., working alongside your manager)
Why should we care about sense-making? 2 -5
Having a realistic understanding of our situation helps us to make good decisions
If I work hard, is my effort likely to be recognised and rewarded?
Should I remain with this organisation?
What kind of work would make me happy?
You are unlikely to benefit from a simplistic worldview that:
Fails to account for new facts and information
Is biased; for example:
Too optimistic (failure to recognise legitimate problems, lack of self-reflection)
Too pessimistic (cynicism, hopelessness, depression, anxiety)
What is evidence-based management?
Evidence-based management (EBM) is the practice of making organizational decisions that incorporates the conscientious use of both scientific and organizational facts combined with the development of professional expertise and ethical judgment
Results of evidence-based practice are improved decision quality through more consistent use of practices that work, and as a result higher financial performance
6 components of evidence-based management
Asking: translating a practical issue or problem into an answerable question
Acquiring: systematically searching for and retrieving the evidence
Appraising: critically judging the trustworthiness and relevance of the evidence
Aggregating: weighing and pulling together the evidence
Applying: incorporating the evidence into the decision-making process
Assessing: evaluating the outcome of the decision taken
Why should we care about multiple perspectives?
To take you beyond personal experience; enhance creativity
Theories of management give us different insights into employees and what motivates them, and methodologies for approaching problems
To avoid tunnel vision (e.g., focusing only the company’s financial bottom line)
To take into account the needs, wants and interests of important stakeholders when designing a solution
To become aware of alternatives, by exposing ourselves to the opinions and suggestions of other people
To gain greater acceptance for a proposed solution (Earley & Lind, 1987)
Scientific Management (Taylorism) legacy4 and problems4
Legacy Pay-for-performance systems Job / training needs analysis Workplace R&D, and best practice implementation Performance benchmarking Problems Assumptions of rationality Shifts in performance benchmarks Simplistic economic view of the relationship between pay, motivation and performance Micro-focus on line managers
Administrative principles (Henri Fayol) key management activities 5
Planning, organising, command, coordination, control
Administrative principles (Henri Fayol) 14 principles of management
Division of labour, authority, discipline, unified command, unity of direction, subordination of individual interests, fair remuneration, centralisation, hierarchy, order, fairness, job security, initiative, staff morale
Administrative principles (Henri Fayol) legacy3 and problems2
Legacy
All 7 management activities still have relevance
Management can be taught
Emphasis on all parts of the organisation working together
Problems
Division of labour can be rigid
Some of the 14 principles less relevant today (e.g., centralisation and job security)
Bureaucratic organisation (Max Weber) Innovations 4
Bureaucracy: an organisation founded on principles of logic, order, and legitimate authority
Clear division of labour; hierarchy and authority
Formal rules and procedures applied to all
Career advancement based on merit
Bureaucratic organisation (Max Weber) legacy3 problems3
Legacy
Meritocracy in rewarding high-performing employees with career advancement
Fairness in the treatment of employees
Role clarity and clear authority
Issues
Excessive regulation (“bureaucracy” now a dirty word)
Slowness in handling problems and adapting
Labour inflexibility
Hawthorn studies Elton Mayo
Innovations
The Hawthorne Studies – a series of experiments that examined differences in working conditions (lighting, working hours, rest breaks, clean work stations, clearing floor of obstacles)
Human relations / human resource approach Elton Mayo Legacy 2 problems5
Criticisms
Ambiguous as to the cause of increased performance
Was it the changes themselves?
The fact that workers knew they were being watched?
Because they were now working in sociable teams?
Because management cared about their conditions?
