Contact us on 01753 624985
Our Approach and Methodology
Pearlcatchers recognise that every individual, team and business is different, so rather than offering packaged products, we specialise in creating tailored programmes for our customers. We can offer truly blended learning and are able to call upon a wide range of development techniques and methodologies – from the traditional to the innovative.
We firmly believe that people learn best by doing, so our approach is firmly rooted in the concepts of accelerated and experiential learning.
We use experiential learning because:
• It is learning by doing, which is how we naturally learn best
• It is safe and supportive, allowing individuals to try out new skills
• It appeals to different learning styles
• It includes a range of activities from interactive games and role play
to projects and distance learning
• It makes learning fun – and therefore, memoraebl
It has long been recognised that practical experience is the best way to embed learning. Historically though, this often took the form of laborious exercises dealing with real life examples. Nowadays however, experiential learning is demonstrating that training activities needn’t be boring to get the job done. In fact, delegates are far more likely to absorb information if the subject matter is new and interesting to them.
Our Approach to Working with You Learning and Development involves an investment from any company (time and money) and we want to help you maximise its impact. We achieve this by using a four-stage approach to truly embed the learning:
Stage 1 – Research and Familiarisation - We consider that every organisation and every situation is unique and therefore requires a tailored solution. To do this, we take some time to understand your organisation and design our learning interventions to fit your specific needs. The amount and detail of the research will depend on a range of factors, such as the size and complexity of the assignment, the budget (ie how many design days can be incorporated into the cost) and what kind of training needs analysis has already been carried out by the client.
We would generally start with a scoping meeting to establish your desired outcomes and learning objectives and then take some time to gain a deeper understanding of your organisation, vision, values and key challenges. For large programmes, we often include more detailed activities, such as online questionnaires and focus groups for representatives of both the intended delegate group (the middle managers) and their customers / employees.
Stage 2: Design and Preparation - Once we are clear on your learning objectives and organisational culture, we move onto the detailed design process for your programme. Wherever possible, we endeavour to involve the client at key points in the design process, which generally involves:
• Prepare a draft programme – this would generally be a one – three page document.
• Review the proposed format with the key client contact(s) and make any revisions until a final draft is approved in line with business objectives
• This is then used to prepare the trainers notes and the various training materials, resource packs, slide presentations etc necessary to run the programme.
Preparation relates both to the briefing / induction of our team – trainers and actors – as well as the delegates themselves. We will work with you to create a set of joining instructions and / or pre-work that will help engage them in advance of the first session.
Stage 3 – Delivery and Evaluation - During each workshop, we set objectives at the outset, take regular ‘temperature checks’ throughout the day, then review objectives / learning and ask for formal feedback at the end of the day. Effective evaluation is always difficult for training programmes, so as well as initial feedback from the delegates, we can include a range of other evaluation activities, as well as linking the programme to other key performance indicators that you want to improve.
Stage 4 –Review and Sustainability For major programmes, we include an ‘end of programme report’, which includes a summary of all the evaluation, our thoughts on any key issues that arise (that may not relate to the training, such as a process that people don’t understand) and recommendations on further actions. We want to ensure the training is embedded and becomes part of the culture and ‘the way we do things around here’, so we usually recommend the inclusion of a ‘sustainability phase’ within our programmes, which might include activities such as senior management workshops, engagement / up-skilling of advocates / champions, setting up action learning sets and aligning to core processes.
Our Learning Methodology
Our key priorities in designing and delivering learning programmes are to firstly engage our delegates, then immerse them in ‘an experience’ and finally to embed the learning and ensure effective transfer of the learning back at work.
We do this by using ourr 'Get Happy, Get Creative, Get Results’ approach to learning interventions, as follows:
Get Happy A positive learning environment is one of the key building blocks for ‘accelerated learning’. Our ‘Get Happy Icebreakers’ are designed to introduce the topic in a non-threatening way whilst getting delegates to relax, participate, get to know each other and have some fun. Sometimes called ‘serious games’, they help to release inhibitions and ‘free the mind’ ready for the rest of the session.
Get Creative Accelerated learning is about creation not consumption. So the next stage is to get delegates involved and engaged with activities that ideally relate to the context of their work situations. This can mean creative activities, such as drawing / making things, but also includes solving a work-based problem, designing an organization culture or dealing with a ‘difficult employee’. Whatever the activity, the intention is to put delegates into ‘right-brain thinking’ when they are able to break out from their usual constraints, more able to absorb content and come up with more innovative ideas and solutions.
Get Results When everyone is feeling happier and thinking more creatively, you now need to harness this energy to get results. This could involve practical exercises to try out new skills, work-based assignments, improvement projects, e-learning assessments or action learning sets to name but a few. This stage also involves being able to evaluate the impact of the learning intervention both immediately and after time for everything to become ‘embedded’.
