Having
the ability to accept change in the classroom is a prerequisite to
becoming an effective and professional instructor. We continuously face
the challenges of adjusting to changes in the material that we teach
and the methods that we use to present that information to our
students. Also we must understand the effect that change has upon our
students. In just the last ten years, veteran practitioners have had to
adjust to significant shifts in agency relationships and property
disclosures practices, just to name two curriculum topics that have
changed dramatically. Any new or revised
educational material must be presented in a manner that encourages
practitioners to feel comfortable and confident with its implementation.
This article explores the psychological and emotional impact of such
changes on people and identifies some presentation strategies and
skills that can enable real estate teachers to be more effective as
change agents through their classroom and distance education programs.
UNDERSTANDING WHERE CHANGE COMES FROM
Change is a three-phased process that involves three different
participants: the Decision Maker, the Messenger and the Implementer.
The Decision Maker must make the decision that generates the change.
This individual, or group of individuals, identifies the need for
change, researches and analyzes the alternatives, and defines the
parameters of the change. Real estate regulators often serve as the
decision makers that launch the first phase of change that affect
instructors.
The second participant in the chain of change is the Messenger. This
person is responsible for completing four important functions. First,
the messenger conveys the information from the Decision Maker to the
person who will carry out the change, the Implementer. Second, the
Messenger serves as a buffer between the Decision Maker and the
Implementer. The Messenger' third responsibility is to assist the
Implementer in understanding the desired outcome. And finally, the
Messenger plays a critical role in motivating the Implementer to
embrace the change.
The Implementer is the individual who makes change happen. The
responsibility of the Implementer is to assess the impact of the
change, create an implementation plan, implement the change, evaluate
results, and improve the implementation based on the evaluations of its
effectiveness.
HOW INSTRUCTORS CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE 'CHAIN OF
CHANGE'
Instructors are potentially involved in change in
three different ways: one, they can serve as messengers for change
created by others; two, they may be required to implement change
directed by others; and three, situations will arise when instructors
must consider making changes in the way they present their material to
their students, in which case they become both the decision maker and
the implementer.
All of these activities require an understanding of how change impacts
people, and the strategies and skills that instructors must master in
order to effectively accept and present change.
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF CHANGE
Some people are quite comfortable and even enthusiastic about change.
These individuals respond to a new idea or proposal by asking
thoughtful questions about what is involved, and expressing
enthusiastic support and commitment to its successful adoption.
However, many people react to change emotionally rather than
rationally. The prospect that something in their environment is about
to change triggers a response of fear and/or anxiety. Their reaction to
virtually any new idea is to cling to that which is familiar, and to
distrust circumstances that will require them to learn new ways of
thinking or acting.
The following are signs of this emotionally based, resistant reaction:
• The person immediately (and often heatedly) begins to list
all the possible reasons why the new idea won't work, or isn't needed.
• The person attacks the person delivering the message.
• The person begins to disparage the initiator(s) of the idea.
The feelings behind these responses must be recognized and dealt with
before these individuals will be able to use their logical and
analytical skills to make thoughtful and rational decisions about how
they will respond to what has been proposed.
Other factors leading to an emotional rather than a rational
response to a new idea are:
• The degree of control over the change that individuals
believe that they have. The more helpless individuals feel about when
and how a change will impact them, the more emotion-driven their
response will be. (Most people are much more enthusiastic about a
change that is their own idea than they are about one that is imposed
on them.)
• The more changes that occur, the more emotional a person'
reaction will be to the latest one. There seems to be a built-in
capacity for change in each of us, and when the limit of that capacity
is approached, the likelihood of an emotional response is much Greater.
The most successful implementation of change occurs when there is
genuine commitment and enthusiastic support from the instructor to help
the student make the idea work.
Individuals resist change for a number of reasons. Change represents
risk. It involves changing what we do and perhaps even who we are. It
may involve dealing with unfamiliar issues where we may lack confidence
in our ability to change. Change may also affect our status in our
groups. In many cases, we don't understand the need for the change.
