fbpx
Home Blog Page 1317

Enough already with ILT

By
onlinefreecourse
-
0
Enough already with ILT

I always found that there are two types of people in the training and L&D space. Those who embrace learning technology and those who do not.  Sure, the latter group may accept it, grudgingly, but deep down they cannot move off what has worked so well for them in the past.

The problem though is that Instructor-Led training doesn’t work, not from an adult learner standpoint, not from an attendee standpoint, not even from the standpoint of many folks who have utilized the power of e-learning (hence its extensive growth over traditional learning of ILT).

The funny thing about Data

When a learning system pushes the power of data with their brain-based research from experts in elite colleges, and experts on learning with the brain, folks rush to it, without question.  After all, it is data backed by research. 

When people hear about the research and data on mastery learning or day to day repetition of learning, they accept it without question, after all, it is based on research.

But when there are research and data to support the failings of Instructor-Led Training, many people ignore it. 

Why?

Let’s talk about the research

I often hear people say, well, there isn’t any data to support the idea that ILT is not effective or they will tell me, it works for us, so we use it quite a bit.

Here are two problems I see with that.

1. If it works so great for you, why are you using online learning as a core component of your L&D or training?  For those who use blended learning, online learning is usually more than 60% of the totality of the learning.  If I thought something was so fantastic (which I do with online learning), I wouldn’t embrace the other as part of anything.  No one who is loyal to a brand, product or even a sports team, would ever accept to use something different or support another team.

2. There is quite a bit of data showing that ILT is far lower in terms of retention than online learning.  We are not even talking close.

Retention Realities with ILT

Retention, something that is heavily harped on in e-learning, and rightfully so, but seems to disappear when people push ILT.  Why is that?   Perhaps it is because if someone sat and observed an ILT session, they would notice many in the audience not paying attention, looking at their phones, or staring into the sunset or working on their computers – you think they are taking notes? No, they are reading e-mail. And responding.

Those activity groups that some ILT folks use in their sessions, to keep people I think more awake, with always follow a dynamic, with one or two people providing responses, and at least one person rarely providing responses, unless they are egged on or receive the “what do you think, Annee?”

Then you have people who spend their whole time in an ILT session, thinking to themselves, “Don’t pick me, don’t pick me” – yeah, there is retention for you.

Let’s not forget about the time.  Everyone loves an ILT session that goes 60-70 minutes straight without a break.  Especially when data shows that most people start to tune out after 45 minutes.  The “you can use the bathroom whenever you want,” doesn’t always work for everyone, because of the fear of being noticed, when they standpoint to use the facilities.  No one likes to be stared at. 

Wait there is more.

As anyone in L&D and training can tell you, requiring employees to attend a seminar is not an easy task.  How many times, have you seen people grudgingly come into the room, some complaining about having to leave their work behind, or whatever? I saw it quite a bit. Even when the topic was relevant to their job role and/or onboarding.

Simon Says “ILT Retention Stinks”

There are multiple sources that say the retention rate for ILT is 58%. Wow, fantastic.  You are likely to have higher retention for the movie you saw, a month ago, or the horrific car wreck you drove by, three weeks prior.  If you were told of anything that was 58% you would not be impressed.  Who went around saying, “Hey, I got a 58, on this exam, or 58% of the time I remember to take out the garbage or 58% of the time, my employees remember my name.”  

The Research Institute of America found that e-learning boosts retention rates by 25 percent to 60 percent, compared to ILT rates of eight to 10 percent.   8 to 10 percent?  Would you be fine going to your CEO and saying, “Hey, with our ILT we can boost the retention rate of our employees by 8 to 10 percent, so can I have another $50,000 for my ILT budget?”

We are Visual Learners

Regardless of your age bracket, the majority of people at least in the United States are visual learners, according to this thing called research.  65% in fact.  Granted there are plenty of folks who have multiple learning styles, especially training and L&D people who often have kinetic (hands-on) too. I’m a blend myself, with the majority being kinetic, followed by visual. 

Please, please tell me where that visual learning is happening with ILT?  Oh, you mean that PowerPoint that the presenter/trainer (yes, sadly) will often repeat to the audience, that they themselves can see on it?  Oh, you mean those employees who present,  with the back turned away from the audience for the majority of the time, I mean how you can read it yourself if you can’t see it?   Oh, how about those fine days when there was a projector with transparent slides that would go over it, and someone had written in green or black or red pen the information you needed.  Truly, inspiring. 

Visual is not PowerPoint, just as visual is not you looking at the ocean and thinking you would rather be there than in your office.  Sure, you would be imaging that your boss can’t swim, on the day they are berating you in an e-mail, but is that really visual learning or more of visual payback?

ILT is making a comeback

No, no it is not.  I mention this because I have seen huge fans of ILT push this narrative through LinkedIn by finding an article or something that supports it.  I saw one post that said that e-learning was ineffective and not living up to its possibilities.

Really?

Look bad e-learning is bad e-learning.  But you cannot blame the online learning experience on that, just as you shouldn’t blame a horrible instructor/teacher/presenter on the entire group of people who provide training to your employees or customers?  The reason the e-learning is bad, especially on the content side, is because it was designed poorly, which a chunk of it is – and this is correlated to the many people who do not or are not willing to explore effective instructional design, nor recognize that strong e-learning is based on design wrapped around real-life/world scenarios including interactive and engaging content.

Here is Reality when it comes to ILT

Go to any trade show in our space.  Remember the days when ATD (then known as ASTD) was all about ILT, consultants selling books and other items?  Remember the days, which wasn’t so long ago, that it was geared towards ILT approaches and solutions?  I do.  Now, where is it today? I hardly see any products for ILT, and when they are it is extremely small.   Why is that, if ILT is in a renaissance period?  