Legacy
Greater focus on social and human concerns
Experimentation with new approaches at work; R&D
Maslow legacy3 issues3
Legacy
Can be used as a way to help leaders to prioritise organisational changes
Emphasises importance of human aspirations and fulfilment, not just economic concerns
Employee assistance programs; career counselling
Issues
Managers may be unable to address some issues
Evidence for the hierarchy is lacking (e.g., sex at the bottom)
Ranking is different across cultures (Hofstede, 1984)
Contingency approaches
Situational Leadership Theory (Hersey & Blanchard, 1977) Innovations
Provided guidance on the best type of leadership to use in different situations
Directive leadership for low maturity employees, supportive for mature employees
Contingency approaches
Hersey and Blanchard model exp
Low supportive behaviour and low directive behaviour = delegating for high competence and high commitment
High supportive and low directive = supporting for moderate-high competence and variable commitment
Low supportive and high directive = directing for low competence and high commitment
High supportive and high directive = coaching for low-some competence and low commitment
Contingency approaches legacy3 issues1
Legacy
Emphasised the importance of the situation, rather than universal principles
Provides insights into the most appropriate action for specific situations
Implies that adaptive leadership is essential to success
Issues
Overgeneral categories (e.g., low/high maturity employees); there are many shades of grey
Chester Barnard – a major proponent innovations 4
Innovations
Viewing organisations as open systems (consisting of components that interact with the outside world)
Emphasised role of managers in:
Managing sub-systems (e.g., finance, marketing) to ensure they are performing well
Coordinating interactions between sub-systems
Systems approaches
legacy3 issues1
Legacy
The importance of having a clear organisational vision and a common language
Establishing channels of organisational communication and feedback
An approach to understanding complex problems by examining relationships between different parts of the system
Issues
Very much a macro-level approach; not much of a focus on individuals
What are ethics? (Aguilar, 1994; Paul & Elder, 2007) 3
A branch of philosophy involving systematising, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct
A code of moral principles that sets standards of good or bad, or right or wrong, in a person’s conduct.
A set of concepts and principles that guide us in determining what behaviour helps or harms sentient creatures
Why study ethics?
6
Ethics is not just about knowing right from wrong; it is strongly related to intelligent problem-solving
They provide us with options and a basis for choosing them
Ethical frameworks provide us with tools to assist in making and evaluating ethically fraught decisions
Ethics can help us to explain, justify, and feel good about the decisions we make
Ethics can help you to building a solid reputation for professional conduct
Ethics are necessary for a stable society
ethics approaches
- Consequentialism: Utilitarianism
- Consequentialism: Ethical egotism
- Moral duty (deontology)
- Moral relativism
- Virtue ethics
- Consequentialism: Utilitarianism
4
The consequences of a deed determine its moral value (i.e., who benefits, who suffers)
One form is utilitarianism: basically the greatest good for the greatest number
Prominent thinkers: Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill
Rationale: To maximise the good that is achieved through a decision
- Consequentialism: Utilitarianism problems 4
Not all of the choices may be known
Not all of the consequences may be known or perfectly predicted
Do intentions matter (e.g., vegetarians versus omnivores)?
People are sensitive to loss (e.g., pay cuts to support an initiative)
- Consequentialism: Ethical egotism 5
Another form of consequentialism is ethical egotism
Basically, the “right” action is the one that produces the most long-term benefits for yourself
Prominent thinkers: Henry Sidgwick
Rationale: To maximise your own benefit, or at least not be significantly disadvantaged through your choices
Example: Plagiarism will result in short-term gains (e.g., passing a test), but long-term problems (e.g., lack of knowledge)
- Consequentialism: Ethical egotism problems 3
Some choices are unethical, but result in long-term gains (e.g., stealing $10 million and investing it)
Some choices are bad for you in the long-term, but not necessarily unethical (e.g., having a diet of all junk food)
Who is “we” (me personally, or my company and everyone working for it)
- Moral duty (deontology) 3- 4
We do something because we have a moral obligation to do something; there are a set of rules that say we should
Prominent thinkers: Immanuel Kant
Where does “duty” come from?
Religious sources (e.g., religious texts say I have a duty not to steal)
Cultural sources (e.g., society expects me to keep a personal distance from people of about 1m)
Moral intuition (e.g., it seems wrong to torture small animals)
Categorical imperatives
- Moral duty (deontology) problems 4
Problems:
Provides us with guidance about what we should not do, but not what we should
Circumstances can make unethical actions permissible (e.g., killing in self-defence)
It may be difficult to find the right maxim in some situations (e.g., too specific, too general)
Universalisation may not be a good test in all cases (e.g., one fisherman will not make fish extinct)
- Moral relativism 5
What is believed to be right or wrong differs from group to group, society to society, culture to culture
That is, nobody is objectively right or wrong about morality
For example, certain types of food shouldn’t be eaten by Hindus (beef), Jews (pork)
Rationale: Grounds for making a decision should be based on cultural considerations
For example: 360 degree assessment works in low-power distance cultures, but is less acceptable in high-power distance one
- Moral relativism problems 3
What counts as a group or culture?
