Education Archives - Bongo Learn

Transform Corporate Training with AI Coaching: Beyond Content Creation and Quizzes

Alysia Ward — Tue, 03 Dec 2024 21:06:42 +0000

By leveraging AI for immediate feedback, personalized coaching, and unbiased autoscoring, companies can enhance learning engagement, practical skill development, and readiness for real-world applications. AI tools like Bongo provide tailored feedback and authentic assessments, enabling learners to refine their skills effectively and gain deeper knowledge retention.

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Research Study Datasheet: A Comparison of 3 Assessment Types on Student Engagement and Content Knowledge in Online Instruction

Alysia Ward — Mon, 22 May 2023 22:29:16 +0000

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6 Leadership Skills That L&D Teams Say Are Essential

Jennifer Bailey — Fri, 21 Apr 2023 16:14:28 +0000

Employee enablement is a critical factor for organizational success, and learning and development teams can play an important role in helping employees build their leadership skills. Here, we’ll take a look at six of the most important skills that are essential for any team member to have in order to be successful—not only for their own goals but for the team’s development, as well. From communication to coaching, these essential leadership skills can help your teams—and your organization—reach their goals and grow.

1. Communication

It may be a given, but good communication is key to successful teams, as it means that employees have the ability to clearly and effectively relay information and ideas to others—both within and outside of the organization. In general, individuals should be able to communicate in an organized and professional manner, understand different communication styles, and build trust with their team, and by doing so, they can create a culture of collaboration and understanding, which can then improve the learning and workplace experience for everyone.

2. Conflict Resolution

No workplace is free of disagreement or tension, and it is important for team members to be able to quickly recognize these issues and take the necessary steps to resolve them.

The ability to resolve conflicts starts with strong communication skills, as we mentioned above, which help articulate the problem at hand and the desired outcome. All team members should also be able to listen to both sides of the argument, analyze all possible solutions, and come up with a plan for a resolution that everyone can agree on.

Fortunately, corporate training can help employees develop the conflict resolution skills they need in order to be successful, by focusing on active listening, understanding different perspectives, and utilizing negotiation techniques are all invaluable tools that can be used in situations where a conflict arises.

3. Coaching

Coaching is the process of helping an individual or team reach their goals through guidance and support, and is a skill that can be easily converted in a team scenario, where employees are empowered to educate and support each other. However, it requires empathy, clear communication, and active listening—all skills that if lacking, can negatively impact the overall effectiveness.

Ideally, leadership teams would use coaching as a way to develop their workers’ skills and empower them to take ownership of their work. For example, a highly-technical employee working on a corporate training team may offer advice and guidance to help other team members master new software or understand the goals of the project, allowing them to move forward and make decisions with all the information available. But there’s another benefit: by taking the time to coach their employees, learning and development teams can create an environment of trust and understanding that will lead to greater collaboration and higher productivity.

4. Critical Thinking

Critical thinking—being able to think about a situation or problem in an objective and logical manner—is highly important for employees at all levels. This is not only because it allows employees to think objectively through situations as they arise, but also because it allows them to feel empowered to make the best decisions on behalf of the company.

By understanding how each team member processes information and makes decisions, personnel can be more effective when it comes to resolving conflicts and motivating others on their teams. In addition, being able to evaluate situations and find creative solutions to problems can be a huge help in creating a successful and productive work environment.

To become better critical thinkers, employees should practice asking questions, staying open to new ideas, and challenging existing assumptions. They should also strive to look at all sides of an issue objectively and weigh the pros and cons before making decisions. Finally, reading widely and engaging in activities such as brainstorming can be a great way to improve critical thinking skills.

5. Problem Solving

Problem solving is an essential skill for all team members. It is not only a way to solve individual issues and problems that arise, but also an important way to think strategically and come up with creative solutions to large-scale projects.

When it comes to leadership skills, problem-solving skills are even more important as they need to come up with innovative solutions and ideas quickly and efficiently. It’s essential that people be able to identify problems, determine the root cause of those problems, and come up with creative solutions in order to effectively work with their teams.

