Learner Induction – boring or unmissable?
I remember inspecting an IT provider whose learners had a very strong opinion about their induction experience – it was too long. The manager told me it was currently two weeks, having been cut down from three the previous year due to poor learner feedback. This action hadn’t stopped the complaints, so they were cutting to just one week in the coming year.
This was a classic example of poor self assessment. You can’t solve a problem by reacting to symptoms. You can only solve a problem by identifying and resolving the root-cause issue. The problem wasn’t the length of the induction, it was that its design wasn’t informed by a list of the clear outcomes it should have produced.
Far too often, people stick things into an induction programme that they feel should be there. Does this sound familiar to you?
“Definitely need some initial assessment and orientation; good to have a few ice-breakers; must cover rules, regulations and Prevent, etc..”
But we don’t want an ‘Induction programme of activities’ that will feel, to learners, like a bureaucracy; what we want is a transformative induction experience.
A college principal once told me of his first day at his new college – it was also day 1 for all new learners. Around mid-morning, he decided to walk the shared spaces to soak up the atmosphere. He was dumfounded by the overheard comment of one learner to his mum on the phone…
Before I tell you what was said, picture this: it’s the night before day 1. Our learners are excited and a little nervous about what will happen tomorrow.
Now ask an important question: Do all of your enrolees have all of the skills and attitudes needed to:
a. complete the course not just successfully, but to the highest standard, and
b. make life easy for you, the teacher, by never being late, always handing work in on time, and producing such great work that marking is super easy?
Unless you have a very restrictive admissions policy, the answer is almost definitely ‘no’.
In the Inspiring Induction Practices session, we’ll look at how to design an induction experience that will be unmissable. In a film I made at the end of one college’s induction experience (week 8), a learner said the best line I think I’ve ever captured on camera: ‘I get up a silly-o’clock to get into this college’. What would you give to have your learners say the same?
The design process is simple. All you have to do is ask yourself: ‘What skills and attributes do I want my learners to have by the end of week 6’ (often October half-term), then you plan a series of learning experiences, every one of which includes learning outcomes that go some way to achieving them. (NB. This isn’t 6 weeks off timetable, it’s 6 weeks of experiences to achieve your induction outcomes.) That said, in practice, many induction designers (whether they be local teams, or a manager from on high) find this extremely difficult.
There are also those who ‘just want to get induction out of the way so we can crack on with the syllabus’, without realising that much of the ‘cracking on’ needs to be done outside of guided learning hours using independent learning skills the learners don’t yet have…
So, the real challenge in designing unmissable induction experiences isn’t just a skills issue, it’s also attitudinal. Once we correctly identify the root-cause issues, we can then look at a process for meeting the challenge. All of this, then, is the content of the Inspiring Induction Practices session on Wednesday, June 24th. Do join us if you can, or feel free to tag someone who might find this useful.
Oh, and what’s the shocking comment the new principal overheard at 11am on day 1?
“Mum, I’ve just done my English and maths tests and so my teacher has said I can go home.”
Apparently, a million pounds worth of learners went home and never came back.
June 24th, 13:30 to 16:30. Zoom. Booking details here: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/fethink/2211931
Session details here: https://www.ccqi.org.uk/training-services/inspiring-induction-practices/
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