Example: Should we tolerate sexist attitudes of footballers because they are members of a club?
Conflicting viewswithingroups about rules
Example: Gay marriage
Moral subjectivism:
Morals are just a matter of subjective taste.
- Virtue ethics 6
Focused less on outcomes and duties, and more on the development of positive qualities (virtues)
For example: honesty, loyalty, dedication, courteousness, kindness, courage, humility, generosity, wisdom
Know what is right and wrong, and act accordingly
Considers actions in context (e.g., murdering someone for gain, versus killing in self-defence)
Rationale: These virtues provide us with a reason for action.
Example:
An honest person would infringe copyright, therefore I should not download Game of Thrones.
- Virtue ethics problems
What virtues are the important ones?
Cultural relativism of virtues?
What do you do when one virtue contradicts another (e.g., honesty versus compassion)?
Is it a good thing for people to be too virtuous (e.g., courageous to the point of recklessness, honest to the point of bluntness?). Aristotle’s “the Golden Mean”
CSR
“CSR involves the conduct of a business so that it is economically profitable, law abiding, ethical and socially supportive.” (Carroll, 1983)
Order of Carroll’s CSR pyramid 5
- Be profitable
- Economic responsibilities
- Legal responsibilities
- Ethical responsibilities
- Philanthropic responsibilities
Milton Friedman argument against CSR 5
Milton Friedman (1970):
Responsibility of a publicly traded company is to increase shareholders’ profits
CSR is a degradation of that purpose (i.e., spending someone else’s money); does not represent shareholders’ interests
Impossible to forecast whether CSR will be effective
Employees and shareholders should spend their personal money on such ventures (e.g., reducing pollution, poverty)
Companies should only engage in CSR when it’s in the their interests (e.g., attracting employees, tax breaks)
Four prevailing justifications for CSR (Porter & Kramer, 2006)
Moral obligation
Company have a duty to “do the right thing”
Sustainability
Protecting the future, so we can continue to live prosperously
Licence to operate
Society gives permission for companies to do business
Reputation
CSR improves a company’s image
How do you measure CSR?
3
Social impact (“People”) Impact on workers, communities Environmental impact (“Planet”) Waste, pollution, resource consumption Economic performance (“Profit”) Traditional metric for measuring the effectiveness of a company
Six types of capital
Financial
Revenue, market share, efficiency, dividends, capital growth
Manufactured
Physical objects, such as building, equipment, infrastructure, goods
Intellectual
Knowledge-based resources, such as intellectual property, patents, policies
Human
Competencies, capabilities and experience
Social & Relationship
People, communities, values, culture, organizational reputation
Natural
Renewable and non-renewable environmental resources
Persuasion techniques list 6
Reciprocation Commitment and consistency Social proof Liking Authority Scarcity and loss aversion
Cognitive biases and persuasion tactics: Why should we care?
5
We are only rational decision makers to a point
Cognitive biases and persuasion tactics can lead us to make poor decisions
Understanding common cognitive biases and persuasion tactics can help us to avoid their traps
Alternatively, they can help us to influence other people when logic and evidence fails to convince them
We can use our knowledge of biases to design choice architecture to help people make better decisions
What do we mean by bounded rationality? 2-5
As humans, we try to make the optimal choice in each situation, and we have the tools to do this well
But in reality, we are limited by (Selten, 2002):
The information that we have (don’t know all choices available to us; risks and uncertainty)
The inability to foresee consequences (especially whether a decision will make us happy)
Finite amount of time to make decisions
The cognitive limitations of our minds (e.g., information overload)
Cognitive biases (systematic errors in decision-making)
- Reciprocation what is +egs 7
The obligation to give created by receiving something
Examples:
Free samples
Political favours and bribes
Unsolicited gifts in charity appeals(e.g., fridge magnets)
Porters at airports
“Rejection and retreat” technique (e.g., tickets vs. chocolate bar)
“Free stress test”
Paying for your date’s dinner
- Reciprocation - Why does it work? 4 and how to resist2
Humans naturally inclined towards justice (punishment for wrongdoers, rewards for hard work)
It creates a psychological burden of debt; a sense of obligation to the giver
Society has a “reciprocity rule”; that we have to repay favors
Creates a strong compulsion to give (or say “yes”), if you have previously received something
How to resist:
Decline the offer; have policies against accepting gifts
Mentally redefine the gift as a persuasion / sales tactic
- Commitment and Consistency
Suppose you get called up by a company doing a telephone survey. They ask you some questions about homeless people:
“Did you know that thousands of Australians are homeless?”