To start, there should be an environment that encourages open discussion and collaboration, which will allow team members to come together and discuss various solutions, ask questions, and brainstorm ideas. They should also focus on teaching their team members strategies such as data analysis and promote a culture of experimentation, where mistakes are seen as learning opportunities rather than failures. By teaching team members these problem-solving techniques, managers can help create a culture of innovation and encourage team members to take initiative.

6. Time Management

Because most employees in companies often have multiple tasks and projects to work on (or oversee) at the same time, being able to manage one’s time effectively is essential. Fortunately, there are many ways that employees can improve their time management skills:

Establish daily, weekly, and monthly goals to ensure that team tasks are completed in a timely manner.
Create a master list of tasks that need to be done so that you can prioritize and track progress.
Break down large projects into smaller tasks so that they are easier to manage.
Schedule specific times for completing specific tasks throughout the day or week.
Learn to say no to non-essential tasks and focus on what matters most.
Utilize technology tools such as training and assessment platforms, task management software or project management software to help you stay organized and keep track of team members’ progress and knowledge base.
Regularly review team progress and adjust plans accordingly.

As we see here, leadership training requires an array of skills to ensure success. When learning and development teams understand the importance of these skills, they can provide invaluable support in training employees to become more effective and successful leaders. By investing in the development of these skills, teams can be better prepared to take on the challenges of leading themselves and others, and the company can be better positioned for growth.

Want to know more about how Bongo’s training and assessment platform can help you get your leadership skills up to speed? If you’d like to know more, visit bongolearn.com or schedule a demo to see how we can help you reach your corporate goals.

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How Lifelong Learning Enhances Employability

Jennifer Bailey — Mon, 24 Jun 2019 12:00:42 +0000

Success in today’s workforce requires continuous skill development, and it’s vital for professionals to focus on more than technical abilities. Your current role might require these competencies, but they don’t guarantee a position, or a career in your industry. This concept might be hard to accept, but the rise of automation, along with rapid changes in technology, have drastically shortened the shelf life of many technical skills. So, how can you stay ahead of the curve and maintain job security?

Focus on what makes you uniquely human.

Soft skills help shape your employability because they aren’t job-specific and aren’t subject to automation. These intangible traits not only influence how well you collaborate with others, but also your ability to work alongside machines. If you want to stay employable, you must adopt the mindset of a continuous learner.

While this process involves developing multiple soft skills, the most crucial skill behind lifelong learning is critical thinking. The ability to evaluate information, analyze situations, and make decisions translates across all jobs, regardless of the industry. When correctly implemented in your job, critical thinking helps individuals overcome challenges and meet business goals.

Here are a few examples of where critical thinking comes into play in the workplace.

Self-assessment
As you complete tasks and adapt to different situations, it’s important to always ask yourself what you’re doing and why. When you receive new information, try and make connections based on what you already understand. Analyze ideas and how they fit into the bigger picture. Evaluate the impact that acting on the information you’ve gathered might have on you and your company. Self-assessment gives learners the chance to critique their own work before submitting it. Don’t forget to leverage internal feedback as a means of improvement and reflect on everything you do. Most people are their own harshest critic and can use internal feedback as a means of improvement. Reflection and review help build critical thinking skills and will improve your performance over time.

Giving feedback to a peer
Taking the time to give feedback to a peer can help both of you reach a deeper understanding of the work you do and your company’s mission. Whether you’re a part of a team collaborating on a project or a colleague asks you for input on a presentation, there are times when you will have to provide feedback to your peers. Critical thinking enhances this process because it’s all about analyzing what you see and evaluating it. You might have to assess whether your colleague expresses their main points well enough in a presentation or analyze someone’s portion of a team project as you try and piece it together with the overall message.

Receiving feedback from a manager
Skill development in any industry rarely happens without feedback, so receiving constructive criticism from a manager or mentor is vital for growth. These feedback sessions are great for making goals, looking at potential challenges, and receiving personalized coaching. You have to be open to accepting what they have to say, though. And to improve, the receiver must apply the feedback to their future performance. But before this can happen, you must analyze and make connections to the information a coach is giving you. This requires you to think critically above all else.

