Build learning into everything you do
Hello there!
Around 2015, I believed that online training could be better than live training, so I started experimenting under the name “People Skills for Geeks.”
By the end of 2019, I had proof. Thanks to those early experiments and my experience in Seth Godin’s AltMBA (cohort 33).
As I write this in early 2021 the point is pretty much moot — almost all learning is online.
So instead of comparing online and live I will share the best ways I know to learn online in 2021.
It is a hot topic for us [Michał and Richard] as we design Grow Together and it might also help you improve your own learning or even create learning experiences for others.
First of all I need to share a core belief:
Learning is behavior change
that leads to better expected results.
No behavior change => no learning.
With that in mind:
As much as possible do the actual thing. In the case of GTA it means to create and to learn together.
Create together
In GTA you will work in small groups to create something meaningful with others.
Something none of you would likely not be able to create on our own.
It can be a powerful experience to work through difficult issues with a small group.
Especially if that group was brought together from all over the world and has bonded over several weeks of working together.
For example one course I’ve attended not long ago included people from the UK, Sweden, Poland, Germany, France, Australia and Singapore. This variety helped see the problem we were working on from different perspectives and learn that much faster.
Learn together
Learning by doing is a strong start, but there is more.
As you probably know muscles grow during recover not during a workout.
And so it is with learning. Most of it happens when you reflect on what you did after you did it.
And it’s even better if you’re surrounded by perceptive teammates who will help you by sharing their observations and opinions for you to consider.
In GT you will be invited to regularly share your reflections with other students. You will also be invited to do the same for others which will boost your learning even further. It will help you clarify your thinking and give you a chance to grapple with a wider variety of situations.
We call this The Learning Loop or the Plan-Do-Reflect (PDR) loop and it is one of the pillars of our own learning and the whole Grow Together program.
The beauty of this part is that as you learn with the group during the program you also learn how to learn and you will be able to bring the same methods to your team so that more learning can happen there too.
Long term learning
I could go on all day about designing online learning experiences. And one day I might. But today I will leave you with a promise that Grow Together Academy will be unlike anything you’ve experienced in the past.
By being a participant from the very first cohort you can help us achieve that goal and then follow the evolution of the program in future cohorts, which will be free to join for alumni.
See you soon,
Michał and Richard