“Do you think homelessness is an important social issue?”
“Does it bother you when you see a homeless person on the street?
…and finally:
“Would you like to make a donation to our charity?”
- Commitment and Consistency: Why does it work?
+ how to resist 2
We don’t like inconsistency between what we’ve said; cognitive dissonance creates stress
Avoid making initial (or public) statements, or give yourself an “out”
Recognise it and decline; “I’d be a fool to accept just to remain consistent”
- Social proof what is and egs5
The tendency to see an action as more appropriate when we see others performing it
Tip jars always at least half full in cafes and bars
Use of weasel words “fastest-growing”, “largest-selling”
Provision of normative statistics (e.g., “90% of people pay their taxes on time)
Bystander non-intervention (e.g., Kitty Genovese); looking to others for cues
Suicides in the media; copycats
- Social proof: Why does it work? 2 how to resist 2
Uncertainty means that we look to other people to guide our actions
It’s strongest when we observe people similar to ourselves
How to resist:
Be vigilant for clues that you are being fed information about what is “normal”
Independently obtain information about the situation, not just what people appear to be doing
- Liking
what is and eg 4
The tendency to comply with requests to someone we know and like
In particular:
Attractive people tend to have several advantages (more people vote for them in elections, treated more leniently by courts, more likely to receive help)
People who are similar to ourselves (gender, race, opinions, personality, dress sense, backgrounds) receive similar advantages
In-group favouritism: we tend to favour people who are members of our “group”
Familiarity also influences our choices (e.g., Liberal Democratic Party)
Other examples: Compliments; gift cards Amway (a “business opportunity”) “Good cop, bad cop” routine Attractive street sellers
liking how to resist 3
How to resist
Review the situation. For example: Since meeting this salesman, how much have I come to like them? What have they done to make me like them?
Mentally separate the person from the request they are making, or the thing they are trying to sell
Objective criteria for decision making (e.g., job selection criteria)
- Authority
what is plus eg5
The tendency to comply with requests from someone who appears to hold a position of authority
Titles (e.g., “Dr”, “Professor”, “Captain”)
Milgram obedience experiments
Medical hierarchy; “R.ear”; inappropriatemedication
Uniforms (e.g., security, police)
Scientists, doctors, economists, experts
- Authority – Why does it work?2
How to resist…3
Some compliance is necessary for society to function, and for us to fit in to a group
Generally, it’s wise to defer to experts (e.g., medical advice)
How to resist…
Awareness of the power of authority
Ask yourself whether the person actually is an authority (and more specifically, is their expertise relevant?)
Ask yourself how the “expert” stands to benefit from their advice
- Scarcity what is and eg6
Things are more attractive when their availability is limited, or when we stand to lose an opportunity
Supermarket specials
Limited number tactic (“Stocks are limited”)
Deadlines (“I can only hold it until Monday”)
Psychological reactance; works that are “censored” or restricted become more attractive
Trial periods (e.g., try Foxtel for one month for free)
Inertia (e.g., switching health plans)
6. Scarcity Why does it work? 2 How to resist 2
Why does it work?
Demand is a kind of social proof
People are loss averse (i.e., they prefer avoiding losses to acquiring gains)
How to resist
Awareness; notice yourself getting excited about the prospect of possessing something scarce
Confront the question: what do you want from the item (besides owning something scarce)
Complexity in the org main factors Diversity in: Interdependence, between: Ambiguity: Flux:
Diversity in:
Employees, business models, customers, suppliers
Interdependence, between:
Businesses, governments, political systems, organizations, citizens, countries
Ambiguity:
Impossible for one person to understand the relationships between everything
Flux:
Ongoing, sudden change
Example: iPhones
Mental models what is, qualities and uses
Mental models are our understanding of how things work
They are constructed from the interpretation of our experiences
Qualities
Range from simple to very complex
They may be complete vs. partial
Accurate vs. inaccurate
Uses
As a way of filtering information and interpreting events
As an aid to making decisions
benefits of mental models 5
Having an accurate mental model provides strong benefits to performance
Knowing the key components is (almost) as good as knowing the entire system
Accurate models aid decision rules and strategy choice
Decision rules stabilise quickly, even if they are suboptimal
After accounting for knowledge, cognitive ability (as measured by GMAT) wasn’t linked to performance
Rules and examples “If-then” rules. Boundary rules. Priority rules. Timing rules. Exit rules.