Where is the heavy ILT angle at World of Learning or LTUK or LTFrance or Learning Solutions or DevLearn or at the many other shows around the world?  I’d argue that ATD is so strong on e-learning, that their ATD TK show no longer is of use, because it was originally designed to be e-learning driven, to offset the heavy ILT focus of ASTD. 

CLOs in general love ILT.  Even if they are big tech fans themselves, talk to many CLOs and it seems that ILT is a must for them.  I get that they have a background in OD, just as an L&D person would have, but why the love for ILT?

I would love to ask them what is the last seminar they attended and then, ask them to write down five things they learned from the seminar.  Heck, even three.  For those who could (and I suspect it would be significantly small), re-visit them in six months and ask the same question.  Oh, and they can’t look at their notes.

How’s that retention working out for them?

If you are in HR, when was the last time you went to a seminar or a training event and could you right now without looking at any notes, name out loud to yourself, three takeaways?  What about those L&D execs?  I even found CEOs in e-learning, who attended a seminar/training session that was ILT that couldn’t recall even two takeaways that they “learned” supposedly in the session. 

Why WBT was created

I won’t go into the specifics here, but it was created because ILT wasn’t working.

ILT

  • The presenter drives the agenda.  If you are behind in jotting down the information or if you are on a computer learning something, i.e. technical training, the presenter won’t stop and wait for you to catch up.
  • With technical training, the sessions should be small 8 to 10 people and have multiple trainers walking around to help those who are behind.  Rarely, it happens.
  • Comprehension with ILT is low, after all, the presenter/trainer has to only X amount of time per topic to cover.   Who can learn, retain and comprehend something in such a short amount of time?
  • Synthesis the end goal of training and learning, never occurs.  It can’t because the way ILT is structured.   Synthesis can occur, and often does with online learning, because the way it is structured (non-linear, focus on what I want to know when I need to know it)
  • ILT is at a set time to attend.  It is not based on your working schedule, it is based on the time set by the instructor/presenter/trainer.  If you miss something, sorry, it is your fault you are late. 
  • ILT incurs a higher cost to attend. Travel is a cost.  Time away from work is a cost – where is the productivity happening exactly? 
  • ILT does not offer any time, anywhere to happen.  Oh, and if you can’t recall or did not take away all the information you needed for your upskilling, or onboarding or whatever, no worries, you can take another ILT session – if it is offered, and if it is, is located somewhere where you will have to take off part of your work and if it a paid ILT session, what budget is that coming out of again?

Bottom Line

ILT has been around since the first days of someone sitting in a classroom and listening to the teacher.  I recall that it appeared in the 1600s.  Name me one other form of learning, okay reading a book, but it wasn’t universal for the entire populace, that is older than that?

Now name me a reason that it should still be utilized when there is technology including e-learning that can match and even surpass it?  E-Learning has higher retention rates. Higher comprehension rates and higher synthesis rates.

So why hold onto the dream of ILT?

Because it isn’t a dream at all,

It’s a nightmare.

E-Learning 24/7

 

Custom Design Feature | One Stop Teacher Shop

By
onlinefreecourse
-
0
Custom Design Feature | One Stop Teacher Shop

Custom designs are one of our favorites. We love bringing our customers visions to life, and with custom designs, it is possible. Kristin is a former teacher turned homeschooling mama and owner of One Stop Teacher Shop. She worked with us in the past on her custom website design. It was great, but she needed a makeover to refresh her brand. We totally get it.  It is entirely reasonable that our style changes and evolve. It is even more complicated with websites and blogs as we not only change our visual preferences, but we also discover new options and functionalities.

Our starting point was her old custom design, which you can see below.

She still liked her logo and all colors, but some elements needed to be changed. She wanted her new design to be modern, functional, and eye-catching.  It was all I needed to know to start our magic immediately!

Finding the perfect style

Similar to our previous project, Kristin wanted to keep her colors but wanted to change her logo a little bit. She was curious how it will look with some small graphic elements, so I have suggested following options:

Option #1 was a hit, and with a small modification, we got a final version:

Creating the website design

One Stop Teacher Shop’s design is our first fully custom project, which includes on-load animations. We recommend checking her website to see how her homepage sections are loading.

We would love to hear your opinion about it in the comments!

The whole process of creating this custom design went smoothly. In a few weeks we coded everything from scratches and made sure all things which were essential for Kristin are there.

Here is a full-length view of the final website design:

Click here to view larger

Final thoughts

It was our third in a row custom related to children’s education, and we loved working on it! Working with such vibrant colors gives a lot of fun and lets us be very creative.

Let us know what you think about the final look!

If you are looking for a custom blog or website design, visit our Custom Design Services page to request a quote.

How Much Do You Know About Nigeria?

By
onlinefreecourse
-
0
How Much Do You Know About Nigeria?

Can you find Nigeria on a map? What else do you know about this African nation with about 206 million people?

In the Age of Digital Streaming, Are Movie Theaters Still Relevant?

By
onlinefreecourse
-
0
In the Age of Digital Streaming, Are Movie Theaters Still Relevant?

Find all our Student Opinion questions here.

How often do you watch movies? And where do you like to watch them?

Do you prefer to go to movie theaters, use a streaming service like Netflix or Hulu at home, or a combination of both? Which movies, if any, do you try to see on the big screen? If you usually stream movies, do you use a television, a computer, a tablet or a phone? Now compare these experiences: Which do you think is the best way to watch a movie? Why do you say that?

