Hy Mike,
hy all.
Sorry for the delay in replying, but i was out for work.
"I agree that videos are just a medium. In my opinion, they don't have much
> use except as part of a good teaching model. If the teaching model is not
> effective, the video won't save it."
I agree with you as well! I think the use of the video depends also on the
teaching model. And may be on the national and organisational culture of the
learners. As the episode you reported explain us.
I appriciate the use of videos for training skills, but generally speaking
the hiring of a company is too expensive for the italian budgets, if we are
not referring to very big projects or e-learning. Meanwhile publicly sold
vhs are often translations of us products and so there are significative
problems of localization (and of identification of the audience).
I use fiction in training sessions, but obviously in this case the goal of
the video is quite "tactical" so far it is aimed to "open the mind" of the
learners to the new competences to be acquired and/or to the cognitive
elaboration of new theories or attitudes. The premise of this approach is
that before teaching new competences you have to "break" the old cognitive
schemes of learners, in order to facilitate the learning process. I don't
want to stress up the well known theories that support this approach, in
this contest. But, may be you know the nice "Zen" story about a professor, a
zen master and a cup of thea.
Relating your asian managers, I suppose they could realize "american way of
doing" was quite different from their ones, watching the video, and this
helped them to be more open to new behaviors and so to be ready to do "like
romans".
Referring to the use of pictures in training, the comunicational effects
produced by the emotional contents of the film, the identification of the
target with the protagonist of the story, etc., etc. could facilitate the
learning of new skills.
In my opinion "breaking the schemes" of learners is important at university
as well. Expecially in the case of cross-cultural management.
I think it is impossibile to enhance cross-cultural competences of students
with out opening their mind and facilitating a culture of diversity.
I can teach them how to manage a japan team, for example, but i can't teach
my students how to cope with every possible culture they could meet in their
all career. So, may be teaching cross-cultural competences means also to
focus up at a meta-competence level, helping the students in the building up
of the own knowledge, in order to make them to be ready to learn how to
manage with a new specific culture, when they meet one.
Fabrizio Maimone
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Kiska" <
mkiska@jefferson.lib.co.us>
To: <
MG-ED-DV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 2004 10:37 PM
Subject: Re: Videos for inter-cultural difference
> Mon, 30 Aug 2004 10:25:15 +0200 fabrizio wrote:
>
> "Thank you Mike!
> Do you use also fiction (ie films, etc) or only "ad hoc" training videos?
>
> And in this case do you apply the same "classic" behavioral "modelling"
> approach?
> Sorry for the several questions, but video is just a "medium", so i think
we
> could not talk about the use of videos for "intercultural differences"
> without coping with the issue of "how to use them" at university and/or
> training programs."
>
>
> Ciao Fabrizio,
>
> I rarely use fiction videos, and then only if I am teaching theory as
> opposed to a skill. Also my method when teaching theory is a little
> different than the one I described here. The model I have described is
used
> only when I am teaching a skill. I will use a publicly sold video when I
> can find one that fits my needs. If I cannot find one, I'll hire a
company
> to make one for me or simply make one myself.
>
> I agree that videos are just a medium. In my opinion, they don't have
much
> use except as part of a good teaching model. If the teaching model is not
> effective, the video won't save it. The last time I used a video for the
> example I mentioned, talking to an employee about performance issues, I
was
> asked to train a group of Asian managers who were working in the USA. My
> company wanted them to learn a more confrontational approach, which was
> different than their cultural norms. The company also had two plants in
> China, one in Hong Kong and the other on the mainland. I doubt that those
> trainers were asked to train their managers on the same skills that I was.
> But these managers were working in the States and you know the old saying,
> "When in Rome do as the Romans." So I needed the video to demonstrate our
> cultural norms when dealing with employees as much as I needed it to model
> the behavior.
>
> Mike Kiska
> Training & O.D. Manager - Administrative Services
> Jefferson County Public Library
>
> Find us on the Web: http://jefferson.lib.co.us