Its time to get personal with learning
With the focus on building individual skills its ever more important to craft personalized learning journeys that are relevant and impactful for the learner
Krishna Gathwal
8/15/20232 min read
Organizations today have realized the potential of learning as one of the core tenets that is crucial for an organization’s growth and profitability. However, creating a learning organization is easier said than done. Most training functions in organizations today call themselves a learning organization without understanding the implications of the word.
The dictionary defines learning as ‘an act or process of acquiring knowledge or skill”. It is important to note here that “acquiring” is an intentional act by the learner. It presumes an effort and engagement on the part of the learner. It is not something that is dictated by the HR department or a set of curricula available on the LMS.
For true learning to happen there needs to be recognition of basic facts about how and where learning happens:
Learning is an ongoing process.
It happens with each interaction that we have with the stimuli around us. This may be at the proverbial water cooler discussing the pitfalls in the implementation of the latest project or at the desk searching the web for a usable project plan template. It is ongoing and all pervasive, with every experience building upon the previous schema in our brain.
Learning is personal.
We each perceive our environment with our unique perspectives. No two people arrive at the exact same understanding of the experience. Learners approach a learning event with their own unique perspective. This diversity in learning needs to be recognized and encouraged by providing as many forms of learning as possible and engaging learners through varying approaches.
Learning is meaningful.
There is no long-term retention of learning without personal significance to the learner. We remember experiences that are meaningful to us as individuals. Any learning that is not contextual and not received at the point of need loses its meaning and makes it harder to apply in the real world.
It is time to do away with the learning department and make the entire organization responsible for providing an engaging and collaborative environment in which the employees can learn and grow to their fullest potential. Organizations need to empower their learners to design their own learning experience and move away from a one-size-fits all approach.