In “‘Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood,’ Many Times Over,” Brian Raftery writes about a movie theater in Los Angeles that is part of an “art house revival” that is now happening despite the popularity of streaming services:

LOS ANGELES — On a crisp Saturday night last month, a hundred movie lovers got into their cars and drove to the New Beverly Cinema, an old theater on Beverly Boulevard, to relive a golden age of Hollywood.

As a 1960s radio broadcast played overhead, ticket holders walked past a lobby filled with vintage artifacts like a “Make Love Not War” banner and “Green Hornet” poster before taking their seats.

“You open the doors and it’s 1969,” said Brian Quinn, a theater manager, who took the stage at 7:30 p.m. to introduce the night’s main attraction: “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood,” written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, who also owns the New Beverly.

The audience gasped, laughed and applauded as they followed the tale of a fading TV star (played by Leonardo DiCaprio), his loyal stuntman (Brad Pitt) and Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie), set in the final days before Charles Manson upended Hollywood’s collective psyche.

Such cinematic time capsules have been a fixture at the New Beverly, a 225-seat, single-screen theater that is emblematic of an art house revival in Los Angeles and beyond. The theater shows studio classics and cult films, including many movies by Mr. Tarantino. And last July, when “Once Upon a Time” was released, it was added to the lineup, selling out more than 50 consecutive screenings.

The article suggests there are reasons beyond seeing a movie that draw people to the New Beverly Cinema:

Nostalgia remains one of the theater’s biggest draws. “It’s the closest thing to a time machine I’ll ever see in my lifetime,” said Alison Martino, 49, a journalist and historian who has seen the film at the New Beverly 11 times.

When Ms. Martino first saw the scene in which Sharon Tate visits the Fox Bruin Theater on Broxton Avenue (which still stands), she recalled her weekend nights there as a teenager in the 1980s. “I cried, because so much of my childhood was there,” said Ms. Martino, who runs the Facebook page Vintage Los Angeles.

For those who weren’t around during those years, the theater offers a sense of camaraderie so often lost in the age of at-home streaming. “It’s a good escape,” said Mr. Vasquez, who has seen the film at least a dozen times at the New Beverly. “There’s no plot to the movie, really. But I just like to hang out with these characters, and be in that world.”

Students, read the entire article, then tell us:

  • Would you want to visit the New Beverly Cinema or any of the other theaters mentioned in the article? Why or why not? As you read, were you reminded of any vintage or vintage-inspired movie theaters you have visited or heard about? How does the New Beverly Cinema compare with the kind of movie theaters typically found near where you live?

  • The article states:

“A generation of people who have only seen movies at home now want to see them” in theaters, said Jake Perlin, 44, the artistic director at Metrograph. “They’re realizing that nothing is greater than watching something like ‘Bells Are Ringing’ with another couple hundred people.”

To what degree do you think Mr. Perlin is right? Do you think the experience of watching a movie in a theater is markedly better than just streaming it? And if so, what makes it better? Is it the communal experience of watching with other people? The larger screen? The superior sound system? The smell of buttered popcorn?

  • What have the older people in your life told you about how they watched movies when they were your age? What, if anything, about their stories appeals to you? Why?

  • You read about people who have seen “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” multiple times in a theater. What movie holds your personal record for most viewings? Why have you watched it so many times? How many times, if ever, did you see it in the theater? Where and how did you watch it the other times?

Students 13 and older are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.

Lesson of the Day: ‘How 17 Outsize Portraits Rattled a Small Southern Town’

By
onlinefreecourse
-
0
Lesson of the Day: ‘How 17 Outsize Portraits Rattled a Small Southern Town’

6. What is your reaction to the reception of the portraits by the people of Newnan? How did their reaction compare to yours from the warm-up activity? What does the controversy say about the current state of American communities and how they deal with diversity and change?

7. The article concludes:

Ms. Meehan’s portraits, which will come down in June, have already had a lasting effect on the town. They have prompted deep conversations between people who had never met. “The truth is, these conversations are hard and uncomfortable and awkward but we need to lean into it,” said the Rev. David Jones II, the pastor of Newnan Presbyterian Church, who plans to use the art installation to organize a retreat about race, gender and identity this year. “We need to talk about who lives in our community and if they are different, why does that make us uncomfortable?”

In what ways do you think the project met its goals? Do you think the conversations prompted by the portraits are productive and healthy ones? What “uncomfortable” conversations do you think your own community needs to have? Explain why.

Choose one of the following activities:

1) Analyze and respond to a portrait featured in the article.

Look through the portraits in the article. Select one and consider some of the following questions from our Critiquing a Photograph worksheet:

  • What is the subject of this image? What is the setting?

  • What draws you to this image? How does it engage the viewer?

  • What feeling or feelings does it evoke? What ideas or themes does it suggest? What mood or tone does it set?

  • What story does it tell about the community of Newnan?

2) Design a public art work to represent your community.

Feel free to choose photographs, murals, sculpture or other forms of artistic expression.

Build on your brainstorm from the warm-up activity and consider what aspects of your community you would want to represent — people, places, ideas or feelings.

Consider the impact you would like to have on your community. Mr. Hancock said: “I just felt like we were living apart. We were in these little bubbles. I thought this project could pierce the bubbles.” Would you want to celebrate your community? Challenge it? What kind of conversations would you want to start?

Make a sketch (or sketches) of your public art work. Include an explanation of the piece, including the goals, the medium and materials you would use and where you would want it to be displayed. If time permits, present your sketch to your class.

