Taking Learning to Task: Creative Strategies for Teaching Adults

Abstract

Taking Learning To Task: Creative Strategies for Teaching Adults Jane Vella San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass Inc. Many educators are finding that they are a little outdated. With the idea of "teacher" being out and the concept of "facilitator" in and "objectives" being out, but "learning tasks" in, the feeling of panic can start to build. However, learning can be facilitated quite easily through learning tasks such as: group discussion, paired projects, case studies and very specific tasks. Many educators have discovered that students actually learn much more through interactive means versus straight lecture. Taking Learning to Task offers a new way to present material to students. Anyone teaching adults will find this a useful book. Vella's entire concept of "teaching" centers around the use of "learning tasks." She identifies a learning task as a "way to structure dialogue" (p. xiii). Vella also states that Socrates, Jesus, and Buddha were great teachers who "set great learning tasks because they knew the power of dialogue" (p. xiu). The goal of learning tasks is to facilitate discussion between the teacher and the learner by using open-ended questions. Vella has identified four components that are needed to make an effective design for learning tasks. These are inductive work, input, implementation and integration. Inductive work is a learning task that incorporates what the learner already knows, or is related to their life. Input includes new content such as concepts, skills or attitudes. Implementation is the act of doing something with the new content (or input). And integration involves using the new content in a real life situation. When designing a course using these four components, an inductive task will use action verbs such as: describe, tell the story of, define, sketch, show, name, etc. This will help the learner to see how something they use daily in their lives or work affects their learning. An inductive task "sets the stage for learning by sharpening the perception of the learner" (p. 39). Input tasks will challenge the learner with new content. New content will be presented, a learning task given, and by this process learning will take place. An input task is different than an inductive task because new material is given. The material must be presented as a task for learners to work with, challenge, and recreate to fit their needs. These tasks will "involve presenting substantive concepts, data, skill sets, and attitudes for examination, comparison, reflection, practice, editing, rearranging, and reconstructing" (p. 40). Implementation tasks allow the learner to utilize the new concepts or skills they have learned. They should be given time to review, integrate, practice, and examine the new content. …