‘ABEL’ experiential learning pays!

TODAY there are many techniques by which people learn. There are many methods which are used to teach individuals, from children to adults. In the corporate world, hundreds and thousands of rupees and dollars are spent to impart knowledge, skills and even to build positive attitudes amongst people in organisations to achieve the bottom-line.

Training and development is a key integral component of the Human Resource Development activity. Therefore, it is pertinent to explore and understand the most effective way or ways by which expected results can be achieved.

Some of the popular methods of training and development or learning are:

1. Lecture styled classroom learning

2. Workshop styled interactive learning

3. Activity based experiential leaning – indoors

4. Adventure based outdoor experiential learning

5. Distant learning with self study

6. Distant e learning – web based or facilitator centric

Before one embarks on discovering the most effective of the above, how people learn, understand and retain has to be understood. Human beings’ minds work in such a way that different people are savvy to different techniques of learning and respond according to each person’s inclination.

For instance, a person who yawns at a particular lecture could be very much active in an interactive session. On the contrary, another person may find lecture room presentations are more agreeable than action-oriented learning; mostly introverted personalities.

It must also be stressed here that there are certain types of curricular-based formal learning which inherently demand indoor conventional learning and other skill-based learning requirements which call for outdoor or activity based learning. However, nothing prevents any form of learning to be conducted in an active manner outdoors. Creativity is the only determinant.

But here the contention or the focus is to narrow down to corporate training and development initiatives.

Why do corporate strive train and develop people?

1. To orient them to the organisational culture

2. To impart skills, knowledge and attitudes to do one’s current job effectively

3. To prepare individuals to take higher responsibilities or go to the next level

All this is focused towards having the right people at the right place to achieve the bottom-line!

What all these mean is facilitating the aptitude and attitude of people to empower them. Unless you achieve this, the monies spent on training and development activity becomes and expense – not an investment.

Today every rupee or dollar deployed has to be viewed as an investment with a worthwhile return. Therefore, there is no other option; training and development has to bring a payback in the forms of desirable behavioural, attitudinal, application and motivational output. So how best is this done? There is a popular quote which says ‘what I hear and see I may or may not remember but what I do and feel I will remember and retain!’ This is the most elementary method of learning – used in the play groups and kindergartens.  Learning by doing; very basic, very real and very experiential as opposed to pure cognitive methods based on reasoning. Here, influencing thought is through ‘feeling’ triggered through self discovery in action. In this context it is established today that ‘activity-based experiential learning’ is the key and the most effective. There is a huge following and demand around the world for experiential learning where the key points of learning and behavioural changes necessary are anchored by giving the participants a task/challenge to complete, observe the processes followed reflect on the outcome and its relation to the way it was done. It is essentially a journey of self discovery but of course through a facilitation process by a trained professional expert.

My experience as a HRD professional and an experiential learning facilitator, as others in this discipline would agree, is that out of the experiential learning options available, ‘Adventure Based Experiential Learning’ or ABEL is the most effective method.

The distinctive difference and advantage is that participants do not engage just in any activity; they engage in outdoor adventure, tangible challenges which have excitement, fear factor and substantial goals to achieve! The adrenalin rush is essential to keep the participants engaged and active, attempting to achieve.

The essence of ABEL in a nutshell is as follows:

nAt the outset the facilitator explains the purpose of the programme, the key objectives which are attempted to be achieved; mostly few critical goals.

nThe participant agreement is obtained for the above and ‘end of the day deliverables or takeaways’ are established.

nFears and expectations of participants are brought into the open. Fears are tackled and expectations are kept to be revisited at the end of the programme.

nThereafter different challenges are given to the participants, mostly in groups, where the objective of the exercise and what has to be achieved is explained.

nParticipants are coached to observe their entire attempt – oneself, others and the whole team.

nAt the end of each (timed) activity participant feedback is taken on the attempt, achievement and people in action – what was done right? What are the areas for improvement?

nThereafter the facilitator combines his observations, provides necessary corrective guidance and learning point(s) is established.

nThe whole learning is summarised and anchored at the end through an interactive recap/plenary.

ABEL is an excellent tool to impart leadership skills, establish team dynamics, form winning teams and orient people for quality and operational excellence. From low ground level challenges to mid level and high level, from treasure hunts to constructions, from water-based activity to climbing and trekking, challenges are crafted to suit the needs of the learners.

Most people in Sri Lanka have the notion that ABEL training is like military training – physically exhausting and dangerous.

This is a wrong notion mostly brought about by the fact that some of the learning facilitators are ex military personnel and some programmes have had physically daunting exercises.

However, it must be emphasised here that ABEL learning is a very safe and accident free engagement with the right facilitator at the right facility. Granted, every challenge has an element of danger – like in life – but if the proper safety measures are taken and the advice is followed, you are safer than in your own bathroom.

There are many safety requirements and activity standards recommended by world bodies and outdoor specialists. It is incumbent on the organisation seeking the training to ensure that appropriate safety measures are taken.

More importantly, it takes facilitators with knowledge and experience in the realities and dynamics of the corporate world to relate the training and anchor the learning to suit the organisational needs. Therefore who does the facilitation takes precedence over where. In order of priority therefore those seeking ABEL training must consider safety or how, who and where! Experience they say is the world’s best teacher. So adults learn best by ‘doing’ like children. Back to basics!

(The writer is a HRD professional and corporate trainer He is an executive committee member of the Association of HR Professionals and The Management Club. He leads The Talent Gallery as Program Director/Key Facilitator. He can be reached at [email protected].)