Word + Quiz: phantasmagoria

By
onlinefreecourse
-
0
Word + Quiz: phantasmagoria

: a constantly changing medley of real or imagined images (as in a dream)

_________

The word phantasmagoria has appeared in 11 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on Jan. 3 in “Method to the Madness: Peter Mattei on Becoming Wozzeck” by Michael Cooper:

It was a few days before the opening of Berg’s nightmarish “Wozzeck,” and a rehearsal had just ended on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera. As the crew began disassembling the set around him, Peter Mattei, the acclaimed baritone singing the title role for the first time, stayed onstage, negotiating his dying gesture with the director, the artist William Kentridge.

…. It is a challenge for any singer to navigate Berg’s modernist score, which requires both lyrical beauty and haunted Sprechstimme, or sung speech. But Mr. Kentridge’s production — essentially a huge immersive art installation as well as a work of theater — needs a star who can hold the stage amid a phantasmagoria of projections evoking the horrors of World War I.

_________

Lesson of the Day: ‘Doctors on TikTok Try to Go Viral’

By
onlinefreecourse
-
0
Lesson of the Day: ‘Doctors on TikTok Try to Go Viral’

Find all our Lessons of the Day here.

Featured Article: “Doctors on TikTok Try to Go Viral” by Emma Goldberg

Doctors and nurses are taking to TikTok to inform young people about a variety of topics including sexual health, vaccines and healthy eating. In this lesson, you will learn about potential benefits and concerns with medical professionals using the video app. Then, you will get to share your opinion about the issue or create a video or written explanation about a science, technology, engineering, math (STEM) or health topic.

Note to Teachers: This lesson plan addresses sexual health. Please preview to make sure it is appropriate for your students.

Brainstorm: When you have a medical question, where do you go first for the answer? What about questions related to sex, puberty, alcohol or drugs? Are you comfortable talking to parents, a school nurse or your pediatrician about those topics? Do you turn to friends or search online for medical answers? How do you know whom or what to trust?

Now, watch this TikTok created by Dr. Danielle Jones, a gynecologist:

You might want to compare Dr. Jones’s video with these TikToks about vaccines or the new tobacco-buying age.

  • Have you seen doctors and nurses on TikTok before? How do you feel about them using the app?

  • Did you find the videos interesting, funny or informative? Would you share them with a friend?

  • Do you trust the information in the videos? Why or why not?

Read the article, then answer the following questions:

1. How does Dr. Danielle Jones view her TikTok presence? How does that compare with your reaction to her video?

2. Why do you think so many TikTok users have viewed videos on vaping-associated lung diseases, the flu and HPV vaccines by Dr. Rose Marie Leslie, a family medicine resident physician? What might that tell you about her primary audience?

3. How has Gregory Justice, TikTok’s head of content programming, responded to the rise in medical professionals using TikTok?

4. Why does Dr. Jones think TikTok “humanizes” doctors? What do you think?

5. What was the response that Dr. Nicole Baldwin, a pediatrician, received after creating TikTok videos about vaccines? How does she think now about such posts?

6. What are some of the downsides to health-related TikToks that Sarah Mojarad, a lecturer, has noticed? Do you share any of her concerns?

7. Dr. Austin Chiang, a gastroenterologist, and Dr. Christian Assad, a cardiologist, both discussed the importance of distinguishing between general education and patient-specific medical advice on the app. Why are they careful to emphasize these boundaries and distinctions?

Discuss with your class or write your response: Do you think that doctors and nurses should use TikTok to share medical information?

  • What are the advantages and disadvantages to medical professionals using apps like TikTok? Do you think that there are other forms of social media that are better or worse for sharing medical information?

  • How do you think that apps and individuals can ensure accuracy and professionalism within medical-related social media posts? Do you think there are certain kinds of medical information that should or should not be shared on social media?

  • Are you more comfortable seeking out medical advice online? Does it make a difference to you about the kind of health information you need? What about getting sexual health information versus getting information about viruses, like the flu?

You have read about medical professionals using TikTok and have even watched some of their content. Do you think you can condense detailed and accurate information into a paragraph, tweet or video?

Choose one thing that you know a lot about, either from your own interests or from school. Be sure to cite how you know the information: You could use an article from The Times or another reliable source.

Now, see if you can share that information with your class as a live performance or as a video in 15 seconds, the length of a TikTok. Are you able to share it in an interesting and compelling way? Can you make it funny, but still accurate? Can you adapt a popular song with your own factual lyrics, but ensure the correct information is still conveyed? To test if you succeeded, you may want to ask your classmates what they learned from your performance. Is it what you hoped they would take away and learn?

If you’re interested in expanding your creation, consider turning your video or performance into an engaging 500-word written explanation. And, if you’re 13 to 19 years old, you can submit your explanation to our STEM Writing Contest, which is active now through March 3, 2020. Be sure to read the instructions and rubric before you submit.

What Makes A Dog Smart? Are Certain Dog Breeds Smarter?

By
onlinefreecourse
-
0
What Makes A Dog Smart? Are Certain Dog Breeds Smarter?

Ever looked at your dog and wonder just what they’re thinking?

That’s the question Dr. Brian Hare has spent his career trying to answer.

He’s a scientist, New York Times bestselling author of the book, The Genius of Dogs, and Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology at Duke University in North Carolina. His publications on dog cognition are among the most heavily cited papers on dog behavior and intelligence in the world.

Below, listen to the conversation or read the transcript, and hear Dr. Brian Hare’s thoughts on:

  • How he made a career studying and researching dog intelligence
  • His take on why certain breeds of dog have never won the title “Best in Show” at the Annual Westminster Dog Show (Golden Retrievers and Labrador Retrievers)
  • If some dog breeds are really smarter or easy to train than other breeds
  • What exactly makes a dog smart
  • If you can make your dog smarter
  • Secrets to dog training

Want to hear more from Dr. Brian Hare?

