Being openly criticized by the one teaching is a sure way to stop the learning process. Teachers must provide and maintain a learning environment that assists students in meeting goals and objectives.
Leaders must educate, train, and supervise newly assigned teachers in order to help reduce this barrier to learning. A true leader and teacher will inspire learners, not manipulate them.
Teachers of adults must become proficient in the use of constructive feedback and positive reinforcement. Teachers can remove or lessen anxieties by clearly spelling out, up front, expectations for participants and establishing group norms. For example, letting participants know that active participation is encouraged, divergent opinions are welcomed, and that you are there to help them learn.
Furthermore, teachers must learn how to be effective facilitators, encouraging groups to discuss their solutions to problems and facilitating the interaction between group members, the groups themselves, and the class as a whole.
Additionally, curriculum developers and teachers must strive to create learning environments that build upon the experience of the students and challenge them to go beyond what they know or can do.
Two approaches to creating such an environment are “without the information given” (WIG) and “beyond the information given” (BIG). “WIG” environments provide the students with little guidance. This forces them to discover on their own solutions to the given problem. “BIG” environments provide the students with a scenario and a possible solution, but they must delve deeper and find other, better solutions. Scaffolding, mentoring, and coaching are other effective instructional techniques.
In both the WIG and BIG approaches, students are required to make decisions and communicate action in the absence of all the information they think they need.
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