“If-then” rules.
Example: If sales dip, then invest 20% more in advertising
Boundary rules.
Example: We only produce cars, not motorcycles.
Priority rules.
Example: We focus on the area of biggest market share (e.g., luxury cars).
Timing rules.
Example: End-of-financial year is the best time to launch a new product.
Exit rules.
Example: We discontinue a product if its yearly sales fall below 10,000.
Foster a “learning” organisation (Senge, 1997)
5 factors
Systems thinking
How the components of an organisation work together, and how the organisation interacts with the outside world
Personal mastery
Commitment by individuals to engage in lifelong learning
Mental models
Updating understanding of the world to reflect reality
Shared vision
A long-term goal that unites the company
Team learning
Knowledge sharing, and open dialogue
Feedback loops and rapid adaptation factors (Seijts et al., 2010)
4
Real-time tracking (“Big Data”)
Example: Wal-Mart tracking which products are selling and when
Example: CEMEX tracks customer orders, production schedules, traffic reports and weather reports
Customer surveys, focus groups, interviews
Used to track satisfaction, identify opportunities, test products
Following business / market trends
Example: Kodak and digital cameras
Establish effective channels of communication from leaders to followers
Example: Mann Gulch disaster
Distributed leadership (Bolden, 2011)
what is
eg
outcomes3
Also known as horizontal leadership, shared leadership, and collective leadership
Basically, leadership by more than one person
Example:
Matrix organisations (with a divisional leader, and a project leader)
Outcomes:
Greater team performance
Enhanced organisational communication
Greater ability to adapt rapidly
What is creativity (and innovation)?
Creativity is the production of ideas that are:
Original, useful
Innovation is the successful implementation of those ideas
Why care about creativity?
5
Help us get the most out of employees at work
Help us to better deal with challenges facing modern business
Help us to become better problem solvers
Help us to stay ahead of other organisations
Help us to be responsive to the business environment
Help us to be happier and more fulfilled in our jobs
Common beliefs about creativity 8
Critical thinking is antithetical to creative thinking
Creative ideas emerge with a flash of insight
Creativity is more likely when you reject convention
Creative contributions are more likely to come from an “outsider” than an expert
People are more creative when they’re alone / in groups
Creativity is a personality trait
Creativity is related to mental illness and/or drug use
There is an objective and uncontested way to measure creativity
Critical thinking consists of 5
Analysing Applying intellectual standards Comparing / contrasting Evaluating evidence for Conscious forces
Creative Thinkingconsists of 5
Generating ideas Inventing / Designing Imagining Possibilities Unconscious forces
Merging critical thinking and creative thinking and you get3
Problem Solving
Creative Output
Innovation
how creative and critical thinking work well
Creativity is needed for generating ideas, but critical thinking gives is standards for assessing their quality
- Creative ideas emerge with a flash of insight
Sawyer’s (2011) process model
8
- Find and formulate problem
People need to get places; yet cars are underutilised - Acquire broad knowledge
Learn relevant skills (e.g., software development, databases management) - Gather potentially related info
Information about local laws, regulatory requirements, capabilities of technology - Incubation
How do we best develop the solution? - Generate a large number of ideas
What’s the best way to provide this service? - Combine the ideas in unexpected ways
Combination of mapping system, linked with PayPal, linked with customer feedback. - Select the best ideas
What ideas work, which ones don’t? For example, carpooling. - Implement the ideas
Develop the app and continue to refine it.
What is reflective practice?