Analyzing everyday scenarios
No matter what you do for a living, situations will arise where you must use your critical thinking skills on a daily basis. Maybe you’re a sales rep who encounters objections in the field and must think on your feet and make quick decisions to keep the sales process moving forward. Everyone has either been a part of or witnessed a workplace conflict at some point in their lives. Coming to a positive resolution takes a combination of situational analysis, reflection, and quick thinking.

If you want to improve your critical thinking skills, make sure you pay attention to opportunities where you can obtain feedback from a mentor or boss. As a coworker, it’s important to give feedback so that it empowers your peers to work on self-growth. And never stop looking for ways to improve your own performance through reflection. These dynamic opportunities can help learners develop the necessary skills for lifelong learning, and in turn, employability.

The post How Lifelong Learning Enhances Employability appeared first on Bongo Learn.

How to authentically assess learners’ comprehension in online courses

Jennifer Bailey — Tue, 13 Nov 2018 23:11:28 +0000

eSchool Media featured an article written by Josh Kamrath, CEO of Bongo. Kamrath explains how to authentically assess learners’ comprehension in online courses. Read the full article on eSchool Media here.

The post How to authentically assess learners’ comprehension in online courses appeared first on Bongo Learn.

Achieving Metacognition and Retrieval with Video Assessment

Jennifer Bailey — Wed, 07 Nov 2018 12:00:53 +0000

From the perspective of Desiree Donnell, a special education teacher at Vista Innovation and Design Academy, it’s often difficult to assess why a student is not retaining the information being taught to them. Her own learning struggles taught her long ago that each student is unique. The way Donnell describes it, every learner has their own “box” of knowledge that needs to be opened up, assessed, and improved. While most instructors tend to weigh a student’s box down with tons of content, they don’t always take the time to pull out the information the learner already knows.

Through her own lens, Donnell was describing the concepts of metacognition and retrieval. In a recent EdSurge article, K-12 teacher and author Patrice Brian describes metacognition as someone differentiating the information they already know from what they don’t. Too often, Brian argues, students focus on the information they already understand and skip the more difficult task of learning something new.

However, research suggests that when learners receive timely feedback and start to recognize what they don’t understand, it helps them retrieve information more effectively later on. One study that Brian references in the article found that feedback-driven metacognition and retrieval increased individual scores one to two letter grades higher among a group of middle and high school students.

These findings drove her to start using metacognition and retrieval techniques in her own classroom. While Brian leveraged clickers to conduct pre-test, post-lesson, and review assessments successfully, her experience brought up an interesting question: how can instructors utilize these learning strategies in larger class sizes, or online courses?

UNLOCKING THESE STRATEGIES AT SCALE

Video assessment platforms are one of the best ways educators can facilitate metacognitive and retrieval strategies at scale. These solutions enable instructors to create video exercises that help learners repeatedly practice key skills, recall information, and communicate knowledge on a regular basis. Once a learner completes a video activity, educators also have the ability to provide timely, personalized feedback to drive recognition and improvement.

Completing this repeated practice through a video assessment platform also allows a learner to re-watch their submission and reflect on their own retention of the material. These self-assessment opportunities give individuals more control over their own learning and promote a sense of empowerment as students become more aware of their strengths and weaknesses. When a learner feels as if their “box” matters and is being properly assessed, they gain a better understanding of what they are truly capable of.

Bongo enables metacognition and retrieval strategies through repeated practice, personalized feedback, and self-assessment through video. Learn more about how Bongo’s Video Assignments can help increase a learner’s understanding of what they know and give them the intuition to focus on what they don’t.

Interested in learning more about Video Assignments? Click here.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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The Importance of Developing Communication Skills Before Graduation

Jennifer Bailey — Fri, 17 Aug 2018 12:00:21 +0000

New graduates might have a diploma, but that doesn’t necessarily mean organizations think they’re “career ready.” According to data from two National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) surveys, there are significant gaps between what competencies students considered themselves proficient in and how employers rated them. Soft skills made up a good portion of the list, but two in particular — work ethic and communication — showed the biggest disparities.

