Returning to School: How to Prepare for Learning

Even though it may seem like summer has just arrived; the fall is looming with September just around the corner. For many children this marks the dreaded return to school; however, for adults, it can mark the very same thing. Recognizing that lifelong learning contributes to success at work, many adults will also find themselves returning to school or planning upcoming professional development.

If you’ve made the decision to engage in professional development, these tips will help you prepare for learning:

• Reflect on your learning goals. Make your learning experience more meaningful and personalized by considering what you hope to accomplish and what it will take to ensure success.
• Assess fit with your preferred learning style. Seek out professional development opportunities that work for you – e.g., if you thrive on group discussions but have selected a self-study program, this mismatch may negatively impact your learning experience.
• Make learning a priority. Once you’ve decided to engage in learning, you’ll need to commit to it. Look at your life roles and responsibilities to identify what you can shift; determine what supports you need and who can help you out.
• Get organized. Plan ahead and block out time in your schedule for studying. Pay attention to important deadlines and make space in your life to accommodate them.
• Be open-minded. You’ll likely learn with people who have thoughts, feelings, and opinions which differ from yours. Interacting with and learning from diverse groups will enrich your learning experience.
• Take orientation/information sessions. Many institutions offer orientations for new students to learn more about the school, the program, the instructor(s), and learning format. If you can’t find one, you may want to look for information on the website or schedule an appointment with a student advisor.

Although not all learning occurs in a formal setting (i.e., classroom), many adults feel anxiety when returning to “school.” Non-traditional ways of learning (e.g., online) can be a great way to re-engage with learning may provide a better fit with work/life roles. In our own LearnOnline programs and courses, we often have students who have been out of the traditional classroom setting for quite some time.

If you’re considering online learning, be aware that not all programs are created equal. Some are more self-directed whereas others take a facilitated learning approach. Our Online Readiness Quiz can help you assess whether you’re ready for learning in the online environment. For more tips on online learning success, see 10 Tips for e-Learning Success.

Interested in taking courses with us? Check out our back to school sale for discounts until September 2nd.

Share with us your own tips for preparing for learning? How do you know you’re ready?

Back to School: Accelerate Your Learning Success

I’m definitely a lifelong learner. I recall, as a preschooler, setting up my friends on apple crates, around a shiny blackboard that my Dad had painted for me to write on with chalk. I joined the future-teachers’ club in high school, then got a teaching degree in university. Now I teach university myself – and continue to learn from my students, colleagues, clients, and research projects (and, of course, from my kids and grand-kids!).

My third degree was in Educational Psychology, so I also know a bit about how people learn. It may surprise you to learn that not all “smart” people do well in school – nor are many of those who do excel measurably “smarter” than their peers.

So – why are some people so much more successful at learning than others?

Successful learners work to their strengths. They understand their own learning styles and, where possible, find learning opportunities that fit. For example, “morning people” may struggle at night school; on the other hand, “night people” may find it impossible to absorb anything from an 8AM lecture. Extraverts prefer learning with others, in an interactive community; introverts, however, typically prefer quiet environments with time to reflect before responding to questions. Auditory learners do well when they can listen (podcasts, and recording lectures instead of taking notes, can reap huge rewards). Visual learners, on the other hand, may benefit from charts, graphs, photos, illustrations, and mind-maps. Kinaesthetic learners learn as they “do”; practical workplace-based training, hands-on demonstrations, and making physical models facilitate learning success for these folks.

Successful learners also set goals. In formal education, most courses have learning objectives posted as part of the course outline. Strong students, however, also set specific learning goals of their own. These goals help them focus their energy and spend their time wisely. If marks are important, they pay attention to the specific grading criteria of the course and ensure that they follow assignment guidelines closely. They make use of the instructor’s office hours and check in early to ensure that their assignments are on track.

Finally, successful learners take care of themselves. They integrate lifelong learning (whether formal or informal) into their other life roles. They realize that they won’t achieve their learning goals if they burn out; nor will they achieve their other life goals if they focus exclusively on learning. They strategically give learning activities exactly the amount of time they are worth – no more, no less.

If you’re heading back-to-school soon, take time to learn how you learn – identify your learning style and strengths. Set specific measureable goals – and track your own progress. Build in rewards for achieving milestones and small successes – and structure your life such that lifelong learning is sustainable in the midst of your other important life roles.

