Many successful cases about the application of the FIRST-ADLX Framework in facilitating and designing have been recorded. But all of them happened without the awareness of the learner of what s/he is going through.
During attending a program in which neither the facilitator nor the designer knows anything thing about FIRST-ADLX, some questions popped up in my head.
- What if, the learner himself learns how to apply the FIRST-ADLX Framework on his learning journey in life? Will that be helpful for him?
- Is the FIRST-ADLX Framework applicable only in a designed learning journey or can we apply its principles in our every-day learning journey in life?
- What should I do in my current situation where the program that I attend is far away from applying the principles of FIRST-ADLX, in order to increase my gains from it?
Each one of us is a learner somehow. When I consider the FIRST-ADLX Framework principles within my learning programs and in life, it gives me insightful ideas and it helped me a lot and still does.
If we start with the principles of the 1st domain “Focus on learner”, we will find that it makes our learning experience within any learning program/journey different. When we deal with ourselves as a unique human being, we will stop comparing ourselves with others. This is because each one of us has his own needs, feelings and state of mind. We learn differently and we get affected by things in different ways. We need to consider our “Individualization”.
Also, I need to ask myself “is this learning program/journey really useful for me and suits me?”. Sometimes we join learning programs and then we discover that it is simply not what we need, or this way of learning is not suitable for us. That is why, as learners, we need to “Probe and assess” our progress from time to time, to check that we are on the right learning and development path.
Moreover, keeping in mind that each one of us has plenty of life experiences on different levels and in different fields. Every contribution, either comment or question from us, in any learning experience is a source of enrichment for it. That is why we need to “Trust” ourselves and believe that we have added value that will help and inspire others in different ways.
Being a human being means that we cannot live a balanced healthy life without “Interacting with positive group dynamics”. The 2nd domain.
Individual learning has advantages but having interactions with others in which we exchange ideas and experiences adds wealth, enriches and boosts our learning and expertise. We can earn many years of experience by spending a few hours with others. We simply take their summary of experiences that we do not necessarily have to go through.
That is why one of the most important things that any learner should consider in each learning program is their companion(s) because the right companionship in learning is very supportive and helps us to overcome many obstacles. “Social Events”
Furthermore, the psychological state greatly affects the learning process, and medical science proved that over and over. That is why when we learn, we must ensure that we are mentally and psychologically open to the learning process. If we are depressed or feel uncomfortable, we will not be able to learn. We should monitor our feelings and thoughts as much as possible and turn the negative ones into positive supportive ones. We can always ask for companion support.” Positive spirit”
Continually we need to look for “the why” in what we do. Remind ourselves why we learn and what is the importance of that and its impact on our lives. That will motivate us to continue in the learning path. “Motivation and attention”.
One of the most important principles, from my perspective, is “Reviewing activities using the RAR model”. The 3rd domain
Before starting any action toward any learning process, we need to make sure that we are ready for it (psychologically – mentally – physically – financially – spiritually). We need to ask about the details and information that are important for us to know. Making sure that we are ready to do so, and provide ourselves with the environment that helps us and supports us to do this as best as we can.
Within the activity, do not think of irrelevant stuff. Rather, live your experience fully with all its details without prejudice or an attempt to infer what will come. In order not to lose your feeling about the current moment and to enjoy the experience
After it finishes, allow yourself to review what happened and to reflect on what you learned from it. Listen to others, this might aid you to clarify things that are important to you, but you could not catch them. As a learner, we need to record those points, because we will need to re-read them from time to time
Also, being an adult means that there are some principles we need to consider in any learning program we join to maximize our gain, such as “the sequencing of the activities” The 4th domain
Finding a logical sequence for things and making them in a logical flow that helps us a lot to understand and maintain thoughts and lessons learned” Structure and sequence”. If you could not find this flow, ask your instructor or your teacher about the reason behind that sequence.
Try to find more than one way to learn what you want to learn based on different contexts and situations. This repetition profounds our level of understanding.
Linking concepts with each other and connecting them with our daily life and summarizing our lessons learned visually helps us a lot in creating our own picture of the story that remains after that.
“What you don’t use, you will lose”
If we did not use what we learn daily, we will lose it. We need to transform learning into performance” The 5th domain
Think about how we will utilize this knowledge or skill in our daily life and try to use it as soon as we can. That deepens learning and make it more useful for us.” Reflection on reality”
Try to apply what you learned whether during the learning process or immediately after it “Practice and experiencing”
Attempting to follow up with a mentor for feedback, if this is available, or forming a group of companions for following up, that support us during the implementation “Continuity and following up”
As a learner, we are responsible for our learning journey in life generally and within any program particularly. So, we need to continually search for tools and techniques that help us to maximize our benefits from any learning events. I found that the FIRST-ADLX Framework is a helpful technique for that.
Dr. Lina Eissa
Learning and Development Specialist
(Facilitator & Instructional Designer )