For the sake of this blog, we’re going to focus on communication, but that is not meant to diminish the importance of work ethic in any way. Work ethic certainly influences career success, but it’s more difficult to address this principle in a formal way. With communication, however, there are direct actions instructors and coaches can take at every level to improve this skill.

The communication gap within the workplace needs to be addressed, but development must start much earlier on. No matter what career someone pursues, they must be able to communicate their ideas clearly and concisely. Graduating with oral, written, and active listening skills can give students a head start in their chosen career. Here are four ways to help students develop their communication skills while they’re still in school:

REAL-WORLD PRACTICE

Communication might be the most important soft skill, but it takes repetition and real-life practice to master. Having individuals rehearse some of the basic fundamentals of communication, such as eye contact, listening, and tone of voice, can help them appear more confident in an interview or a work presentation.

A student can have all the technical skills in the world, but if they cannot communicate their thoughts in a clear and concise manner, they will not be as effective of an employee. Putting individuals through real-life scenarios in the classroom helps them learn how to interpret ideas and express themselves more effectively down the line.

GROUP PROJECTS

Group projects are one of the most common ways instructors promote communication in the classroom. These collaborative exercises help instructors create real-world environments where students communicate with their peers as they push toward a common goal. Learning how to analyze situations and solve problems with other team members are both crucial to career success. These interactions enable learners to practice different forms of communication, such as providing feedback, listening actively, and reading body language.

PEER REVIEW

When learners review each other’s work and provide feedback, it helps improve their communication skills. This activity happens regularly in the real world, so it’s important for students to learn how to give and receive constructive criticism. Peer review also exposes individuals to multiple perspectives, so they must learn how to articulate their thoughts clearly and interpret the ideas they get back in return. Without peer review in the classroom, it’s difficult for students to build these skills before entering the workplace.

SELF-ASSESSMENT

Self-assessment gives learners the chance to self-critique their work before submitting. For example, when students make a video presentation, this activity allows them to reflect on how they come across in terms of body language, tone of voice, and their overall message. Most people are their own harshest critics, so when given an opportunity to review their presentation, they can improve on their communication skills for that assignment and on future ones.

With communication being the most important soft skill, it makes sense to start developing it in the classroom. Bongo lets instructors create real-world scenarios where learners can improve communication and other soft skills in a structured environment. Learn more about how Bongo facilitates soft skill development by visiting our website.

If you are interested in learning more about soft skills, download our whitepaper here.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

The post The Importance of Developing Communication Skills Before Graduation appeared first on Bongo Learn.

3 Ways Video Enhances The Assessment Process

Jennifer Bailey — Tue, 27 Feb 2018 12:00:10 +0000

Traditional assessments serve an important purpose, but it’s difficult to evaluate every competency on paper. Video assessment platforms enhance the evaluation process because they enable learners to show what they know in a more direct way. The ability to communicate effectively, demonstrate skills, and perform tasks plays a big role in career success, and video assessment platforms make it easier to evaluate these key competencies.

Soft Skill Development

Organizations worldwide have made soft skills like communication and critical thinking a top priority, but resource constraints make it nearly impossible for instructors to assess these skills at scale using face-to-face methods. Video platforms ease that burden by giving individuals an opportunity to speak, collaborate, and solve problems in an interactive way — but on their own time. The best video solutions also weave elements of self-assessment, peer review, and personalized feedback into different workflows to maximize every learner’s potential for improvement.

Skill Demonstration & Knowledge Application

Paper-based assessments often consist of thought-provoking questions, but multiple-choice tests and essays don’t always show how an individual arrived at their answer. The opposite is true of video assessment platforms. When learners record themselves demonstrating key skills or applying their knowledge to solve a problem, instructors get an opportunity to see exactly how an individual approaches different situations and works their way through them.

Evidence Of Job Readiness

Most organizations require trainees to demonstrate required skills before giving them on-the-job responsibilities, so why shouldn’t educational institutions follow a similar path to assessment? Instead of hoping test results translate to real-life outcomes, instructors can leverage a video assessment platform to put learners through scenarios they will face in the workplace. Not only does this help educators capture evidence of career readiness, but it also removes any doubt surrounding an individual’s comprehension level.