5
Basically, it’s learning from experience (van Merriënboer & Kirschner, 2007)
Several key characteristics:
Evaluating your own experience, both in terms of thinking and feeling
Analysing a situation, and determining strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
Making decisions about how to improve your performance
It’s the opposite of being on auto-pilot
Also known as:
Self-regulated learning, self-directed learning (and sometimes, metacognition)
Reflective practice helps you:
3
Gain a deeper understanding of experience
Improve your performance
Develop as a human being
Models of reflective practice
2-2
“Horizontal” (or process) theories
These theories usually involve some kind of a loop (e.g., Kolb, 1984)
That is, something happens (we succeed / fail), we notice it, and then we take appropriate action
“Vertical” theories
These theories propose there are different levels of reflection
These range from merely noticing, to active processing of information
9 ways of generating feedback
- Self-generated feedback
- Instructional self-monitoring
- Self-questioning
- External self-monitoring
- Observational learning (Bandura, 1977)
- Experiential learning (Kolb, 1984)
- Asking customers / clients for feedback
- Peer mentoring
- Feedback from a mentor / coach
- Self-generated feedback
Advantages:2
Limitations:3
Basically, you evaluate your own performance; look at what worked, what didn’t work
Advantages:
Allows people to think about performance and set goals
Private (avoids embarrassment)
Limitations:
You don’t know what you don’t know (Kruger & Dunning, 1999)
That is, you are assessing your limited knowledge based on your limited knowledge
Unaware of your own gaps in knowledge, or how to improve from there
- Instructional self-monitoring
Advantages:1
Limitations:2
An instructor provides you with a reminder list of the things you are supposed to know
Advantages:
Easy to implement; helps people not to forget to study something; helps them to follow instructions
Limitations:
Same problem with self-generated feedback: people are very poor at assessing their level of expertise
Experimental evidence suggests this is an ineffective instructional strategy for assisting self-directed learners (Bednall & Kehoe, 2011)
- Self-questioning
Advantages:2
Limitations:2
A list of questions is generated, you attempt to answer them, and check them against the answer
Advantages:
Can be used to identify gaps in knowledge
Research evidence suggests this is a highly effective method for improving retention (Campbell & Mayer, 2009)
Problems:
Good for building deeper knowledge?
Need to have a definitive answer readily available; works less well for complex knowledge or ill-defined problems
- External self-monitoring
Advantages:2
Limitations:2
Use of external aids to enhance self-monitoring (e.g., videotaping performance, mirrors, biofeedback)
Advantages:
Enhances self-awareness of performance
Research evidence suggests it’s effective for training theatre students, especially with expert feedback (Lan & Morgan, 2003)
Problems:
Not all performance can be easily monitored in this way
By itself, it may not show how to improve
- Observational learning (Bandura, 1977)
Advantages:
Limitations:4
That is, observing the performance of other people and modelling their actions
Advantages:
You can learn a lot through meaningful comparisons with your own performance
Problems:
What role models to observe?
Complex behaviors often difficult to imitate
Difficult to identify what makes something good
Lack of self-awareness can undermine comparisons
- Experiential learning (Kolb, 1984)
Advantages:
Limitations:3
Also known as “learning by doing”, experimenting, and trial-and-error
Advantages:
The situation can provide immediate feedback about an approach
Disadvantages:
Method doesn’t lend itself well to high-stakes situations (e.g., surgery)
Feedback may not always be available
Feedback may not always generalise to different situations
- Asking customers / clients for feedback
Advantages:
Limitations:2
Basically, the approach is to ask for feedback and suggestions from the people that you serve
Example: Student evaluations
Advantages:
Customers can offer insights about what they enjoyed, found interesting, etc.
Problems:
Distortions due to the fact that feedback may also be used to make pay/promotions decisions
Customers often lack deep knowledge to provide insightful feedback about performance
- Peer mentoring
Advantages:2
Limitations:
Approach involves meeting with peers regularly, in order to discuss problems
Advantages
Peers may have knowledge you don’t have, or can offer you unique insights about your situation
Can offer an external perspective if they observe your performance (e.g., Toastmasters)
Problems
Depends on the quality of the peer, in terms of their expertise and ability to understand your situation
- Feedback from a mentor / coach
Advantages:
Limitations:2
What’s the difference?
A mentor is someone who is more knowledgeable than you, who attempts to transfer their expertise to you
A coach is someone who helps you to reflect on your values, set goals, and reach them
Advantages:
High quality corrective feedback from their expertise; helps you to set goals and work to reach them
Disadvantages:
Expensive and time-consuming
How to choose the right expert?
