CUSTOMIZED DEBRIEFING: THE ACHILLES HEEL OF EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING? Insights into Experiential Pedagogy, Volume 6, 1979 313 CUSTOMIZED DEBRIEFING: THE ACHILLES HEEL OF EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING? Richard E. Dutton University of South Florida ABSTRACT The debriefing or feedback segment of the experiential exercise is a very critical part of that exercise and has not been given the attention and planning it deserves. If questions of manipulation of participants, credibility and intent of the faculty leader, and real applicability of results for the manager are to be resolved, we must do a better job of debriefing. Since the experiential method recognizes that participants are unique and perceive differently, debriefing segments should be reasonably customized for increased acceptance and understanding by those participants. The results should be more long-term internalization of cognitive material and Interpersonal skills. INTRODUCTION One of the most frequent questions (complaints) a user of experiential exercises hears is, “What does this event/data/experience/outcome really mean? The dilemma of the incomplete circle seems to abound, and these Gestalt ‘gaps” haunt the class participants and plague the faculty member. It appears that there are several questions contained in the question stated above. Those ‘interior” questions are: (1) Is this conclusion/outcome limited to this class only? (2) How do our results/actions compare with other groups/earlier classes? (3) Isn’t there some other (more subtle) meaning we should discern from this exercises results? (4) Is that all there is -- I did not learn any new facts?/! (5) Since the exercise is just an enjoyable “game,’ --how can we convert the results into real-world terms? (6) How do these outcomes/conclusions relate to the manager -- how can he/she actually use this information? And --- there are probably more questions than these which have not been perceived by me~ UNFINISHED BUSINESS These questions indicate that there is some unfinished business in the experiential sequence of events that many of us use. It would seem that the learning climate for participants can be made more predictable, and the credibility of the faculty member can be strengthened by a more carefully thought out and customized feedback discussion or debriefing. A feedback session which is rationally prepared in advance of doing the exercise, and adhered to care- fully, is doubtless better than a careless debriefing, or not attempting a feedback session at all! This last comment may appear to be reckless or completely unreasonable. Yet, is it not possible for a dedicated and enthusiastic faculty user of experiential material to become so caught up in the action/ process segment of the exercise that the interpretive feedback segment is drastically cut short and, therefore, largely left to the participants to interpret for themselves? A related, and just as haunting a thought, is that as the faculty member becomes increasingly familiar with an exercise through repeated use and/or redesign of that experience, that same member presumes that the participants perceive and conclude the same things that he/she concludes. Thus, ‘logic” says that there is no need to go into any detailed interpretation of the behavior and results. THE ACHILLES HEEL The above series of thoughts creates the topic question for this session: Customized Debriefing: The Achilles Heel of Experiential Learning? The issue is then - careless or seriously incomplete feedback discussions which do not relate exercise results to the unique personalities of each specific group of participants may be our Achilles heel! S. Altman suggests that specific areas be covered in an exercise debriefing: 1) Identification of different perception and attitudes of what occurred. 2) Linking the exercise to specific content theory for a given segment of the course. 3) Linking the exercise to skill-building techniques (useful at the time of the exercise and in subsequent class sessions). 4) Development of a common set of experiences for further data analysis. 5) Making certain that each participant, or group of participants receives feedback on the nature of their involvement and their specific behaviors. 