Methodical skills

Learn to Learn

Objectives

Participants will be able to learn and work more effectively. They will be taught to use various methods, which are subsequently tested in practice.

In order to better structure, learn and present, it is important to use the time wisely. Participants learn techniques of time management so that they can perform tasks on time and without time pressure. This also helps to create a stress-free learning atmosphere. If stress situations occur, the participants learn how to deal with stress and that stress even can be conducive.

After completion of the module, the participants can acquire independently relevant information, which they need for learning or work and sort them according to importance. This improves their organisability.

Participants will also be taught techniques of visualization and presentation. They can independently prepare relevant information for a lecture and learn how to deal with constructive feedback.

Time management

• How do I use my time wisely?
• Create a schedule and prioritize tasks
• Realistic objectives and follow-up of non-achievements

Learning goals:

• The participants learn how to deal with the times and how they can deal with them.
• The participants prepare schedule and action plans to plan their time better.
• Participants learn that realistic goals contribute to the goal.

Presentation, self-assessment and discussion

Successful time management depends on the right attitude and enables you to determine your own time and work and not to be determined by it.

Manual:

Distribute a test for the self-assessment. Each participant has 20 minutes to read the test and tick the appropriate answers. Participants should be asked to check how they handle time.

After all participants have performed the test, small groups should be formed with 2-4 persons. In the small groups the results should be compared. Together, it should be considered how can be dealt with the “time thief’s”. The main questions could be: which aspects have the greatest influence on themselves? Which aspects are the easiest to change? Why should some aspects be changed?

Finally, each group should design a poster with the 5 most important tips on handling time.

Presentation: Mind map and action plan

Successful time management helps to gain more overview of upcoming tasks and thus to gain more freedom and leisure time. By deliberate handling of time, e.g. stress can be overcome, reduced or even avoided.

Manual:

Each participant creates a Mind Map with time requirements for his / her current life situation. The Mind-Map should include the most important “time thiefs” which should be highlighted with a text marker.

Subsequently, the participants should be asked to consider where the focus of their activities lies and what they would like to change. The participants should consider the following questions: Who will tell me about the plans? Whom will I ask for support?

At the end, the participants should note their motivation to change: What will I do or do not do anymore to realise a better use of my time? Each participant should create an action plan for himself, which serves as an orientation for a better handling of time.

Information

Has it ever happened to you that you have set yourself a goal and then have not achieved it? A realistic goal is very important – also for structuring work tasks. It is a good idea to have completed a certain task at a certain time. However, if the time pressure is not too large, the task completion will be postponed. With the help of the SMART principle, targets can be determined and a target is more likely to be achieved.

Ask the participants if they have already achieved goals. What is the reason for this? Discuss in the plenum the reasons why goals are not achieved.

• Specific: A clear, positive and specific target definition is important. Objectives must be defined as precisely as possible.
• Measurable: There must be clearly defined conditions that determine when a target is reached. This measurability of the objectives is important in order to recognize sub-goals. A continuous review of the target achievement allows that further steps can be taken.
• Appropriate: The objectives must be appropriate referring the effort. This means that goals must be motivating and achievable through own actions.
• Realistic: objectives must be achievable – with the available competences, resources and the time. If goals are not realistic, it can quickly lead to an overload and frustration.
• Time-scheduled: A goal is a clear deadline. This scheduling is important in order to be able to check the target.

If you realize that a goal is too big, sub-goals should be formulated. It is more realistic to achieve small goals in a certain time, than a great goal in a short time. The same applies to a successful completion of the task. Inform the participants that a large task can be divided into small sub-steps. With this procedure, it is very probable that deadlines can be reached on time. It is the better way to spend a little time every day for a big task than finishing the task on the last day.

Information processing

• Structuring and structuring
• Visualization

Learning goals:

• The participants learn to structure read texts and to summarize important contents.
• Participants learn the importance of visualization.
• The participants can visualize issues independently.

Information

Sometimes it is necessary to present work results in writing: professional work, presentations, work group results, preparation of a work project, etc.

Not only on the content is important, but also on the external form. The external shape provides a good impression and facilitates the information acquisition of the reader and / or listener. It is important that the structure is clearly structured and comprehensible to the viewer.

After information has been obtained and texts have been edited, similar content is brought together. By combining similar content, a first rough structure will be created for further processing. Then the different contents should be set into a relationship to each other. The principle is: From the general theme to the specific. If the order of the topics is fixed, all topics should be transferred in an outline structure.

Show the participants a pattern for the structure of an outline and ask whether there are any questions or comments for making an outline.

Poster exhibition

Visualization is the addition and extension of the spoken word by optical signs. There are different ways to visualize. Prepare a poster before a lecture, or develop it together with the participants during a lecture and thus actively involve them. Through visual techniques, the speech effort can be shortened and repetitions avoided. Information is made visible and the attention of the group is centred.

Manual:

The participants should be together in pairs. Each pair gets pens and a poster to design. In the middle of the room is a table with other materials (e.g., old magazines, glue pens, scissors, etc.). The teams have 10 minutes time to agree on a topic that they want to visualize on the poster. Once a group has found a topic be the moderator. If it does not seem appropriate for further editing, provide help for a new topic.

After all groups have found a topic, they are supposed to present this on the poster. For this purpose, they may create e.g. collages (with the materials from the table) with symbols and fonts within 1 hour. Finally, all the posters should pinned up in the room. One of the pair always stays next to the poster the member can have a look at the other posters. The person who is next to the poster will tell interested participants what the topic was. After a certain time, the roles will be changed.

