Dark Blue Group. Feedback, Work with an Audience and Communication Skills

Group members: Vidutė Ališauskaitė, Lithuania; Pelle Karlsson, Sweden;
Gundars Riekstiņš, Latvia; Merle Lõhmus, Estonia; Jelena Rootamm-Valter, Estonia

Feedback – video method: a presentation given by an adult educator to an audience of other trainers and experts is taped on a video. After that, the tutor presents a video to the audience asking it to evaluate (write down) strong features of the presentation from the point of view of communication skills, work with an audience and feedback, and also “deltas” – the features that should be rather avoided. Each participant presents her or his individual opinion. The tutor makes conclusions on the basis of the opinions collected from the evaluators. The evaluated persons get all the written forms that have been filled in during the process of assessment.

Useful Ideas
They have been collected during 6 months
after the participants of the group passed Delta video feedback training

Work with an Audience
Hyper-activeness of the trainer can restrict the activeness of the participants.
It is important to use/implement variation during teaching. The Presentation consists of many details. Of course, preparation and content should be good, but, you can (and should) balance it with appearance, gestures and communication skills. Instructions for working in groups have to be given in writing, so that everybody can read them throughout the working period.

Feedback
Feedback should be personal, not to the whole group generally.
Plus-delta system is useful. Even if it is hard – to look at a video and see yourself presenting something – it is a useful exercise. Even more useful is the discussion about your presentation with colleagues afterwards. It is useful to record the session and later on discuss it. You may use questionnaires and tests.

Communication Skills
Learners should be involved as much as possible. They should feel part of the process. Concentrate on listening to people with opposing views. When you ask questions, give the floor to everybody to present their answers (especially to the shy students). You should respect learners and an interpreter if the training session is interpreted. Sometimes it is useful to create a competitive atmosphere. Give learners enough time to think. It is useful to implement different methods of supplying written information.

Ideas that Quickly Found a Practical Implementation
Group member’s experience

Work with an Audience
Implementation of ideas depends on situation, practice and skills of educator. If you are under stress, you forget any recommendations you have been given, so, you should feel confident in front of an audience and then you can freely use different tools. Or if you practice a lot, it will come by itself. I try to give fewer directives. If I use some new method, I try to get feedback on that particular method.

Feedback
It is useful to give feedback in a written form as well to every participant. Problem: sometimes people are afraid of making mistakes and therefore they are not eager to give an open, honest opinion. If you try to present feed-back as a part of the learning process, it may be easier for the participant to be open.

Communication Skills
Try not to over-react to the reactions of the audience. Take it easy – you are a professional, still you have right to make mistakes (self-esteem).

Recommendations to Other Adult Educators

Work with an Audience
Keep in contact! Be receptive and flexible. Prepare not only the content but the process, too. Be open. Respect learners and the interpreter.

Feedback
Be specific! Give instant and continuous feedback. After the presentation you should sit down for a while and rethink the process, give feedback to yourself – even if you are pushed for time. It is good to forgive and be forgiven for mistakes.

Communication with Learners
Be democratic! Be kind and attentive. Tell the group what you have learned from them. Your language has to be understandable to the audience.

The presented conclusions were collected in written by e-mail and express the result of everybody’s work.

The second meeting of a group took place in Göteborg (Sweden) on 5–8 December, 2002. The meeting aimed at discussing the conclusions collected in written form and at presenting the overall result to all those participating in the project. With the kind help of Aurimas Juozaitis and Roma Juozaitiene, the assessment of the presentation given by the Estonian national group was made. All the L4S participants gave written feedback (strong features and deltas) for four teachers. The results were concluded the next day by the Dark Blue group as part of their group presentation. It was a serious learning experience for all three parties (Dark Blue group, evaluated teachers, other participants).

Influenced by the results presented by other coloured groups, analysing new experience with the Delta method and Dark Blue group activities in particular again, the group has agreed on the following.

Working as a teacher and as an adult educator means that a person:

• Has learned much in her or his special knowledge and skills area;
  
• Has made a lot of work preparing his or her students’ learning process;
  
• Has enough personal resources – mainly courage and love – for the activity named “giving”;
  
• Is convinced that she or he is doing the right thing.

In that sense it is very important for a teacher if she or he finds recognition of learners, especially if the audience consists of colleagues – the other teachers. The Delta method proves that recognition.
This method:

• Trains communication skills;
  
• Teaches more means for working with an audience;
  
• Helps a teacher to recognise herself or himself as a personality who has right reasons for teaching, guiding, tutoring and giving appropriate feedback to the learners.

“We met different personalities whom we recognise as professionals, and we are professional as well.

“Everybody can learn something from each of these teachers”.

These two sentences best summarise the result of the feedback.

The main conclusion of the Dark Blue group learning process is still quite trivial: the main part of teachers’ “giving” is content – statements that are proved by knowledge and personal experience – that may be shared with the audience and gives to the learners new material for thinking, analysing and probably, in some time, using in a way in their practice. this sentence is completely incomprehensible!! It is very nice if an adult educator is also a skilful communicator. Usually she or he is, if he or she:

• Has learned much in her or his special knowledge and skills area;
  
• Has done a lot of work preparing his or her students’ learning process;
  
• Has enough personal resources – mainly courage and love – for the activity named “giving”;
  
• Is convinced that she or he is doing the right thing.

Contents   |   Next..