Last week’s virtual symposium was informative. This was a fantastic opportunity to sit back and absorb all the useful information from industry experts. As someone who is relatively new to the field, this has been a life-changing week and I have learned so much already (and it’s only the first week!). I could write pages about this past week’s symposia but, there were a few sessions that I found particularly interesting.
SOARing into Educational Change with Appreciative Inquiry.
The session “SOARing into Education Change with Appreciative Inquiry”, drastically changed my viewpoint on how I evaluate key learning gaps among my franchisees in my current role. I found the appreciative inquiry framework to be rather eye-opening. Dr. Waddington goes on to explain that appreciative inquiry was developed in the 1980s by Dr. David Cooper, who wondered how things could change if we looked at what was working rather than what was broken (Royal Roads University, 2022). This statement alone provided an “a-ha” moment for me. I’ve always approached my franchisees with a S.W.O.T analysis. Providing a S.W.O.T analysis to a franchisee, in my opinion, has always resulted in a negative outcome. If I shift my lens to an appreciative inquiry using the S.O.A.R technique, I believe there will be a significant shift within the franchise network. Though I have not had the opportunity to put this to the test, I believe that the S.O.A.R approach would provide a wealth of insight and collaboration within the network by focusing on what is going well in their business and how to capitalize on those strengths to better our approach on how we revamp our online learning.
What is Online Learning Post-Pandemic?
This is an issue I’ve been thinking about a lot lately at work, as our company is re-evaluating our franchisee training. The difficulty I’m up against is a lack of knowledge and awareness about how training should be given within my organization. Most people in my company, for example, believe that the best way to transition to online learning is to transform our lengthy manuals into PowerPoint presentations and hope that our learners will utilize this as a self-guided learning path. As a result of this viewpoint, I’ve found myself at odds with superiors on occasion, even though I know this strategy is ineffective. Dr. Labonte goes on to say that it’s critical to concentrate on the course’s quality and instructional design (Royal Roads University, 2022). I am convinced that the quality and design of online learning contribute significantly to learner engagement. This is one of the reasons I chose to enrol in this programme with the hopes of being able to implement these changes at work.
Final Thoughts
I’ll admit that at the start of this program, I experienced a little bit of imposter syndrome. After finishing my first week and participating in the virtual symposium, my perspective has completely transformed. This week has proven that I am in the right place. I’m excited to see what the future has in store for me.
References:
Gedak, L., & Waddington, L. (2022, April 14). SOARing into Educational Change with Appreciative Inquiry [Video]. Zoom. https://bit.ly/LWLGMALATVS2022
Royal Roads University. (2022, April 3). What is Online Learning Post-Pandemic? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxazQ6a-WwQ