Click here for a special Back to School offer for Life Strategies’ LearnOnline courses and in-house customized training.

Dancing with Digital Natives - Book Review

Dancing with Digital Natives is a new, and interesting, book edited by Michelle Manafy and Heidi Gautschi. It is a must-read for anyone interested in generations in the workplace, especially Gen Y, and how this generation, and their exposure to technology, is changing the way business does business. That being said, the editors are clear that digital natives might not fit nicely into a specific generation – instead, this term relates to “early exposure to digital technologies” (p. xiii).

The editors and authors cover a wide range of topics including social media, intellectual property, and marketing to, hiring, and educating the digital native. There is also a very interesting topic related to digital natives in policing.

A few tidbits I found interesting

• Editors echoed what I first heard, with some surprise, from Jason Ryan Dorsey during his keynote address at the 2010 NCDA conference – don’t expect this group to know how to use technology. As Dorsey points out – “they are more tech dependent than tech savvy"
• Managers don’t need to embrace social media or digital technologies personally but they do need to understand it as an “emerging work practice if they wish to maximize the digital native work force” (p. 17) 
• The ethics chapter mirrors many of the discussions we, as career practitioners, have with clients including how prospective employers can probably find those “wild weekend photos” posted to a Facebook page and how we as consultants, recognize that intellectual property in a digital age is different 
• As a parent of a 12 year-old exposed to digital technology at an early age, the section on educating the digital native was eye-opening. The final chapter Native Knowledge: Knowing What They Know and Learning How to Teach them Best is a must for any educator. Would it be inappropriate to purchase a copy for my son’s teacher?

Overall I highly recommend adding this book to your library. Dancing with Digital Natives is available at Amazon , Chapters , and other retailers.

Networking Skills for Introverts

Networking, at its very core, seems to be an activity better suited to extroverts – those people who gain energy from groups and social interactions and do their best thinking externally. Introverts, on the other hand, are more inward thinkers, often finding social interactions draining. Although, in general, they prefer smaller groups and more one-on-one interactions, that’s not to say that all introverts are bad networkers (or that all extroverts are great networkers) – it just that introverts may have to work a bit harder.

So what can introverts do to make networking a bit easier? Practice and preparation are key. Below is a summary of the networking for introverts tips highlighted in a recent article.

1. Get to know people before – check social media sites and/or event sponsor’s forums/blogs
2. Go prepared – bring business cards, know the dress code, and have a map to the location
3. Start a conversation right away – don’t wait; the longer you do, the harder it will be to get started
4. Look for another seemingly shy person and engage them in conversation
5. Don’t talk too fast – ask open-ended questions and actively listen to the response
6. Don’t overanalyze afterwards – if you made a mistake, don’t beat yourself up

Interested in learning more? Pick up Devora Zack’s Networking for People Who Hate Networking: A Field Guide for Introverts, the Overwhelmed and the Underconnected or Carole Cameron’s SPLASH! An Introvert's Guide to Being Seen, Heard and Remembered.

Remember, individuals are complex and multi-faceted. Introversion/Extroversion is just one component of your personality; other components will impact your success in networking and a variety of other business- and career-related activities (e.g., sales, conflict resolution, team building, leadership). One framework for understanding personality that Life Strategies uses is Personality Dimensions (PD). Want to learn more? Book a workshop for your team – contact us at info@lifestrategies.ca. Interested in training to use Personality Dimensions ? Consider becoming a certified facilitator – click here to learn more.

Feel free to share your networking experiences as introverts or extroverts in the comments section. What’s your biggest challenge? How does your personality impact your networking success?

Fun in the Workplace

Did you know there are more than 2 million results when you Google “fun in the workplace”?

Clearly I’m not the only one who believes work should be fun! Some of the sites highlight the importance of laughter (e.g., Did you know that preschoolers laugh 400+ times per day compared to 15 times per day for adults? That’s, of course, unless you have preschoolers in your life – our grandchildren definitely make me laugh!) From a practical perspective, laughter releases endorphins (the happy gasses) that do you as much good as strenuous exercise. If you’re struggling to find something to laugh about, there are some pretty funny YouTube videos (try the “office stress” tag).

