by Race Bannon on September 3, 2010
In a previous post I talked about the need to keep informal learning in the workplace truly informal. Another, and even more important, component to successful self education in the workplace is building a learning culture.
What do I mean by a learning culture? Companies and organizations, particularly very large ones, tend to get mired in short-term thinking. Rather than spend the time and money to develop their workforce, they tend to be so focused on short-term objectives that they neglect workforce development.
Right now, as the American economy flounders a bit, it’s easy for this to happen without the ramifications having profound impact. That will change. As the economy improves and the people who have been poised to change jobs start finding other employment, those companies and organizations that have not put effort into improving the knowledge and skills of their employees will be at a big disadvantage. Add to this the aging, retiring workforce and not fostering a learning culture proves even more problematic.
So what is a learning culture? Learning cultures are nothing more than leaders within a workplace making sure that their workers enjoy the following.
- Learning Guidance. What is it that needs to be accomplished and what learning objectives will help this happen? This is usually the responsibility of good managers.
- Career Development. What learning opportunities can be presented to workers that will improve their career potential? This also means an organization must accept the risk that an employee will learn things that will help them rise through the ranks in their current workplace or eventually find a better job elsewhere.
- Learning Resources. What resources at the workplace, or elsewhere, can provide learning opportunities? Knowledge repositories, tuition reimbursements, training programs, social learning and mentoring programs are just some of the possible resources a workplace can offer.
- Self Education Skills Training. Since most of the learning that takes place within an active and vibrant learning culture is self-directed, providing self education skills training is extremely helpful.
- Time. Too often a worker feels that they aren’t allowed the time during work hours to pursue learning. It’s one thing for a workplace to say that they foster a learning culture, but to actually allow an employee to carve out time in their day to pursue learning really shows a workforce that the company does support a learning culture.
- Encouragement. Workers should be encouraged to learn. Learning projects are not something to simply be tolerated. They are vital to the optimal functioning of the workforce. So management must actively encourage such learning.
- Recognition of Learning. Learning must be recognized. Too often an organization only recognizes formal education, certifications and degrees. Learning cultures rely primarily on self education. So there must be mechanisms in place that officially recognizes all learning. This can be built into the worker’s review cycle or documented in some fashion so that the learning is captured in an official record.
Does your company or organization foster a learning culture? Is there anything you can do to promote this concept?
by Race Bannon on September 1, 2010
I stumbled upon a great web site today, how-to-study.com. Dr. Charles Mangrum and Dr. Stephen Strichart created this free study skills resource site and I love it. It targets learners/students at all levels and has a wealth of great articles and study tips. If you’re a teacher, there are also some curriculum products for sale for grades 4 through college.
While much of the content on this site focuses on study skills to be used for traditional classroom-based schooling, it’s rather easy to translate most of the material to suit the needs of the self educator.
by Race Bannon on August 8, 2010
I am lucky that I live in a city, San Francisco, that has a great selection of world-class museums that offer wonderful exhibitions and learning experiences spanning history, science, art, nature and culture. Visiting my local museums, and museums in other cities when I travel, are among my favorite self education experiences.
When I visit a museum I always seem to enter into a mental state of intellectual intoxication. I mean that in a good way. I lose myself in the experience and always walk out a few hours later a better and more worldly person. And yes, better educated.
Here is a great article that eloquently explains the deep and meaningful learning opportunities that museums and similar environments offer each of us. Museums can be an integral part of our lifelong learning.
I encourage everyone to take advantage of the learning opportunities their local museums present. When you’re visiting another city, consider making a visit to a museum part of your itinerary. You’ll be happy you did.
I’m very proud of my city. Here’s a nice listing of San Francisco Bay Area museums I encourage you to visit when in San Francisco.
by Race Bannon on August 6, 2010
At the Techonomy conference taking place now in Lake Tahoe, California, that focuses on new ways to look at the economic power of innovation, Bill Gates expressed the opinion that within five years the web will provide the means by which anyone who is self-motivated will be able to attain a world-class college education. Check out Gates’ comments here. I agree with Gates wholeheartedly.
