It isn’t that adults learn differently in the 21st century than in the 20th or even the 19th. Our brain functions much the same way. Rather the knowledge we have about brain science and the impact that has had on how we teach adults is at a nexus with the technology we have to facilitate that learning. Associations have a huge opportunity to capitalize on this merge. Are you prepared?
Knowledge is Power
Education is typically perceived as formal, institutionalized and hierarchical. Many associations do this training quite well. They design certification programs that require training in the form of books, study guides, workshops, webinars and maybe even eLearning courses. Continuing education credits are required to maintain the certification and there is always some sort of assessment requirement.
This is all good. We are used to this type of training. We view education as “learning to get a job.” There is comfort in this educational world because knowledge is obtainable. There is an endpoint. We know when we made it.
In this form, “Knowledge is power.” Knowledge comes from the instructor, the professor, or the boss and is given to the employee, the student, the underling. The top-down approach is still prevalent today yet there is a shift taking place in workplace training. Is your association ready?
Formalizing “water-cooler” training
Simply put, the shift is from formal education, to informal education. The reason for the swing is that more and more information has become obtainable through sources other than our teacher, our employer, or our degree. Technology fuels both the dissemination and the creation of this information. As a result, while the formal education model is struggling to keep up, a new model emerged to meet the learning demand.
Informal learning is not new to the workplace. It is what used to take place around the water cooler or the so-called “on-the-job training.” These haphazard, occasional and serendipitous learning opportunities are being replaced (or supplemented) with a combination of educational opportunities through social learning, coaches, teamwork and sophisticated software powered by robust search engines to name a few. Informal learning will prevail over traditional methods of workplace education. The shift will follow the lead of its workers who now view work as a place to learn.
In this environment, knowledge is still power but only if you share it. Learning is flat, accessible and personalized. Education is dynamic, multi-faceted and always changing. Sound familiar?
So what does this mean for your association?
Associations are perfectly situated to meet many of the educational needs of your members in their workplace. Yes, associations rock at formal education. Certification programming, conferences and educational meetings are often the cornerstone of many associations. In informal learning, though, collaboration, knowledge documentation and problem-solving are just as important if not more.
The rub is that associations don’t often see these tools, services and resources as education and so they are developed by IT, communications or member services department. And so the opportunity to fully capitalize on these services is not realized. The opportunity for members to learn “just in time” and “within their workflow” with existing or enhanced association services is immense. How is your association going to capitalize on this opportunity with existing tools and services? Download the full article at www.waldengroup.net to see how member collaboration, knowledge documentation, facilitating solutions and supporting workplace support can be a part of your association’s educational offerings.