6) Re-establishing the desired classroom environment. (1) In this writers experience not all of the above actions are of equal weight or priority. Further, I believe that Altman does not intend them to be of equal priority. It would seem that: identifying differing perceptions/attitudes toward what has occurred in the exercise (r ≠ R), ascertaining that each participant (or group) gets feedback on their involvement and behavior, and re-establishing a positive classroom climate are all related and of critical importance. They are here-and-now factors for the participants and the faculty moderator. If these areas are incompletely or carelessly done, or ignored, they cannot be effectively recaptured at a later time for discussion and resolution. On the other hand, the areas of: linking the exercise to specific content theory and to skill-building techniques, and developing a common set of experiences for further data analysis are also related. These factors are obviously more content than process- oriented, and can be dealt with fairly well at a later session or - even with a prepared handout showing the linkage and/or the data results for comparison/contrast by the participants. I am not recommending that such Insights into Experiential Pedagogy, Volume 6, 1979 314 handling is to be preferred, but only that the different nature (more content than process), allows this to be done. CREDIBILITY CREVISES I have frequently used exercises which involve using “planted” persons to be autocratic and stubborn supervisors; independent “deviant” employees; or some other clandestine role. While it generates (almost always) the conflict behavior and resulting emotional patterns sought, it always generates a credibility problem for the faculty moderator. One reaction can be, “So What? I'm the faculty member in charge of the class, and I remain in control regardless of whether the participants are concerned about manipulation or not!” Another reaction may be, “I have to do some role manipulation to get the desired behaviors and attitudes to surface, but I am concerned about the participant’s view of my intentions.’ A third view might be, “I don’t like the high price that role manipulation brings into the class climate, and therefore I either reveal all “assigned” roles or avoid exercises that call for such actions.” I have no way of knowing what exercise-users, or even ABSEL members believe about the above issue. More interesting still, would be to know what they are doing relative to this issue. The credibility issue can and does make a difference to the participants --and thus, it must also have an impact on the faculty moderator. It affects the thoughts/actions of participants, which affect exercise interpretation and results, which color the data generated which limits the usefulness and the comparable usefulness of such data. Therefore, it would seem to this writer that the ‘1 don’t care, I’m still in charge” attitude is short-sighted and dysfunctional for all involved. Further, I am not aware of anyone who is convinced that they have solved this problem. I submit that this topic should be explored and our own beliefs, actions and experiences shared with each other. REALITY-WHERE ARE YOU? Keys suggests that learning (and especially experiential learning) is “the organization of reality.” Further, he cites three factors prerequisite to such learning as follows: 1) The dissemination of new ideas, principles, or concepts which are known as content. 2) An opportunity to apply content in an experiential environment which will be called experience. 3) Feedback as to the results of actions taken and the relationship between performance at each chronological phase in experience and the subsequent result. (2) Thus, Professor Keys raises the very critical question of, What is the proper balance between content, experience, and feedback in the management of learning environments? I would suggest an equally critical dilemma, that is: As humans we never come into direct contact with reality. We only perceive (r) reality R, and thus r ≠ R. This, of course, implies that what is believed to be the ‘proper” balance for one person is not considered proper/appropriate for another. The attempt to do some customizing of feedback for each class of participants - thus recognizing their uniqueness should be done. It is more time-consuming and more difficult than handling debriefing only in terms of generalized or course-wide results. The payoff for faculty and participants alike is more personalized learning, more satisfaction, higher motivation levels, and hopefully more long-term internalization of cognitive material and interpersonal skills. REFERENCES (1) Altman, Steve. “A Kiss Before Debriefing,’ in Daniel C. Brenenstuhl and Samuel C. Certo (Editors) Exploring Experiential Learning: Simulations and Experiential Exercises, 1978, pp. 5-6. (2) Keys, Bernard. “The Management of Learning Grid for Management Development.” Academy of Management Review. Vol. 2, No. 2, 1977, p. 290. Table of Contents Volume 6, 1979 The Use of Cases with Role Plays in a Research Methods Course Debugging and Implementing the Live-Case Approach to Marketing Research in the Australian Environment Using a Case as the Basis for a Modified Debate Using Cases in Business Communication Classes A Structured Approach to Case Analysis and Reporting Intercollegiate Case Analysis Competition as an Experiential Learning Experience