Syllabus Design

 Syllabus/Training Course Design

Managing the Learning Environment in the Organizational Setting

Jacob Gretencord and Joe Walsh

Ball State University 

Table 1. Group 1

Group Member:	Roles:	Commented On:
Jacob Gretencord	Layout, introduction, syllabus, tables, program/activities outline, reflection, and contributed to rationale	Group 2
Joe Walsh	Rationale	Group 2

Introduction

Managing the Learning Environment in the Organizational Setting is a training course to develop the knowledge and skills needed to employ an organizational classroom that is cognitive of the learning environment and context. This program targets organizational managers and human resource development staff members in the Muncie community. The purpose and objectives of this course is to introduce, demonstrate, and provide information on how to create a learning environment that is conducive to the three outlined topics: the physical environment, the cultural environment, and the power environment and how they combine to enhance the learner’s environment by redirecting the lens away from “learning spaces,” and to include one’s identity in the learning context. Once participants have completed this course, they will be aware of the classroom surroundings that affect learning and hurdles that students face in their environment. The facilitator of this program will have an understanding that professionals will be in attendance. Thus, each person’s experiences, needs, and learning objectives will be discussed during the initial meeting to ensure that participants play an active role in their learning. 

Rationale

Managing the Physical Environment    

In the Trainer’s Handbook, Author Karen Lawson states: “(a) safe, positive environment is critical to a successful learning experience.  The Creation of such an environment begins with the physical setting” (Lawson, p. 119, 2016). Traditional learning spaces are not always needed in the organizational setting, but using tools to create a temporary classroom can aid group learning.  A strong learning culture is also vital to learners and facilitators.

Dorothy MacKeracher describes the physical environment as: “anything affecting the physical comfort and well-being of both learners and facilitators” (MacKeracher, p.187, 2015). She further divides the physical environment into five sections: the comfort of chairs and tables, the sound quality in the learning space, light and visual quality, air quality, and technology.  Facilitators may have to adjust the physical environment from time to time if any of the 5 sections create distractions.  The facilitator should examine, in advance, the learning space to identify any ergonomic irregularities and if the available technology is functioning (MacKeracher, 2015). This will allow enough time to fix the issues, especially if outside agencies must make the repairs. Environmental effects such as lighting, visuals, and air quality have been shown to directly affect learning outcomes and a student’s ability to focus and function in a classroom or training secession - either assisting or hindering the learning objectives (The National Academies, 2007). 

Managing the Cultural Environment

 The cultural environment surrounds us in our daily life - often going unnoticed. It “derive(s) from the cultural and social expectations that control and direct how people relate and work gets done in our various environments” (MacKeracher, p. 192, 2015). It is not as easy to make changes as the physical environment. A facilitator can fix a light bulb, but they can not single handedly fix an organizational culture that does not support learning.  Organizational managers and human resource development staff members must work with other stakeholders in the Muncie facility to foster a strong learning culture. A strong learning culture is also vital to learners and facilitators. “Culture is never neutral. It pervades the teaching-learning environment, brought there by both learners and facilitators” (MacKeracher, p. 193, 2015).

Managing the Power Environment 

The power environment may be the most difficult to manage for facilitators.  MacKeracher says, “Each person brings their invisible knapsack containing not only their culture, “ but they also bring, “their day-to-day responsibilities and current life problems” (MacKeracher, p. 196, 2015). Many times those in positions of authority can hide behind their position while in the learning environment. A manager may also begin a class with the best of intentions to remain neutral with all other learners and, “may have no awareness of how their position affects or oppresses others” (MacKeracher, p. 197, 2015).

        The facilitator will need to be observant of any moment when the manager, or person of privilege, strays from their temporary position of learner to that of managing the classroom.  Toxic managers may take over a class and think they can teach it better.  Outside of the classroom the manager may not know what, “power has on (their) colleagues; to how risky it feels for others to speak up to (them)” (EBR , 2019). This will cause other learners to shut down if they bring the same energy into the classroom.  The facilitator must maintain constant control of the classroom and ensure any outside organizational issues remain out of the classroom.

