Blog

by Sherry Engel

According to an ROI Institute study of Fortune 500 CEOs, 96 percent of executives want to see the business impact of learning; yet only 8 percent receive it now. Similarly, 74 percent of executives want to see ROI data, but only 4 percent have it now.

Ok…I’m going a bit out of order with my tips (this is actually Tip # 4 in my series), but I saw this fact and just had to share! In order to become a successful business partner (remember, that’s our goal!), we need to “speak the business speak” and we do that by talking in terms of business impact. A great new resource is hitting the presses on October 28th. Jack and Patti Phillips are releasing a new book titled "Measuring for Success: What CEOs Really Think About Learning Investments". According to the ROI Institute website, “This book shows what executives are requiring and requesting and in the future will be demanding. In simple, easy terms, the book shows how to provide what executives need.” 

Evaluation is not something that is just done at the end of a project. As you are analyzing the business, performance and learning needs, you should be planning and designing your evaluation strategy. Jack and Patti Phillip’s book titled “Beyond Learning Objectives” is another great resource for planning and evaluating at all levels from reaction, to learning, to performance to business impact to ROI. 

 Next week, we will go back and start at Tip # 1:  Know Your Client Inside and Out.

by Dawn Francis, Ed.D.

You may have noticed that  I’m presenting a paper in November at the 8^th International Transformative Learning Conference. You might be wondering: What exactly is transformative learning? How is it different from other types of learning? How can I use it to achieve business and performance results in my organization?

Let me answer these questions by, first, posing one to you.

Have you ever been presented with a situation that caused you to critically question your assumptions and expectations?

If so, you’ve experienced the first steps in the transformative learning process. There are 10 steps to transformation: 

1. Experiencing a disorienting dilemma
2. Engaging in self-examination
3. Assessing internalized assumptions; making assumptions more permeable
4. Relating to others; recognizing the problem is shared
5. Exploring options for new ways of being
6. Planning for action
7. Acquiring knowledge and skills to implement the action plan
8. Trying out new roles; assessing them
9. Building competence
10. Reintegrating into life with the new perspective

You’ll notice that knowledge and skill building are part of the transformative learning process. However, transformative learning is more than the acquisition of knowledge and skills. Transformative learning is about shifting mindsets, changing perspectives, and interpreting the world through a new lens.

Transformative learning was originated by Jack Mezirow in the late 1970s and has advanced as a theoretical framework in adult education over the past thirty years. To learn more about transformative learning, check out these books: Transformative dimensions of adult learning by Jack Mezirow, and “Learning to think like an adult: Core concepts of transformation theory” in Learning as transformation: Critical perspectives on a theory in progress.

So now that you know what transformative learning is, you’re probably wondering how it applies to learning in today’s organizations. I’ll be covering that in Part 2 of this series, “Applying Transformative Learning.”