Or if you’re a member of the press, set up an interview with Dr. Brian Hare or learn more about the topics he can speak to.

___________________________________________________________________________

Transcript

Coursera: [00:00:01] From Coursera, I’m Emma Fitzpatrick, and today, I’m speaking with Dr. Brian Hare. 

He’s a scientist, New York Times bestselling author of the book, The Genius of Dogs, and Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology at Duke University in North Carolina. He also founded and is the co-director of the Duke Canine Cognition Center at the university.

And in fact, his publications on dog cognition are among the most heavily cited papers on dog behavior and intelligence in the world. That’s because he also researches the evolution of cognition by studying humans, primates, and yes, domesticated dogs. 

Today, we’re hearing from him on if dogs in dog shows are really smarter, just what it means when we call our own dog smart, and how we can train them better by understanding how they learn and their intelligence.

So, let’s go ahead and get started 

Brian, I would love to hear how you got into this field. Growing up, were you always interested in dogs, or what’s a dog that’s had the most impact on you?

Dr. Brian Hare: [00:01:05] Well, first, thanks for having me, Emma. And I’m just like anybody else, who grew up with a dog. 

I had a childhood dog, who was one of my best friends, if not my best friend. And he went pretty much everywhere I went growing up. It was still the day where you could have your dog off-leash and, your dog could roam the neighborhood.

And he roamed with me, and we spent so much time together. When I went to go see my friends, he would go with me. And then I’d ride my bike back home, and he’d come right along. 

Having a relationship like that, where you kind of had a best buddy who went everywhere with you, you couldn’t help but wonder, “What they were thinking or how they were feeling? Or what exactly did your relationship mean to him?”

And, you know, as I got older and I started going to college, he was still alive. The way I thought about it started to mature as I started, reading, and taking classes and thinking more deeply about the subject of animal minds. 

Coursera: [00:01:57] Yeah. And from there, how did you get there and really wanting to dedicate your life to studying dogs?

Dr. Brian Hare: [00:02:04] Like many discoveries, my first discovery about dogs was a big accident.

I was talking to my undergraduate advisor, and he was telling me the rationale for why we were studying gestural communication or how other animals understand pointing gestures. 

And he said something to the effect of only human children can understand pointing gestures, in a way that means that they really know what you intend when you’re communicating with your point or your gesture.

And I just said, “Well, I think my dog can do that.” And he thought that was really funny because he said, “Well, every textbook, you know, dogs are the example where if you point a dog just looks at your finger. Surely, you can’t be serious.”

And I said, “No, no, no, no, no.” You know, I grew up with my dog, Oreo, and I would throw the tennis ball for him, and if he couldn’t find it, I would point and gesture where it had gone, and he would go and orbit kind of in that direction. And he’d find his ball.

Basically, we were communicating all the time about where things were in the environment, and I had no doubt that he understood my gesture. 

So, that was really fun because my undergraduate advisor, who, you know, was already a renowned scientist, he took me seriously.

And it’s when I learned how great science is because he got really interested in the fact that he might be wrong. And so he said, “Why don’t we do a kind of experiment?”

And so we did. And that’s how it all got started.

Coursera: [00:03:30] I love that because you see people around with those stickers on their car. You know, my dog’s smarter than your honor student, and it sounds like this is essentially how it all started for you. You’re like, my dog is smarter than that, and my dog can do that.

Dr. Brian Hare: [00:03:44] It is. It is.

Coursera: [00:03:45] That’s your whole career now.

Dr. Brian Hare: [00:03:47] It is basically. I mean, it really was just a fortuitous conversation as a 19-year-old undergraduate and just having a fantastic advisor, who was excited, especially when I brought back some first pilot data. He got really excited. 

He thought, “Man, we might be on a big discovery here. This is a big surprise to me and to a lot of people who study this.”

And we were off and running. So, that’s kinda how it all happened.

And the first, you know, pilot experiment was I went home and worked with my pet dog in my garage, and sort of demonstrated that, yeah, he could do that. 

And, it’s not unlike all these funny stories about start-up tech companies and people who get started in their parents’ garage. Well, that was me too.

Coursera: [00:04:30] But instead of a computer, you had a dog, which, I mean, is hard to beat.

Dr. Brian Hare: [00:04:33] That’s right. That’s right. A dog. Yup.

Coursera: [00:04:35] I feel like when you tell people you work with dogs, they’ve got to be like, “Dream job!” People are so fascinated by dogs.

In that same vein, the National Dog Show has 32 million viewers, which is 20% more than the Oscars. Are you surprised by that, or do you watch dog shows yourself?

Dr. Brian Hare: [00:04:53] I’m not surprised by that. Because I have learned as someone who studies dogs, how much enthusiasm and energy there is to learn everything there is about dogs. 

And so then when it comes to a dog show, where now you’ve got these different dogs, different breeds, and they have all these beautiful traits, you know, physical traits, and the different behaviors they might display.

I mean, it’s hard not to be fascinated. 

Coursera: [00:05:19] People are just looking for an excuse to spend more time with dogs, whether it’s on the TV or in real life. 

And as far as those dog shows go, two of the most popular dogs in America–the Labrador Retriever, Golden Retrievers– they’ve never won the Westminster Dog Show. Do you think there’s any reason why that is?

Dr. Brian Hare: [00:05:38] Well, I think that part of those dog shows is to exhibit the tremendous diversity of physical and behavioral traits that different breeds exhibit. 

