Sometimes it’s fine to agree to disagree with a learner. Many times it can even be the best strategy to use if you have a learner who strongly disagrees with a point you are making in class. I learned this lesson a few months back during a course I was teaching.
As instructors we work hard to learn our course content. During this process we may get very attached to our content and feel like we own it and that our way is THE way. If we teach the same course repeatedly, we may become even more entrenched in our content. It then becomes very easy to fall into the trap of believing that our content should be adopted without question by our learners. In some cases (when safety is involved) that may be true, but when teaching conceptual content there could be other, equally valuable, points of view.
Novice learners typically, but not always, accept the knowledge and skills that we give them without resistance because it is new. However, when teaching an experienced group of learners, you may face a situation that happened to me not long ago. I was teaching instructional design to a very knowledgeable and experienced group of instructors. At one point in the workshop I introduced a key concept to the group. Instead of the group shaking their heads in agreement, which is normally the case, one learner shouted out quite loudly, “I disagree!”
Needless to say I was taken aback. After a short pause to collect my thoughts, I nicely and diplomatically said, “Oh, it’s interesting to hear a different perspective, would you like to share your thoughts?” The learner stated his position and why he felt that his way was THE way. The group and I patiently listened and although his perspective was different from what I was teaching, it was no less valuable. That moment paved the way for a meaningful discussion where everyone offered their points of view on the subject.
After the discussion came to an end, it remained clear that he was going to hold firm to his position while I needed to stick to my content. As the workshop continued over the next few days, I re-emphasized the concept often because it linked to other pieces of knowledge and skill that came later in the course. There were times when I gave specific examples of how to apply this concept during the instructional design process and again why it was important although I remained mindful of other points of view.
At the end of the workshop when the participants had completed their evaluation forms and were leaving the room, I received a surprise. The gentleman who had disagreed with me came up to me and said that, after finishing the week, he now agreed with the important principle that was taught. He came to appreciate how valuable it truly was and he gave me an appreciative hug!
So I learned something very important that day about teaching: Whether a learner agrees with you or not is not the important thing. What matters is that they learn from you!
Lynne
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A great article…my experience teaching has also taught me that some students learn best by resisting/disagreeing with an idea. That is they show their engagement by an initial skepticism and/or downright denial of the idea. I’ll admit I don’t always welcome such responses because I prefer to learn by “trying on” ideas/new information and seeing how they fit. And yet, like this situation, when the person has disagreed as a means of ‘truth seeking’ (not to undermine the learning process), I found myself and others learning as well.
Thank you for your comment. As long as we keep an open mind that we can learn from our participants too then things usually turn out fine!