INTRODUCTION
The kinesthetic learner holds the distinction of being a member of the smallest and most challenging group of learners for a trainer or presenter to engage. I call these individuals the "forgotten learners" because we often ignore them in our training sessions and presentations. Kinesthetic learners are the first ones to become restless in the 50-minute lecture hampered with a zillion slides. Unlike the other three learning styles (auditory, visual and emotional), kinesthetic responders need to be physically moving and actively participating for optimal learning.
Active learner participation is the foundation for several theories of adult learning. In 1956, Benjamin S. Bloom (1913- ) and colleagues established a hierarchy of thinking skills (knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation) for learners, universally known as Bloom's Taxonomy. Increasing the level of learner participation is essential to moving up the six levels of the taxonomy.
In 1962, Coolie Verner (1917-1979) proposed his theory of adult education, which serves as the genesis of today's Principles of Adult Learning. The first of the nine principles states that adults learn best when they are actively involved in the learning process. Unfortunately, it is a principle frequently overlooked by many trainers and presenters.
EXERCISES
Exercises are exquisite opportunities for participants to discover, practice and reinforce learning. They are most effective when they are simple and purposeful. If an exercise is too complicated, your audience will become frustrated and not learn as much. If the exercise does not support essential content and your learning objectives, the participants will perceive it as a waste of time.
Tips for the Exercise-Impaired
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Fill-in-the-Blanks. Always provide your audience with an opportunity to write. When preparing your handouts, leave key words and short phases blank, disclosing the information on your visuals. This works especially well for definitions, key steps and important facts that you want to reinforce. Too much writing becomes frustrating and tedious.
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Writing Assignments. Design your handouts with writing spaces to match a planned exercise. Information collected during individual or group exercises should be important enough to be written down. If the information does not support your learning objectives, then it is extraneous and the exercise should be eliminated. Many writing assignments can be recorded on flipchart paper posted on the wall. This achieves the ultimate type of physical movement -- getting learners out of their seats and walking around.
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Games. Games are one of the most powerful methods for getting learners involved. They may be used to introduce, explain and reinforce learning. Games can be played by learners independently, as in the case of matching columns, crossword and word search puzzles. (Try your hand at the ICH GCP word search puzzle on the next page.) Group games are especially valuable when team development is one of your goals. Variations on Trivial Pursuit and Pictionary are exciting exercises to wrap-up a course or program, especially when prizes are awarded.
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CREDITS:
Reprinted from the Fall 1998 issue of The Monitor, a quarterly publication of the Association of Clinical Research Professionals.
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