2016-08-04

Jeff Gonzales: Barriers to Learning

There are many ways people learn, but that is not the real issue. The real issue is a barrier that prevents a student from learning. There are all types of barriers, from lack of motivation to lack of interest and what I have noticed over the years is the importance behind the “why” in training. I don’t get too wrapped up these days about specifics of how I teach. Don’t get me wrong, there is a hell of lot of time in the organization and management of our curriculum. What I find more important is helping the student to understand why they are doing something or more importantly why the need to do something differently…

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h/t Phil Wong of Gator Farm Tactical

2016-06-14

Jeff Gonzales: The Unteachable

Jeff Gonzales of Trident Concepts:

Every instructor will run into this student at some part in their career, it is only a question of when and how often. It’s unfortunate, but it is also nothing more than triage in a classroom.

An unteachable student is someone who is unable to make changes, improve or adapt due to mental obstacles. Examples of these obstacles are ego, dogma and my favorite ignorance. Ego is the most common I see in our classes and one of the easier ones to remedy…

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Note: I think he’s using the word “ignorance” to describe a fixed mindset that refuses to grow into safety or competence. That kind of ignorance is a huge problem. Literal ignorance, a lack of knowledge, is in my opinion not only ok in students but is the point of training. We go to class to turn areas of ignorance into areas of knowledge, through learning. That does require a growth mindset, though.