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104 Power Up Your Mind

4 It would be really helpful if you could tell us what we are going to
cover today.
5It would help me if you could take a few moments to outline how
you are going to be approaching this.
6 Exactly how does this fit into the overall picture?
7 Hang on! I really need you to stop and explain how this all fits into
the bigger picture.
8 Could you possibly just take a little time to explain how this all fits
into the bigger picture?
9 I really don’t understand this. Please can you help me?
10 Could we all stop for a few minutes and agree an agenda for this
session?

Think of some situations in your work or home life where you would have liked to have the
big picture. Mentally rehearse some of the sentences above and adapt them to your own
language and style.

People sometimes argue that they simply do not have time to stop
and discuss what the best approach might be. They just present
their approach as the only sensible one in the circumstances. This
kind of attitude makes it less likely that the learning on offer will
successfully engage the learners undertaking it.
Comments like the ones I have suggested may seem almost
insultingly obvious to you. But, obvious or not, unless they are spoken
early on in a learning episode, confusion and disconnection will reign.
As you grow more confident as a learner, you will work out
other things that you may need to ask at the beginning of an activ-
ity. For example, you may want to find out more about:

Your understanding of what is on offer: how long it will last,
whether it is assessed, whether it is to be undertaken individually
or in groups, how it fits in with other activities being planned.
The purpose of what is on offer: whether it is seen as a social or an aca-
demic experience, what the objectives of the tutor or facilitator are.
The media that will be used: how much will be interactive, how
broad a range of learning methods will be used, whether some of
the learning will be online.