If you are
interested in expanding your professional knowledge base, I recently attended
two programs you might want to consider: “Learning in a Competence-Based World”
and “Learning Agility and the Brain: Fostering Learner Success in a Changing
World.”
The programs, described below,
are offered through DePaul University’s Center to Advance Education for Adults (CAEA)
as part of its Adult Learning Innovation Institute. Early Bird Registration is
now open for the fall session:
Learning
in a Competence-Based World: Mindsets, Models and Methods. For more details and
to register, visit: https://cblinstitute2016.eventbrite.com
"Learning in a Competence-Based World: Mindsets, Models and Methods"
This interactive,
two-day workshop, facilitated by Catherine Marienau, Ph.D. and other leaders in
competence-based learning (CBL), clearly defined the term and reinforced the
theories and concepts that underpin the concept: how people learn from
experience, whether the setting is informal or formal. The program is
especially geared to higher education faculty, training and development
professionals, human resources administrators, coaches and mentors, and members
of associations and agencies that promote adult learning. Topics included
developing learning objectives, constructing competence statements, and
assessing learning.
“Why should
you care about competence-based learning?
That question served as the focus as the program leaders guided the
participants through the steps that move learners to identify and demonstrate a
competence. By explaining how to construct competence statements and define assessment
criteria, the leaders linked CBL to all aspects of development.
“Learning Agility and the Brain: Fostering
Learner Success in a Changing World”
The VUCA
Model (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity) served as the
springboard for this interactive, two-day workshop. Recognizing, understanding, leveraging and
developing agile approaches to successfully navigating our VUCA world was the program’s
focus.
Pamela
Meyer, the program’s leader, addressed many important topics, including “Agility
Awareness,” “Behaviors and Dispositions,” “Learning-Agile People,” “Personal
Learning Agility Reflection,” and “Lessons from Agile Teams: Learning in
Action.”
Before
attending the program I had already read Pamela’s book
, The Agility Shift: Creating Agile and Effective Leaders, Teams, and
Organizations (you can download the first chapter here: http://pamela-meyer.com/the-agility-shift/),
and came to the session with
high
expectations. I was not disappointed. By the end of the second day, I had
achieved a deeper understanding of learning agility and the components of the “Relational
Web” that supports the concept in action: Relevance, Responsiveness,
Resilience, Resourcefulness, and Reflection.
Bonus for my students (and my LinkedIn
connections)!
Both
Catherine Marienau and Pamela Meyer have graciously agreed to be interviewed
this fall for the classroom and online leadership teaching/learning series,
“Conversations with 21st Century Leaders.” The interviews will be announced through
LinkedIn. It will be a privilege to talk with these leaders and gain their
insights on current thinking in adult education. Stay tuned for more information.
Announced through LinkedIn 8/8/16