By Scott Rohde, PECP, PTMP
In my last blog I started to discuss the challenges of onboarding and suggested that traditional methods of role training are ineffective for both today’s workers and end users in the parking and mobility field.
My experience has been that adults have effective learning experiences when the process is interactive instead of one directional. Scenario-Based learning works well, especially when the student is engaged and challenged. Not only is understanding the material important but hopefully the learner can see a real-world conceptual application. Having employees practice a skill you’ve discussed and then asking them to relate why that skill would be important when they were working alone (and had to make a decision) makes the experience significantly better.
Although it’s not always possible during the onboarding process, experience has shown that training in groups is superior to one-on-one training. Students tend to feed – off each other a vast number of correct solutions, allowing the student to apply the correct solution to the problem they may face on their particular shift.
For example, an answer given during daylight hours may be completely different than one given when working the third shift. I have also found that when students are afforded the opportunity to learn through scenarios, they become more interested in learning new skills and actually want to engage in critical thinking as a driver of problem solving.
Although working in the parking and mobility industry as a frontline worker may not seem to require a lot of critical thinking, you’d be surprised.
I encourage employers to examine their staff, interact with them and assess the problem-solving abilities they possess. Ask yourself, are they inquisitive? Do they exhibit an open-minded flexible approach? Are they honest and do they have tact? If the answer to some or most of these characteristics is no, then retraining with an emphasis on critical thinking, may be exactly what’s needed. Applying critical thinking requires one to participate in it, be willing to put in work, and use it to its full potential.
Scott Rohde, PECP, PTMP, is the Director of Public Safety for Wesleyan University. Scott can be reached at srohde@wesleyan.edu.