Syllabus/Training Course

Prior to 1st Class Meeting - for participants 

• Email will be sent to participants with the following information:

• Introduction to the course and learning objectives

• Course materials 

• Location and parking information

• Schedule of meeting dates and times

• Explanation of course benefits and outcomes 

• Contact information of program facilitator 

• Participants should come prepared to the first class session with a list of questions and personal learning objectives

Prior to 1st Class Meeting - for facilitator

• Facilitator will tour the seminar room in the Student Center prior to first class meeting

• Facilitator will have a checklist to assess lighting, seating, visual quality, technology abilities, and to see what can be changed or adapted for optimal learning results

• Findings (that need to be changed) will be reported to the Student Center staff for accommodations

Learning Material 

• Making Sense of Adult Learning (2nd Edition) Author: Dorothy MacKeracher

•  The Trainer’s Handbook (4th Edition) Author: Karen Lawson

Course Schedule

• Participants will join for meetings on three Thursdays during the month of December

• 12/3/2020, 12/10/2020, and 12/17/2020

• 8:30AM - 11:00AM

Class Meeting Location

• Ball State University 

• Student Center (SC) - Ballroom SC201

• Parking available in lot P14 next to Lucina Hall (LU)

Table 2. Program Outline

	Objectives	Activities	Activities Cont.	Self-Assessment
Week 1: The Physical Environment	- Understand the physical environment as central to the learning context  - Define elements of the physical environment - List how a facilitator can make adjustments to the physical environment to promote learning - Define issues with sound, light, visual, and air quality in the learning environment and how to improve for learners - Understand how to use the principles of the power environment in practice	8:30am - 8:35am: Coffee and donuts  8:35am - 8:45am: Introduction to class, facilitator, and learners 8:45am - 9:00am: Introduction to the physical environment and go over course materials (Lawson and MacKeracher) 9:00am - 9:20am: Group discussion of experiences in training environments - what worked and what did not 9:20am - 9:45am:  Discussion on comfort/use of furniture and seating arrangements (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVuQ7SD7OGg - youtube	video, Lawson p. 151-156, - MacKeracher p. 187-188) 9:45am - 10:00am: Break  10:00am - 10:45am: Discussion on sound, visual/light, and air quality (https://www.nap.edu/read/11756/chapter/8 - pass out copies of -Acoustical Quality, Student Learning, and Teacher Health;  -Lighting and Human Performance; an -Indoor Air Quality, Health, and Performance) 10:45am - 11:00am: Questions Comments Group discussion Info on next session	Self-Reflection: Hand out self-reflection guide: One before class and one after. Guide consists of a rating scale (1 to 5) and is based on the learning objectives.
Week 2: The Cultural Environment	- Understand the cultural environment as central to the learning context   - Define elements of the cultural environment  - List how facilitators can make adjustments to the cultural environment to promote learning - Define issues within organizational diversity and how to combat those issues with inclusion.  - Understand how to use the principles of the cultural environment in practice	8:30am - 8:35am: Coffee and donuts  8:35am - 8:45am:  Group discussion on co-worker/manager reactions after reporting info from previous class  8:45am - 9:00am: Introduction to the cultural environment and go over course materials (Lawson and MacKeracher) 9:00am - 9:20am: Group discussion on different cultures and talk about a time when your “reality” or culture was questioned.  9:20am - 9:45am:  Discussion on creating a culture of learning: How? Why? When? (https://elearningindustry.com/cultivating-a-culture-of-learning-power-organization -	Pass out article  for participants to follow along) 9:45am - 10:00am: Break  10:00am - 10:45am: Discussion on the Diversity and Inclusion training in for organizational learning: (https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/9782-diversity-training.html#:~:text=A%20comprehensive%20diversity%20and%20inclusion,physical%20and%20mental%20ability%2C%20and)  10:45am - 11:00am: Questions Comments Group discussion Info on next session	Self-Reflection: Hand out self-reflection guide: One before class and one after. Guide consists of a rating scale (1 to 5) and is based on the learning objectives.
Week 3: The Power Environment	- Understand the power environment as central to the learning context  - Define elements of the power environment  - List how facilitators can make adjustments to the power environment to promote learning - Know your role as facilitator - Understand how to use the principles of the cultural environment in practice	8:30am - 8:35am: Coffee and donuts  8:35am - 8:45am:  Group discussion on co-worker/manager reactions after reporting info from previous class  8:45am - 9:00am: Introduction to the power environment and go over course materials (Lawson and MacKeracher) 9:00am - 9:20am: Group discussion on student’s previous roles as facilitator, manager, and leader 9:20am - 9:45am:  Discussion on the role of the facilitator as it relates to the power environment (https://managementhelp.org/blogs/facilitation/2012/01/16/what-are-the-responsibilities-of-a-facilitator/ and MacKeracher p. 196-198)	9:45am - 10:00am: Break  10:00am - 10:45am: Discussion on respect in the learning environment: From the Top Down:  Discussion on privilege.(https://ssir.org/articles/entry/the_bias_of_professionalism_standards) 10:45am - 11:00am: Questions Comments: - Did you feel the course achieved the objectives? - Did you feel the facilitator created a student centered-training program? - Would you recommend this course to other professionals?  - do you have a better understanding of the role of the physical environment in learning - especially as it relates to the physical, cultural, and power elements?	Self-Reflection: Hand out self-reflection guide: One before class and one after. Guide consists of a rating scale (1 to 5) and is based on the learning objectives.