Attributes Germane to Student/Live Case Situations Understanding Dispute Resolution Through Experiential learning Personality Development and Conflict Dynamics: An Experimental Design to Study the Effects of Teaching Methodologies on Conflict Resolution Interpersonal Competence and the Digital PDP-11:40 The process of Writing a Collective Bargaining Simulation: A Case Study in Practical Pedagogy Simulating Negotiations in an Educational Context Simulations as a Technique for Teaching Collective Bargaining Experiential Processing of Differing Managerial Perspectives: The Use of a Game Show Format Individual Self Report vs. Group consensus in Small Decision-Making Groups Effects of Sex-Role Stereotypes on Promotion Decisions: An Exercise Computer Aids to Planning: The Budget and Forecasting Module Use of a Microcomputer in a Decision Analysis for Investment Portfolio Selection A Game of Investment Strategy: Description, Use, Criticism and Modification Coping with Future Uncertainties Through Probabilistic Budgeting Administration and Design of Simulation Materials for a Specialized Management Training Program Managing Stress in Organizational Life Banksim: The Bank Management Simulation Issues in the Organizational Application of Simulation and Experiential material Games Within Games: The Role of the Glitch Experiential Learning from Classroom to Business An Evaluation of the Small Business Institute Program as an Experiential learning Exercise Conversations with Top Management (Simulated) Experience in the Use and Assessment of Simulation in Management Education A Statistical Analysis of Simulation Users: Relationships between Stress and Human Subject guidelines Group Decision Making in a Computer Game Analysis of Demographic and Psychosocial Variables Comparing Performance During Three Managerial Accounting Simulation Schedules Business Policy Simulation and the Intense Course Structure The Use of Intensive Simulation in Executive Development and Academic Settings The Use of Experiential Exercises in the Undergraduate Consumer Behavior Course A Personal Marketing Strategy Approach: Framework and Application Teaching PERT Experientially in Marketing Research Discovering the Majority Fallacy An Experiential Approach to Studying International Business A Demonstration of the Business Simulation Game as a Curriculum Assessment Device Relating Teaching Methods with Educational Objectives in the Business Curriculum The Junior Achievement Applied Management Program as a Compromise Situation Between the Simulation and the Internship Who is Using Computerized Business Games?: A View from Publishers' Adoption Lists Trials and Tribulations in Testing Educational Innovations An Examination of the Perceived Effectiveness of Computer Simulation in a Classroom Setting as Affected by Game, Environmental and Respondent Characteristics Game Administration: A Life Cycle Analysis Research on the Effectiveness of Using a Computerized Simulation in the Basic Management Course Gaming and Attitudinal Change The Teacher-Student Relationship in Experiential Classes and the Student's Perception of Course Effectiveness An Exploratory Study of Student Characteristics and Educational Processes in Programmatic Experiential learning General Incongruity Adaption Level (GIAL) as a Predictor of Risk Preferences in a Simulated Management Game The Cap-Stone Opportunity: Combining Business Simulation and Experiential Learning Incorporating MIS/DSS into Policy Courses Via Simulation Who Benefits Most from Participation in Business Policy Simulations: An Empirical Study of Skill Development by Functional Areas The Use of Program NAMEX in Teaching the Accounting for Nonmonetary Assets The Use of Program CVP in Teaching Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis Experiential vs. Traditional Classroom Approach in the Basic Management Course: A Puerto Rican Experience A Guide to the Successful Use of Business Simulation Games The Dynamic Aspects of Interactive Gaming Puts the Realism into Gaming System Representation of SIMORG The Design of a Database System to Support Business Simulation and Experiential Learning A Data Entry and Retrieval System for a Computer Simulation (DERS) Simulation - An Advantage for Accounting Research Computer-Aided Project Performance Control Simulation: An Interactive Experiential Gaming Technique for Managerial Decision Making Utilization of Manual Simulation Games to Develop Scenarios of Future Events - An Exploratory Study Foundry: A Foundry Simulation Customized Debriefing: The Achilles Heel of Experiential learning? Computerized Business Simulations and Experiential Learning Exercises: An Instructional Interface The Baseball Game: A Group Role Observation, Problem Solving Experience A Practical Design for Experiential Learning Exercises: Roles, Technical Equipment and Alternative Debriefing Formats