TEACHING STRATEGIES AND TACTICS: WHAT
DOESN'T WORK
The two most commonly used instructor approaches to implementing change
are the use of position power ("This is what the new law requires you
to do..." As a licensee you don' have a choice..." or an appeal to
rationality "Here's what the change requires and here's how it benefits
the consumer/the agent....")
When the instructor' objective is to gain the enthusiastic support of
the other people involved in implementing the change, these two
approaches are the least effective. In most situations, the most
successful implementation of change occurs when there is genuine
commitment and enthusiastic support from the instructor to help the
student make the idea work.
Using power or implied threat to coerce people into doing what is
required can result in compliance. However, this approach usually
produces only movement and rarely motivation. When people merely go
through the motions of complying with a new system or procedure, there
are two likely negative outcomes: mediocre or even disastrous results
from the change. Sometimes, there is strong underground
resistance— people will appear to go along with the new idea,
but will sabotage it whenever possible.
The purely rational approach is to "sell" the idea by making the
strongest possible argument as to its merits, and then counter any
objections with a barrage of reasons as to why they are invalid. This
tactic may convince a few people, but it has no effect on those who are
still reacting emotionally, rather than logically. While a reasonable
level of understanding can be achieved, commitment only occurs when the
emotional needs have been met. Often organizations have invested a
great deal of resources in educating and training people, only to find
that many of them do not change their beliefs or behavior in the least.
WHAT DOES WORK
There are three keys to gaining support for a change:
• Allow the affected people as much opportunity as possible to
process their reactions; both the rational and emotional ones.
• Provide them with complete information as to both the
strengths and the potential risks involved.
• Give them as much help as possible with the implementation
of the change.
All of these tactics require the devotion of time and energy to
interactive communication. Instructors must consider this factor when
designing course outlines.
When introducing change in a classroom environment, instructors need to
allocate time for their students to have an opportunity to work through
the initial phase of the change process. Students should be encouraged
to see how the change benefits the consumer and possibly the agent.
Once students are comfortable with the reason for the change, the
instructor should help them work out a plan that they can use to
implement the change.
In order to facilitate change, such as moving from sub-agency practices
to buyer broker practices, real estate educators and trainers should
follow these six steps:
1. Briefly outline the background and the nature of the proposed
change. Include the main reasons Often organizations have invested a
great deal of resources in educating and training people, only to find
that many of them do not change their beliefs or behavior in the least.
for it, what your students will be required to do, and the timetable
for implementation.
2. Ask for the response of the students, their questions, and their
concerns. Listen actively, accepting the legitimacy of their issues,
and sincerely attempting to understand them. Be prepared for questions
concerning the student' personal point of reference (i.e., How does
this affect me?), and also their personal concerns (Where am I going to
find the time to do more work?).
3. List the positive aspects of their responses, and the potential
barriers to implementation that students identify.
4. Allow the students the opportunity to develop effective ways to
implement the change. Group activities are excellent for this purpose.
5. Using the same group format, challenge the students to identify
benefits that the agent might receive from this change.
6. Work with the class participants in outlining an implementation plan.
NEVER LET CHANGE BECOME BORING
Whenever we are challenged to present new information to our students,
we work hard to design an effective and enjoyable course that will help
students understand, accept and implement the change. However,
instructors have to teach the same material about '' information dozens
and maybe hundreds of times. While we might get a little tired of
teaching the material, it is critical that we remember that the
information we are presenting is brand new to the students who are
hearing it for the first time.
The many changes that have occurred regarding agency representation and
disclosure practices remind us of how important it is for instructors
to make certain that their next presentation is as exciting and
worthwhile as the first presentation they made the same topic. Whether
we are teaching students about agency, code of ethics or risk
management, we can become frustrated by hearing the same questions that
used to challenge us. We can become frustrated with a student'
inability or unwillingness to accept a concept that has a track record
of working effectively in our industry.
Helping students accept change is one of the greatest challenges that
instructors encounter every time they enter their classrooms.
Remembering that we must teach from the perspective of our students
will help us to fulfill our mission of helping practitioners to
maximize the opportunities that are available to them on a daily basis.
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