And so, I guess if you’re a judge, maybe, you’re going to be really excited to have dogs that people might be less familiar with have as much time in the competition as possible. So, that’s my guess.

I don’t know if I’m surprised that Labradors and Golden Retrievers haven’t won, but I’m not surprised that some of the rarer, or less common breeds, get more time in these competitions because that’s sort of what the people who are experts in this are excited about is: the diversity and some of the rarer types of dogs

Coursera: [00:06:22] Right. And do you think show dogs are generally happy? 

Dr. Brian Hare: [00:06:24] I think in general, the number one variable that’s going to make the hugest difference on whether any pet dog is happy is how much time it gets to spend with the person that’s bonded with.

And I’m imagining that show dogs spend a lot of time with the people who take care of them and love them and take them to these shows.

So I imagine that they’re really, really happy.

Coursera: [00:06:47] Yeah, and do you do a lot of research about different dog breeds that you think some would excel more in dog shows? Or what’s your take on, you know, dog intelligence by breed?

Dr. Brian Hare: [00:06:56] Well, I think the most interesting thing to think about in terms of what we’ve discovered about dog breeds, and their behavior and cognition, is that it’s counterintuitive. But, they’re not that different actually, when it comes to differences between dog breeds and their intelligence. 

When it comes to what they look like, and maybe the emotions they feel or how strongly they feel them, maybe their activity levels–I think those are where you’re going to see the biggest differences between breeds of dogs. 

But when you’re talking about things like, how long a dog can remember something, or can a dog understand your communication? Or is a dog able to bond with a person or another dog? Those are the types of things we’ve measured in terms of cognitive performance or intelligence.

And there’s not as much difference between breeds as you might expect, so I think that’s the fun take-home. The intelligence that people attribute to breeds, when we actually go and measure it, there’s not that big of differences that you might predict. 

And so I think the reason for that is that there has been very strong selection in the last 30 years on the appearance of dogs and less so on their performance in terms of solving really complicated problems. 

Coursera: [00:08:18] But also, people say, you know, this dog’s easier to train than this dog. This type of breed is so hard to train. They don’t listen as well. Do you place any stock in that? 

Dr. Brian Hare: [00:08:28] So I sort of answer that two levels. One is just as a dog lover and person, who struggles to train dogs myself. I do put stock in people’s experiences and their perceptions, so that’s one level. 

At another level, as a scientist, though, I need to go and say, “Okay. Well, has anybody tested this? And what is the empirical evidence, and how strong is it?”

And in that case, I don’t think there’s really any evidence that certain dogs are easier to train than others. No one’s tested that in any rigorous way that you could look at a scientific paper and say, Oh, yeah, this is the breed, and this isn’t.

I mean, there are actually lots of counterintuitive findings, and I could share some of those with you.

But, you know, there’s a lot of reason to believe that some of the things we’re perceiving are really more about us than the dogs.

Coursera: [00:09:14] Yeah. Talk through some of those that you found most interesting.

Dr. Brian Hare: [00:09:17] Well, let me first just give you an example of where science can really help, but also, not everybody likes the findings.

It’s one of the struggles for science. Everyone loves science when it supports your previous belief, but when it goes against it, people aren’t as happy.

So, for instance, a labradoodle: often, I have people ask me, “Shouldn’t I get one of those cause they’re hypoallergenic?”

And actually, there have been studies to look at different breeds and whether there’s a difference in the amount of protein they produce in the saliva that then gets on dander, which causes the allergic reaction.

And there is absolutely no evidence from the studies that have been done that any breed of dog is hypoallergenic.

So, there’s no dog that science has been able to show would be safer for someone who had allergies to be with.

No one wants to believe that. But if it really is true that these dogs are hypoallergenic, we should be able to see evidence for that, but we can’t. 

So onto breed differences: Then if you take sort of the same approach where we have these really strongly held beliefs about dog behavior and intelligence and how they might be different. Well, sometimes, some of our ideas may not be as much about the dog as it is about us. 

So one example is there’s evidence, for instance, that when you give people pictures of dogs and you ask them, which are the intelligent dogs and which are the less intelligent dogs.

People and their responses actually can be explained to a large degree by the length of the dog’s nose. 

So dogs that have very short noses and very long noses, people tend to attribute less intelligence. To dogs that have medium size noses, people tend to attribute more intelligence. 

So a lot of the things that people are saying about breed differences and intelligence may not be based on actual problem-solving behavior that when we do an experiment, we would be measuring.

Coursera: [00:11:17] Does that come from anything or connect to anything? Or is that just totally random?

Dr. Brian Hare: [00:11:22] One way to think about it, though, is super short nose dogs seem more baby-like in terms of their appearance. And so maybe people think they’re sort of less cognitively competent because they are more baby-like.

The longer nose dogs, I’m not sure, but it may be that in some ways, they are too extreme the other way. 

Coursera: [00:11:39] It’s so interesting how the mind works, but I’m sure if you asked anyone on the street, “is your dog smart?”

Most people would say, “Yeah, my dog is.” Is that we’ve found through your research?

Dr. Brian Hare: [00:11:49] Yeah. I mean, I think the first thing is that dog breeds are really an expression of ourselves.

All of that happened 150 to 200 years ago. So before 200 years ago, there would be just a few dog breeds. I mean, a handful, and really it was only during the Victorian era that it became sort of this thing you did as a status symbol to breed your own special breed of dog.

And so selecting which breed in which direction you selected them is really just an expression of human preferences. Some people got excited about smaller dogs. Some people got excited about long hair. Some people got excited about short legs. Some people got excited about baby faces. These were all expressions of human preferences that ultimately are rooted in our psychology. So, we see different dogs differently.

