session overview

Thursday 26th January 2012

14:00 - 15:00 Track 4 Session 4

Learning beyond knowledge transfer

A great deal of the learning design we see focuses on putting information across - and sometimes that's important. This session is different. It's not about giving people the right answer. It's about changing the way people think and act by putting them in positions where often there is no right answer. In one case, personnel throughout an organisation have been inspired to act in a sustainable way thanks to a carefully planned e-learning programme. In the other we share ways in which managers can be taught how to improve their decision making through the use of simulations.

P1: Learning for behavioural change

Jonathan Garrett, Group Head of Sustainability, Balfour Beatty

Many training programmes convey information. Some teach skills. Few aim to inspire. This group wide learning programme, carried out at Balfour Beatty, changed hearts and minds. The aim: persuade over 50,000 learners across several countries, speaking a range of languages, and from every conceivable background, to behave in a more sustainable way both at work and at home. Was it successful? Over 28,000 voluntary commitments to more sustainable behaviour have been lodged and in one year the company has risen 15 places in the Sunday Times Best Green Companies survey.

How ambiguity and choice demands thinking and engagement
Why behavioural change demands more than just a course
How localised messages and context are crucial
Why it is important to ask for commitment
Bringing large issues down to individual choices

P2: Learning through decision making in a risk free environment

Guy Giffin, Associate, The Major Projects Association

Traditional knowledge-transfer e-learning works well for procedural learning, and for conveying information. However, it is not so effective for what managers spend most of their time doing – making judgement calls involving numerous variables and where there aren’t normally any ‘right answers’. The result is that most managers learn from their mistakes, which can be costly. The alternative is to provide dynamic simulations that enable learners to face life-like decision-making challenges without the risk.