This week I came across a Stephen Hawking quote that reminded me of one of the root problems facing America today, “Asked if he believed he was the most intelligent person in the world, he gave a sharp response, ‘I would never claim this. People who boast about their IQ are losers.’” As corollary, I’m also troubled by those people who must brandish a PhD degree as if they were wearing a...
“In the years since the Great Recession, the American economy has struggled to regain its economic pace, and more policymakers are turning to education to help meet the high demands of a skilled and educated workforce. According to the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce, by 2020, 65 percent of all American jobs will require some form of post-secondary degree or credential, but the current rate at which colleges and universities...
Without something resembling a liberal arts education, combined with an extensive vocabulary, in-depth thinking becomes restricted. Without the skills training one receives in high school and college, as well as from corporate training departments, the ability to excel in one’s chosen career becomes limited. In terms of the former, most individuals are on their own as a liberal arts education becomes more and more de-emphasized. No worry, however, for those motivated individuals...
As The Wall Street Journal reported last Fall, “Amid anxiety about the disappearance of factory jobs, thousands of them are going unfilled across the U.S. The number of open manufacturing jobs has been rising since 2009, and this year stands at the highest level in 15 years, according to Labor Department data.” In a most interesting article by Max Nisen, “The Growing Skills Gap, Explained In Three Charts,” published in BUSINESS INSIDER...
Unfortunately, for many of our young people today, “success” is seen as equatable with annual income — and the resulting inference has become, “the more you earn, the more ‘successful’ you are.” Combined with a greater and greater emphasis on hiring only those individuals who have a college degree, attitudes are changing — and, not for the better. There is no correlation between “smart” and “great grades.” There is no correlation between...
As a followup to last weeks blog, “Improving Instructional Design,” here are some additional thoughts. Jane Bozarth writing in “Learning Solutions Magazine” quotes Étienne Charles Wenger (best known today for his work in the field of communities of practice): “Instruction does not cause learning; it creates a context in which learning takes place, as do other contexts. Learning and teaching are not inherently linked. Much learning takes place without teaching, and indeed...
“We think with words.” (A. G. Draper) In article by E. D. Hirsch, Jr. in the City-Journal, “A Wealth of Words,” expands on that theme: . . . vocabulary size is a convenient proxy for a whole range of educational attainments and abilities—not just skill in reading, writing, listening, and speaking but also general knowledge of science, history, and the arts. If we want to reduce economic inequality in America, a good...
When one hears the term, “instructional designer,” what do we normally think? Someone well versed in creating effective instruction for a specific set of students or workers? And, what does one think about the connection between a higher education degree and an instructional designer? Higher education has a place in preparing our next generation of trainers and instructional designers. Theoretical understanding is important. However, far too often, our colleges spend too much...
Each of you has found moments in life where you have felt it desirable to become a leader in some situation. Each of you has, also, discovered in your professional lives that titles do not necessarily equate with leadership — in fact, they seldom do. Titles are an indication of power and, in order to keep receiving a paycheck, we generally do what those with higher titles ask of us. But, what...
“When you’re finished changing, you’re finished.” (Ben Franklin) “The greatest obstacle to necessary change is a reluctance to modify or abandon procedures that have become familiar and comforting. But a flexible, agile organization has no choice but to change in the face of reality.” (‘Outgrowing the Old’ by Laura Stack, TLNT, The Business of HR) So, what force separates the organizational winners from the losers? Since the beginning of time, it has been...
Today, with the help of e-Learning authoring programs, most custom courseware production is done in-house. In terms of the structural needs required, that solution works fairly well. However, the video and animated graphics required may cause you to look out-of-house for a solution if, for no other reason, your target audience expects professional visual components in the training they are asked to take. What should you look for in such a custom...
Forty ago today — February 7, 1977 — ITC began business in the Rockville, Maryland home of one of its founders. William J. Schmidt, Gerald H. Kaiz and I were the founders. All three of us had pioneered industrial skills training videos at NUS Corporation before choosing to go out on our own. ITC grew rapidly. Four times we made the “INC. 500” and by 1990 ITC was traded on NASDAQ...
It is beyond amazing to me that the nominee for Secretary of Education, Ms. Betsy DeVos, was ever nominated for that post. DeVos has long been an advocate for funneling money away from public schools and toward private educational options, including for-profit and Christian-based schools. In short, she is not a big fan of public school education. Times are a’changing, I guess. When I was a young man everyone I knew was respectful of our...
“Yesterday was a tough day for Betsy DeVos, President-elect Trump’s nominee for education secretary. There were many notable moments during her contentious Senate confirmation hearing, but one exchange was particularly shocking. When asked by Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) how she preferred to measure student progress—by using either proficiency or growth standards she had no answer. It’s one of the most basic issues related to education policy and she clearly didn’t understand the...