So, onto your question, though, about people responding and saying, “You know, my dog is so smart, and I’m so convinced.”

I actually also run into a lot of people who say their dog is not smart, and so my answer to that is always, “Compared to what?”

And I think that’s been the most interesting thing I’ve learned through the experience of talking to lots of people about how smart or not smart their dog is.

People are really funny about how they decide their dog is smart or not.

Because when I say, compared to what, then you get all sorts of funny answers, and I actually think the right answer to that is we’ll compare to other dogs.

Coursera: [00:13:14] Right.

Dr. Brian Hare: [00:13:15] And so that’s why part of our Coursera course was to offer access to Dognition, which is our citizen science project where people could actually compare their dog’s cognitive performance to other dogs.

And so that’s been really fun, to see when people actually do this and then realize, “Oh my gosh! I totally have underestimated my dog, or I didn’t know that my dog was really smart in one way, and, you know, not as skilled as I would have imagined on another when you compare them to other dogs.”

Coursera: [00:13:44] So, what makes a dog smart? What kind of factors are you looking at there?

Dr. Brian Hare: [00:13:48] Well, we don’t even really think about it as is a dog smart or not. We are more interested in the question of what is a dog’s cognitive profile.

I get asked all the time, not just about dogs, but also because I study other animals.

People say, “Oh, are chimpanzees smarter than dolphins? Are our dogs smarter than cats? Or is this breed of dog smarter than that breed?”

And the way to think about it is you’re basically asking me, “Is a hammer better than a screwdriver, or is a screwdriver better than a hammer?”

Well, it depends on the problem you’re trying to solve. And so the way we think about it is really. What are the problems that a species or an individual is really good at solving? What is their cognitive profile?

And it ends up that every dog has something that they’re probably particularly good at or skilled at.

Coursera: [00:14:34] So could you give me an example of what that would look like or translate to?

Dr. Brian Hare: [00:14:38] Yeah. So at Dognition, at our citizen science website, you can go and measure your dog’s communicative skills or their memory, their ability to make inferences, their ability to bond or have empathy towards you, or even try to deceive you. And so you can then play these games. And then your dog has compared to all the other dogs in our database.

For instance, my dog was really kind of average for its working memory relative to other dogs, but when it came to eye contact, it made with me, it was really quite remarkable. So I didn’t know that.

And so, is my dog smart or not? Well, I don’t know. I mean, if, if eye contact is the thing that you call smartness, well then, yeah, my dog’s, one of the smartest ones there is, but he doesn’t have a particularly well- developed memory. So it really just depends. 

Coursera: [00:15:24] So, say your dog doesn’t have a great working memory. Would that make them harder to train to do basic things, like sit, stay, et cetera?

Dr. Brian Hare: [00:15:31] Yeah. So I think it’s a great example. So if you have a dog and you want to try and to sit and stay, and you start to get frustrated.

Well, you know, one model would be I must not have a very smart dog, so I need to practice and work really, really hard. And I’m just going to practice.

And that’s one model of how their mind might be working.

What I’m suggesting is a totally different model, and that model is that when you say sit and stay to your dog and your dog gets up and walks off, there are multiple explanations for why that dog may be doing that.

One is the dog may not have very good working memory and literally may just forget that it was told to sit and stay. Another reason that it may get up and not sit and stay is because it doesn’t have self-control. And there’s nothing that dog can do about that. We do know that smaller dogs, for instance, have less self-control than larger dogs.

And finally, it could be that your dog literally just doesn’t really understand human gestures or communicative intention as well as other dogs. It doesn’t understand what you’re trying to tell it.

So, these are all things that are going to majorly constrain how much effect you can have with elbow grease and working hard.

Coursera: [00:16:36] Right. So it sounds like there’s really no secret to dog training. Some dogs just have a better cognitive profile that they’re going to respond to those things better because they have more self-control. They’re better at understanding what you want from them. Is that right?

Dr. Brian Hare: [00:16:51] Any teacher, student relationship: when your student isn’t able to learn something, it’s time for the teacher to reflect on the teaching methods. Maybe if I present this in a different way, there’ll be a better way for my students to learn this that fits better with their skills. And let’s find their strength, and let’s teach to their strengths.

Coursera: [00:17:10] So, what would that look like in this scenario? You’re having trouble training your dog. They aren’t responding to some basic commands 

Dr. Brian Hare: [00:17:16] Let’s think about working dogs. This is a real-world scenario, where you’ve got a dog you’re trying to train to detect things in the environment. Let’s say bombs, and you’re getting really frustrated because they understand you, they know the commands. But many people would say they don’t show the drive, like they’re just not, pursuing the things you want them to find.

Well, one thing to think about is, well, is this a dog that has too much self-control? Because it ends up that dogs that have a lot of self-control are not particularly good at finding bombs or other things.

But it ends up the dogs that are like that, who have a lot of self-control may be excellent at training in service and in helping people to solve all sorts of other problems that are equally important.

And so what I’m saying is that if you’re struggling to train your dog in one way or to do one job, maybe you need to find something else to train them for that will be better suited for the skills they bring to the table.

Coursera: [00:18:10] Ah, got it. So whether it’s for a service dog or it’s for a pet, it’s about identifying what your dog’s strengths are and playing to that instead of having this like baseline of this is what the dog should do, regardless of what it’s actually doing.

Dr. Brian Hare: [00:18:23] I mean, if you find out that your child isn’t very good at catching a ball, you don’t try to get them into the major leagues. You take advantage of the fact that they love playing the piano, and they happen to have an amazing touch on the ivories. 

Coursera: [00:18:38] Yeah. And is that what you wish more people knew or understood about dog training? 

