Learning Conversations - some example questions for managers

As I have been working more with blended learning and the 7:20:10 model I have become interested in the important role the manager plays in learning. The 20 (learning from others) is in the middle of the 70:20:10 model because it holds the 70 (learning from experience) and 10 (formal learning) together, an observation made by one of our instructional designers, Graeme.

At that same time coaching is not always a skill that comes naturally and easy. Here are some example questions that could be useful in learning conversations:

• What do you believe you did particularly well?
• Why do you think it was done so well?
• Did you have any concerns when doing this task?
• What did you find most challenging?
• What aspects of the assignment are you less satisfied with? Why?
• What are some ways in which you could improve your approach?
• What is another way you could interpret that?
• What assumptions do you think you are making?
• Can you describe for me how you reached this conclusion?
• What did you learn that could be applied to other tasks in the future?
• What do you see as the next step to take?
• What support do you think you need in this area?
• Is there anything you need from me?