Bongo enables higher ed instructors, corporate trainers, and test publishers to assess learners’ soft skills and competency through structured video workflows. By leveraging our combination of proprietary video and feedback technology, instructors can evaluate individuals at scale across all disciplines and industries. To learn more about our video assessment platform, visit Bongo’s technology page.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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3 Reasons Why Experiential Learning Should Be Part Of The Curriculum

Jennifer Bailey — Tue, 16 Jan 2018 21:26:34 +0000

Educational institutions do a great job of teaching facts and figures, but many students don’t get the chance to put that knowledge into action. Rather than requiring them to demonstrate their skills or complete a meaningful task, learners typically prove their competency by answering test questions correctly.

While content knowledge serves an important purpose, paper-based assessments can’t replicate the immersive nature of experiential learning. This concept, which educational theorist David Kolb describes as “a process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience,” is gaining popularity among educators. Experiential learning warrants a place in every institution’s curriculum for three key reasons.

It Puts Theory Into Practice

The ability to recall a theory or concept matters, but it means little if students can’t do anything with that information. Participating in an experiential activity teaches learners how to gather relevant data, analyze it critically, and apply their knowledge to a specific situation. And by immersing them in realistic learning environments, students get real-world experience in areas that interest them.

It Simplifies Assessment

Experiential activities takes the guesswork out of assessment because students have no way to cover up holes in their understanding. With a test, instructors don’t always have insight into what students are thinking, so they can’t measure their comprehension beyond the right or wrong answer. During a hands-on learning experience, instructors can more authentically assess student comprehension because they have the opportunity to see how learners approach a problem, identify where things went right or wrong, and adjust their future teachings accordingly.

It Involves Reflection

Giving students a realistic, hands-on experience is often the focus of experiential learning, but reflection is arguably the most important part of this process. In order for learners to make meaningful connections to the content and develop a deeper understanding of it, instructors need to give them time and space to reflect on their experience. This period helps students take more control over their learning.

Bongo’s proprietary video technology helps instructors create experiential learning exercises involving real-world practice and self-assessment. To learn more about how to leverage our video software for experiential learning, visit Bongo’s website.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Why Video Is The Key To Developing Learners’ Communication Skills In Online Education

Jennifer Bailey — Wed, 27 Dec 2017 21:31:40 +0000

As the foundational skill for all other soft skills, communication plays a significant role in the success of nearly every professional. Regardless of industry or job title, people rely on some kind of communication to drive their daily interactions. That’s why higher ed institutions and corporate training programs place such a big emphasis on developing learners’ communication skills. With more and more educational content going online, video has become a key resource for instructors to develop this critical skill in digital learning environments for three major reasons.

Video Promotes Self-Assessment

The majority of learners don’t get the chance to view how they come across in terms of body language, tone of voice, or their overall message. But when individuals record themselves on video and see it firsthand, they become a source of internal feedback. Most people are their own harshest critics, so when they get an opportunity to review their performance before a submission, they can improve on key areas of communication.

Video Enables Collaboration

When learners collaborate on a project, they take on different roles and interact with each other accordingly. Online learning environments make group work difficult, if not impossible, but some video platforms facilitate these activities. Through virtual classrooms or another form of synchronous video exchange, learners can meet in real-time and engage with each other face-to-face. These exchanges enable learners to practice different forms of communication, such as providing feedback, listening actively, and reading body language.

Video Serves As A Form Of Expression

Many instructors leverage video to record their lectures or have students watch a relevant clip, but it’s also a powerful tool for student expression. Not only can video be used as a way to authentically assess comprehension, it also lets learners articulate what they know in their own way. Students often gain confidence in their understanding and in themselves when they use video as a platform.

YouSeeU is purpose-built to develop and assess learners’ soft skills. Our platform has structured video workflows where individuals can practice their communication skills and instructors can deliver personalized feedback on them. To learn more about how YouSeeU facilitates soft skill development, visit our website.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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