Prepare and give presentations

• Phases of a presentation
• exercise

Learning goals:

• The participants know how a presentation is structured.
• The participants can independently prepare, carry out and prepare a presentation.

Information

The process behind a presentation consists of the phases preparation, sequence and evaluation:

1. Preparation of a presentation

It is important to answer the following questions:

• How do I want to present?
• Who are the listeners?
• How can I include the audience?
• How much time is available for the presentation?

Once the initial preparations are finished, the method for giving the presentation must be selected. The content of an illustrative presentation should be given in a comprehensible, interesting and vivid way. Visualization techniques must be used to explain the content.

A tip: In order not to read the whole presentation, type key words on small cards. This ensures that the voice does not become monotonous (which can happen very quickly while reading).

2. The flow of a presentation

In the introduction, the audience will be welcomed and the topic and the timetable must be presented. The entry may be e.g. a provocative statement or a quote to activate the listeners.

In the main section, all content must be systematically presented. It is important to keep eye contact with the listeners and to speak clearly and intelligibly. Even a hectic run is not conducive to listeners’ attention. Furthermore, sufficient time must be left for questions and feedback. The speaker should also take feedback of the audience into account He/she needs the feedback in order to check whether the schedule is in line with the listeners’ expectations or needs to be changed.

The conclusion at the end offers the opportunity to obtain opinions and feedbacks as well as reviews from the audience.

3. The evaluation of the presentation

The evaluation of a presentation offers the opportunity to present strengths and weaknesses and to improve one’s own presentation behaviour. Questions to find out this can be:

• Have the objectives of the presentation been achieved?
• Were the listeners pleased with the presentation?
• Was the content of the topic correct?
• Was the use of media and tools appropriate?
• How did the presenter feel?
• How did the presenter deal with time?
• What was the discussion at the end of the presentation?
• What are the implications of this presentation for the future?

Presentation

The participants should give a short presentation in front of the group (duration 5-10 minutes). They should use the previously learned tips for the preparation, execution and follow-up of a presentation. In order to prepare the presentation the participants get 1.5 hours’ time. They should choose a theme from which they think the other participants are interested. The participants have to consider how the outline looks, how the listeners can be involved and what content should be visualized. The presentation will carried out by using metaplan, flipcharts, cards, pens, pins, etc.

At the end of the presentation, the audience should give feedback to the speaker. Was the structure plausible? Were the contents conveyed in a comprehensible manner? How was the visualization? How were the speech rate and speech volume? How were gestures, facial expressions and body language? What can be improved at the next lecture?

Dealing with problems

• What is a problem
• How can I deal with problems?
• How can I solve problems?

Learning goals:

• The participants can name, analyse and visualize complex problems.
• The participants will learn methods for developing solution strategies. Development of solution strategies.
• The participants learn to evaluate different approaches.

Headstand technique

This technique is a reversal method that “turns up” a problem question: How do we achieve action-oriented instruction? Reversal Method: What do we have to do to prevent action-oriented teaching?

An inverse problem question must be asked. Participants should then start the search for ideas for the reversal question. The core of the method is that indented views or thought blocks can be resolved.

The idea-winning process is subdivided into the following phases:

• Joint formulation of a problem
• Spontaneous solutions
• Invert the problem (brainstorming)
• Exploration of ideas: For every idea mentioned, a counter-suggestion is sought, which should lead to the solution finding
• Solution finding: mentioned ideas should be ordered, evaluated and subsequently formulated to describe overall solutions.

Scenario Technique

In a scenario, a general problem that appears in a specific case must be described and processed with the help of certain questions. This kind of questioning releases creativity, imagination and activity and promotes coherent thinking. It is about describing what could happen and not about what we want.

Manual:

• Divide the group into small groups (about 5 people per group)
• Distribute the scenario
• Distribute the questions
• Group work in which the questions should be answered. If possible, all members of the group should express themselves. This is the only way to make an intensive examination of the topic as well as formulate their own views. The method requires at the same time a justification of one’s own opinion as well as the arguments for the others.
• Evaluation in the plenum: The results will be presented in the plenum. It is helpful when the group records its most important points on a flipchart. If the group did not agree about an opinion about the questions, the different opinions should be also expressed in the plenum.

Example scenario

After the completion of the secondary education, a young woman decides to achieve a VET as a make-up artist because she feels a special passion and talented. All friends and acquaintances, as well as the professional advice of the Employment Agency, advise against this project, because there are poor job prospects. She should rather learn a future-oriented profession, especially as her grades allow her to change to a higher school. Their parents want to stop them from plan VET as a make-up artist and refuse to give her financial support. The young woman is faced with the decision: professional safety or realisation of personal preferences, possibly connected with sacrifices.

Ask:

1. How would you decide in such a case, what would you advise the young woman?
2. Who would you ask to give advise?
3. Can you imagine a situation in which the young woman would not have entered the difficulties described above? How would the situation look like?

sources: https://wiki.zum.de/wiki/Lernen_lernen

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifelong_learning

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_management

http://www.teachsam.de/arb/zeitmanagement/zeitmanag_0.htm

https://wiki.zum.de/wiki/Präsentationstechnik

http://www.antarcticglaciers.org/2013/08/giving-good-presentation/

https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~mihaib/presentation-rules.html

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopfstandtechnik

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_method

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scenario_planning

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