leading Innov

Instructions: Respond to the two posts below in 250-300 words.

Larry

Learning is the acquisition of knowledge or skills through experience, study, or by being taught, according to Merriam-webster. Andragogy, as defined by Malcolm S. Knowles (1984), is a theory based on the psychological definition of an adult, which states that people become adults psychologically when they arrive at a self-concept of being responsible for their own lives, of being self-directing. In my organization, I feel that educators relate more with the readiness to learn based on need. Speaking for myself, I can not engage my brain to learn things that are not beneficial to my craft or life. For example, my whole life, I have been scared of firearms. Scared to touch them and scared to be around them. The way the world is these days, as a father, being head of my household, I wanted to be able to protect my family if the situation arose. With that being so, I had to learn how to shoot and secure a firearm safely. My family's safety motivated me to step outside of my comfort zone and do something that I was afraid of. I guess you would call that fear. My fight or flight kicks in regarding protecting my loved ones. Being an educator, and working with educators, I see people pursue a higher level of education to put themselves in a position to earn more money. Personally, I came back to school to nail down my spot in my organization. 

Mary

1. Which of Knowles’s six characteristics of adult learners apply to the adults within your organization? Which of the characteristics most apply to you?

Adult learners learn best when applying material to real-life experiences. Organizations must create strategic learning programs to meet the need to develop new skills and competencies within their workforce (Fairbanks, 2021). Traits that apply to my organization include the need to know, learner experience, readiness to learn, and motivation to learn. My firm offers professional services as our product. This requires everyone to complete Continuing Professional Education (CPE) annually to keep their certifications. The people in my firm who show up to train are there because they want to be and need to be. They must stay current on regulations and compliance and need the CPE credits to retain their licensing and other credentials.

1. Consider your own learning preferences and reasons for learning. What motivates you? What emotional, cognitive, or behavioral situations help you to feel more engaged?

I am motivated by training that impacts my role and offers opportunities to grow professionally. I feel most engaged in group activities where we all solve problems and propose solutions to written and presented scenarios.

1. What are the differences between individual learning and organizational learning? 

The personal learning styles of each person in the organization drive individual learning. Everyone learns and retains information differently. Organizational learning is structural because it requires support from leadership and tailored programs that meet the needs of the individual learner by presenting information in various forms and accommodating the different learning styles across the workforce.

1. What is organizational learning? How does it differ from the learning organization?

Organizational learning exists to get organizations thinking about what and how they are doing what they do each day. It exists to assess current processes and tweak them to incorporate innovative suggestions and strategies that improve efficiencies and productivity. Learning organizations focus on developing new techniques and skills with individuals within the organization. Both learning concepts are essential in the modern-day work environment where technology, including artificial intelligence, is reshaping our work and the products we offer to our clients (CFI Team, 2022).  

References

CFI Team. (2022, October 11).  Adult Learning Theory. Corporate Finance Institute. https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/management/adult-learning-theory/

Fairbanks, B. (2021, August 24).  7 adult learning theories and principles to enhance your education. University of Phoenix. https://www.phoenix.edu/blog/adult-learning-theories-principles.html