Technology is quickly democratizing education in ways we’re only just beginning to understand. For the person ready to pursue learning on their own terms, this is great news and quite exciting.
Gates also said something that I’ve been saying for a long time. No matter how you acquire your knowledge, you should get credit for it. We need to start advocating strongly for companies and educational institutions to begin accepting proof of education gained by any means whatsoever. Formal degrees and certifications should not be required to do this.
by Race Bannon on July 13, 2010
Once upon a time, many American companies dedicated a significant amount of their time and resources to training their employees. One standout example, IBM, as far back as the 1930’s, was famous for their employee education programs that were in large part responsible for IBM’s success. Times have changed.
Companies today are spending increasingly less on their internal training programs. In these times of managing to quarterly revenue numbers for those all-important quarterly earnings statements, few companies are willing to set aside the necessary time or money to engage in the types of workplace education that would not only contribute to their bottom line, but also increase productivity, decrease turnover, and lead to much happier and dedicated employees. This is very short sighted.
As I talk with people across the employment spectrum in a wide cross section of industries, many report the same phenomenon. New employees are expected to jump into their new job roles already possessing a full set of pertinent skills and knowledge. Longtime employees report little ongoing education or training. It seems that rarely does a company take the time to invest in its employees anymore.
Observing corporate behavior over the last few years, I contend that few companies are going to be willing to institute more classroom-based training programs because they’re costly and require extensive resources to develop and deploy. Perhaps informal learning programs can come to the rescue, at least somewhat.
I believe a new high-level job category needs to be created – Informal Learning Officer (ILO). Perhaps some of today’s CLO’s (Chief Learning Officers) focus on informal learning, but I believe that informal learning is important enough to warrant its own separate job and title. So what would an ILO do?
ILO’s would be 100% focused on fostering effective and inexpensive informal learning initiatives throughout a company. These folks might oversee mentor programs, peer knowledge sharing strategies, learning resource repositories, lunchtime brown bag seminars, discussion forums and groups, project-based learning, training managers in how to encourage and assist with their team’s learning objectives, and so on. Just as importantly, ILO’s would evangelize informal learning and empower employees with the self education skills and mindset that are quickly becoming the most vital elements that determine a person’s success or failure within a company.
Any CEO’s or other high-placed business executives reading this? Please consider creating an ILO within your company. I think you’ll see both a happier workforce and a healthier company.
For another perspective on this topic, read Vivek Wadhwa’s strong argument for more American workforce education in this TechCrunch post. Wadhwa makes a compelling case for a complete rethink on the priority of educating the American workforce better and the American corporate landscape would be wise to listen.
by Race Bannon on June 25, 2010
As readers of this blog know, TED is my favorite website. I’ve sent my readers to that site to view many of the short talks given by some of the world’s most brilliant and inspiring people.
Well, now I’m sending you to one of their blog postings. It’s the first in TED’s series of community-driven question and answer sessions with notable people. The first notable person to whom they pose questions is creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson.
Sir Ken Robinson is the author of one of my favorite books, The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything. I find Mr. Robinson quite inspiring and I hope you do too.
by Race Bannon on May 25, 2010
In Daniel H. Pink’s book, Drive, one of the main points he emphasizes is that true motivation comes from an individual feeling they have three elements present during their efforts:
- Autonomy – the ability to control their destiny to the greatest extent possible.
- Mastery – the opportunity to truly master one or more domains of knowledge or skill.
- Purpose – a meaningful reason behind their efforts.
I agree with Pink’s assertions and realized while I was reading his book that self education fits nicely into his motivation paradigm.
No form of learning gives you more autonomy than self education. Whether you call it informal learning, self-directed learning, project-based learning, or some other flavor of self education, the level of autonomy these approaches offer is significant. Formal education often takes autonomy out of the educational equation.
Self education fosters mastery. Without the constraints of a predetermined curriculum agenda, we can learn as much about a topic as we wish. Going deeply into a particular area of study is one of the luxuries self education offers. Formal education curriculum tends to want to move you along at a certain pace and in a certain order. If you want to go off on a tangent and study something in more depth, you’ll be left behind and you’ll be judged as not keeping up.