Reflection

Process/Highlights

As our group does with many assignments, we began by going through the project description, expectations, and sections. From there, we were able to create a program guide and plan to map out our ideas. These ideas changed throughout the process as we came up with better topics and ways of accomplishing the project goals and deliverables. Our required course textbooks were a great source of information to get the project started. Our group found it very helpful to review the previous examples provided by the professor. As mentioned above, the course textbooks set our foundation of information, which led us to further scholarly research articles. Group work can be difficult on an online platform. Setting up deliverables, responsibilities, and a timeline is very important and helps to move the project along to completion. A tip for future students: do not wait until the last minutes. It takes time to get your ideas together, create an outline, and to make changes along the way to form a cohesive and logical project. 

Our belief is that the most significant parts of our project are the use of multimedia disbursement of information: textbooks, printed articles, class discussions, and videos. We also put a lot of value in how practical, useful, and informative this information is to the everyday practitioner, manager, and human resources development employee. 

Table 3. Summary of Syllabus Design 

What will be achieved	Main theoretical ideas (ideas from theory review)	Main activities in syllabus
Inclusion of participants experiences and previous knowledge Accomodation different learners through course textbook, reading handouts, group discussions, and videos Learning objectives listed above to be included in course material and classroom sessions to ensure participants meet their learning goals and that the course is delivering its intended purpose	Learning context is an invisible cultural environment. Learning spaces can be transformed into learning environments through understanding the physical, cultural, and power environments The learning environment should be student-centered through the use of the physical, cultural, and power environment	Understanding how to implement in practice  Importance of seating arrangements  Understanding of “invisible culture,” how one’s reality is reflected in their work, and how to include other cultures, ways of doing/knowing, and ideas of “normal.” Class activities are highlighted in orange in our Program Outline

 

 

Lawson, K. (2016). The Trainer’s Handbook. (4th ed.) Wiley. 

Mackeracher, D. (2004). Making Sense of Adult Learning (2nd ed.). University of Toronto Press.

The National Academies. (2007). Green schools: attributes for health and learning. National Academies Press: Washington, D.C. 

EBR, E. (2019, December 05). Do you realise how scary you are? Retrieved October 23, 2020, from https://www.europeanbusinessreview.com/do-you-realise-how-scary-you-are/