Dr. Brian Hare: [00:18:42] Well, I think part of the problem is that there are basic things that every dog needs to do. And so surely there must be like one best way to get a dog to sit, stay, or, come when you call them, and so I’m forgiving. I totally get it. And I’m not saying I’m an amazing trainer either. But the reality is that dogs definitely have different cognitive profiles, and they’re going to be better suited for different things, and they may not be perfect at everything.

I mean, my old dog was amazing as a guard dog, and we were so happy and slept peacefully at night because we knew that he was going to go off if anybody came near our house. Of course, the problem with that was that sometimes we had to put him in some place where he might not bite someone when they came into the house, so you just have to celebrate the good and cope with things that might be more challenging.

Coursera: [00:19:31] Yeah. And it’s not like you trained him to not react that way when someone came to the door. It’s just about not putting them in that situation then.

Dr. Brian Hare: [00:19:39] Yeah, exactly. And so then it’s like, well, that’s who he is, so let’s come up with a strategy to work around it.

Coursera: [00:19:44] And, I’m just curious, what do you love most about dogs 

Dr. Brian Hare: [00:19:47] I just like everybody else. I like the hug on them.

Well, my course on Coursera, “Dog Emotion and Cognition” has been so fun because I’ve just been so happy to see how many people have enjoyed taking the class.

So, the course really covers how we uncover the genius of dogs–and dogs do have a genius– by thinking about intelligence, not as sort of one thing, but as multiple things. And also back to the metaphor of hammers or screwdrivers–not is an animal intelligent or not–but how is it designed by evolution to solve problems?

And that opens up a whole door to understand dogs in a brand new way. And it really leads to solutions to real-world problems and also in your everyday life with your dog to see them in a really different way. 

Coursera: [00:20:33] To keep learning about dogs, emotion and cognition,

And as always, thanks for listening and happy learning!

 

Annotated by the Author: ‘These Five Cuisines Are Easier on the Planet’

By
onlinefreecourse
-
0
Annotated by the Author: ‘These Five Cuisines Are Easier on the Planet’

The other thing I learned in my reporting of this story is that it’s not just about what we eat and how we grow that food. How we eat also matters. So I wanted to use an anecdote to illustrate that idea. I could have chosen so many cuisines for this anecdote. I love the cuisine of the Eastern Mediterranean, so that’s what I chose.

It was a Sunday morning and the kitchen at Beit El Qamar, in the hills above Beirut, was a bright, busy enterprise. Herbs had been picked from the garden out back. Pots were simmering on the stove. Chickpeas were folded into an earthen bowl of yogurt and tahini.

By midday, as my family and I sat on the terrace, small plates of many things appeared on the tables all around. There were cold and hot foods, blended and whole, a spectrum of colors from every part of the landscape. There was sheep cheese, grilled or plain, tabbouleh heavy in mint, walnuts puréed with red peppers, dandelions sautéed with onions, and, for dipping, a bowl of olive oil with crushed thyme and sesame.

I like to be specific, because that helps the reader experience what I’m experiencing. These particular foods also have different textures in the mouth. Ideally, I want my readers to taste a bit of what I’m tasting.

It was all there. Grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. There was meat, too. But, as in pho, it didn’t dominate. It hid in the heart of a fried kibbe: ground, spiced lamb cocooned in bulgur.

It was a meal meant to be eaten with others, to be passed around and discussed. A meal designed to slow me down, even if just for an afternoon.

I tell you about this meal because it embodies the final and most basic principle of eating well, both for our health and the health of the planet: eating together.

The why-it-matters of this section.

Sharing a meal can be a good way to avoid waste and overconsumption. There’s usually someone in the group who will pop the last piece of cheese into her mouth (my kid), or scrape the last bits of kibbe from the plate (me).

Not least, eating together makes eating more pleasurable.

Brazil is nudging its people in that direction. Its national dietary guidelines offer not just tips on what to eat, but also how to eat.

“Eat regularly and carefully in appropriate environments and, whenever possible, in company,” they suggest. “Plan your time to make food and eating important in your life.”

Learning “Useless” Things in School is (Usually) NOT Useless

By
onlinefreecourse
-
0
Learning “Useless” Things in School is (Usually) NOT Useless

The challenge facing teachers is to prepare a diverse set of students for later situations that are not only varied, but likely different from ones we can even imagine in our current time. As technology rapidly changes our world, our instructors are set with the task of attempting to make students ready for whatever that future world will throw at them. I would argue that teaching broad knowledge is the best way to do this. Those 8-year-olds could have any number of future professions and future situations. One of them might even take their kid to an aquarium as an adult. Teaching broad knowledge in the only way to prepare students for the broad world they are going to encounter.

While you may be frustrated that your child is in another “useless” unit, I would urge you not to let that feeling get passed to your child. In addition to the possible utility of the information, there is an abundance of research showing that students’ beliefs about the material they are learning is key to their ability to learn it. Showing excited and building self-efficacy is a much better strategy than complaining about curriculum design or teachers’ instruction (3).

And if, by some chance, that lesson in school really has no use for the student’s future life, there’s another important lesson happening. It’s also possible that one day in the future, that student may need to sit through a truly pointless meeting, one that does not affect them in any way. Wouldn’t it be great for them to have some practice appreciating the information set before them, trying to make it relevant to their own lives, or simply appearing engaged? Practice makes perfect, after all.

For a commentary on how prior knowledge helps students with reading comprehension, learning, and problem-solving, check out this awesome piece by Daniel Willingham.

1...1,3161,3171,318...1,507Page 1,317 of 1,507

Recent Posts