Education efforts we undertake on our own typically have an identified purpose in our lives, even if that purpose is simple curiosity. Self educators tend not to waste time on subjects that have little relevance to their lives. So a sense of purpose tends to encourage our learning in ways that a rigid set of curriculum guidelines or degree requirements often do not.
True motivation is energizing. Getting a good grade or getting an annual bonus at work might appear to be good motivational tools, but research doesn’t support this contention. Real motivation requires that the elements of autonomy, mastery and purpose be present and self education provides these three things in abundance.
by Race Bannon on May 14, 2010
Yesterday I overheard someone at my local coffee shop talking about his education. He began to rattle off the schools he attended and the degree and certifications he holds. Never did he actually mention what he knew, what skills he possessed or what experience he had with any particular domain of knowledge. No, he made the mistake so many people make. He equated education with diplomas, degrees and certifications. They are not the same.
Education is whatever knowledge, experience and skill you possess regardless of how they were attained. Hopefully an education ultimately brings about some semblance of wisdom as well. It has no inherent connection to how you learned what you know. Your education might result from formal schooling, reading, your profession, volunteer work, personal projects, casual interactions, media or discussions with others. Gaining an education happens constantly throughout our lives if we open up to the educational possibilities. There are as many approaches to learning as there are people.
It’s risky to equate education with schooling. Education is the goal. Formal schooling is but one of many methods by which that goal might be attained. Obviously I’m a proponent of carving out your own path to an education that’s meaningful to you. Education is what’s important, not how we get it. If we focus on the process and not the desired outcome, we become easy prey to schools and training organizations that care more about churning out graduates than they do in facilitating a quality education. That’s not a recipe for an educated society.
by Race Bannon on May 7, 2010
Secrets of a Buccaneer-Scholar: How Self-Education and the Pursuit of Passion Can Lead to a Lifetime of Success
By James Marcus Bach
Published by Scribner
I just finished reading this book and it was a joy. Bach employs the “buccaneer” analogy to describe his personal quest for a self-directed and personally meaningful education.
Bach never finished high school, yet rose to prominence in the software quality testing field at Apple and other technology companies. He now has a thriving consulting business in the same field. Bach considers his personal education journey and approach to be similar to the pirate-like 17th century buccaneers who preyed on Spanish ships. No, Bach isn’t condoning pirate activity, but he admired the independent nature of the buccaneers and believes everyone should adopt a similar attitude regarding their own education.
While the book is primarily a personal account of how the author approached his own self education, it is also a wealth of inspiration and insight into how anyone can create their own unique and effective approach to educating themselves.
Traditional educationalists are probably not going to like this book. Bach is no fan of today’s school system and he does not hold back in his condemnation of a system he feels lacks contemporary relevance. When so much of the current information and skills one needs to function optimally must be learned “just in time,” Bach contends a more independent and self-directed approach to learning can be far more effective than schooling. I tend to concur with Bach on this and am grateful to see another voice added to the call for a shift in our thinking about education.
by Race Bannon on April 29, 2010
As I’ve previously mentioned in my Run, Do Not Walk, to TED post, TED is my favorite website. You’ll never feel you’ve wasted a moment of your time by viewing any of the short speeches the site hosts by a wide range of fascinating and interesting people. Incredibly educational.
The nice folks running TED have been kind enough to group together their many presentations by theme, and one of their themes is How We Learn. This theme fits nicely with the focus of this blog and I encourage you to visit the TED How We Learn theme page and view anything that strikes you as interesting. I’ve only watched a few of the videos and I’m already blown away by the brilliance of these people. Enjoy and learn.
Wisdom, Your Name is Sir Ken Robinson
by Race Bannon on June 25, 2010
As readers of this blog know, TED is my favorite website. I’ve sent my readers to that site to view many of the short talks given by some of the world’s most brilliant and inspiring people.
Well, now I’m sending you to one of their blog postings. It’s the first in TED’s series of community-driven question and answer sessions with notable people. The first notable person to whom they pose questions is creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson.
Sir Ken Robinson is the author of one of my favorite books, The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything. I find Mr. Robinson quite inspiring and I hope you do too.
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