Other authors link fun and laughter to productivity . Employees who enjoy coming to work are energized and engaged. That energy will fuel their ability to get their work done – even when it means slogging through some unpleasant or tedious tasks. Facilitate resilience by building in fun.

Surprises can bring fun to the workplace. After a particularly challenging project, I once took our staff to the local mall for lunch. I then gave them each a mall gift card and told them they couldn’t come back to the office until it was spent. THAT was FUN!

Sharing funny stories or unusual perspectives can be fun, too. We often laugh over “Freudian” typos (e.g., just yesterday I was reading someone’s description of her siblings as “bothers” rather than “brothers”). Our team also delights in taking what I say out of context, threatening to publicly quote something that sounds completely outrageous.

Fun is good for business. Think about where you shop or seek out services. Are you drawn to the places where people are laughing and seem to enjoy themselves? So am I . . . so I know it’s good business to support a workplace with lots of laughter and unexpected treats.

Keeping the Disconnected Team Connected

With today’s flexible work arrangements (e.g., telecommuting, job sharing) and geographically dispersed teams (e.g., satellite offices and multi-national corporations) it is becoming more difficult for employers to build a sense of “we,” maintain a stable and consistent corporate culture, and foster supportive communication and cooperation between team members. Employees who don’t physically work together may struggle to recognize the priorities of others, lack an understanding of what each member’s “job” really looks like, and be unable to access the resources they need – or even know such resources exists. Furthermore, if they are working alone, whether at home or abroad, they may feel isolated and neglected.

No matter what employee structure you have or are working within, to foster employee engagement and business success, it’s important to make time for the team to connect. Here is a short list of ideas, some of which we’ve used at Life Strategies.

Develop a system for regular updates to keep everyone “in the loop” and help them stay connected

• Choose a method that works for you – in person, over the phone, via the internet (e.g., GoToMeeting)
• Use a framework to structure your meeting (e.g., Let’s CHAT!)
  

Utilize alternative methods of connecting beyond email or phone (e.g., Windows Live Messenger, Skype, Blogger, LinkedIn)

• However , don’t rely solely on electronic communication; pick up the phone if necessary

Invest in professional development opportunities that get dispersed teams together

• Attend workshops, seminars, and/or conferences
• Take part in webinars or teleconferences
• Provide an opportunity to debrief learning
  

Set aside time for fun

• Arrange a potluck at team meetings
• Participate in a charity event
  

Celebrate “good news” and recognize team successes

• Use something quick and simple (e.g., an informal congratulations email, post on company intranet or blog) or more formal (e.g., “employee of the month”)

Employee Engagement Indicator

A popular concept for many of today’s organizations is employee engagement. There is a plethora of information available on the topic; a Google search resulted in over 3.5 million hits. In researching employee engagement as part of my doctoral program, I was somewhat surprised to learn that a wide-variety of definitions exist. Each individual, from consultants to scholars, has his/her own definition – while quite similar when talking employee engagement there is no guarantee everyone is speaking about exactly the same thing. A colleague of mine presented it as everyone talking about apples but some are focussed on Gala and Fugi while others are talking Granny Smith and Red Delicious. The differences may be slight but can still cause confusion and misunderstanding. In our work helping organizations increase engagement, often through career development initiatives, we first recommend establishing or adopting a definition which resonates with the team.  At Life Strategies we’ve adopted a four-factor model of engagement:

Alignment – fit between individual and organizational values

Commitment – loyalty and intent to stay with the organization

Contribution – level of discretionary effort employees are willing to make (i.e., going above and beyond). 

Appreciation –awareness employees are valued and their effort to support the organization’s goals is appreciated

In seeking to measure engagement along these four factors, we developed the Employee Engagement Indicator (EEi). The EEi is a 40 question survey with 10 questions per factor. The total score is intended to indicate an overall level of employee engagement on a continuum from full disengagement to full engagement.  Sub-factor results can also be analyzed (e.g., level of contribution).

While we are still researching the psychometric properties of the EE-i, preliminary results have been interesting and have demonstrated how a low score on one of the factors can drastically impact overall engagement results. Interested in using the EE-i with your own team? Contact us at info@lifestrategies.ca for more information.