Contents
Key takeaways
- The elearning journey mirrors scaling a mountain, requiring foundational skills, intermediate learning, advanced learning, application, and mastery.
- Foundational skills, or "soft skills", provide the necessary base for employees to progress to job-specific competencies.
- In the advanced stage, contextualised elearning is key, tailoring abstract concepts and theories to personalised, industry-specific real-life scenarios for enhanced job relevance.
Embarking on an elearning journey is akin to preparing for an expedition to scale Everest. It's a challenging endeavour, but much like the world's highest peak, it promises the adventure of a lifetime.
As learning and development (L&D) leaders, your task is to lead your teams through various stages of professional development and workplace learning, from the base camp of foundational skills to the lofty heights of mastery. Much like a mountain climb, each stage brings its obstacles and rewards. Successfully navigating the terrain requires determination, agility, and a well-thought-out plan. Read on for our guide to completing these five stages with aplomb, turning a formidable mountain of knowledge into an achievable ascent – and accomplishment.
Stage 1: Base camp – foundational skills
This is where you prepare for the journey. For elearning, this means establishing a robust base of foundational skills. These skills, often called "soft skills", include communication, teamwork, and problem-solving. They’re crucial for workplace training, as they provide the necessary tools for employees to progress to more job-specific competencies.
Stage 2: The foothills of intermediate learning – building on fundamentals
Having laid the groundwork at base camp, it’s time for your learners to tackle the gentle slopes of intermediate learning. This stage marks the progression from general knowledge to a more intricate understanding of the learner's chosen field. It's an exciting phase where learners start to grasp the unique nuances of their roles and industries.
In this phase, elearning is a great tool for facilitating this transition. An array of comprehensive digital resources, including webinars, video tutorials, and interactive quizzes, can help support the learning journey. These tools are essential for engaging learners and helping them connect new knowledge to their daily roles.
Stage 3: The rocky terrain of advanced learning
Now you’re venturing into more challenging terrain. This stage can present a steep learning curve. The goal is to add complexity and depth, focusing on specialised skills relevant to each learner's role and industry.
At this point, it's essential to introduce learners to contextualised learning. This approach to workplace training connects the dots between theory and practice, applying abstract, sometimes complex concepts and theories to real-life scenarios. By providing context, learners can understand how these new skills apply to their workplace environment, day-to-day tasks, and challenges within their roles.
Stage 4: Hands-on application in the alpine meadows
Persisting through the demanding rocky terrain, you arrive at the peaceful alpine meadows. This stage signifies a major shift from theoretical understanding to practical application – a critical juncture in the L&D process.
In this serene yet stimulating setting, learners can breathe life into the knowledge they've been acquiring. This is where learners synthesise their newfound knowledge and skills into tangible, real-world actions. Here, theory and practice intertwine, with each reinforcing the other, leading to deeper understanding and practical skills.
This stage fosters an environment for learners to creatively apply their learnings, experiment, and make mistakes. This hands-on experience is pivotal, as it transitions learning from a passive to an active process, setting the stage for learners to truly own their skills development.
Now, learners are not just recipients of knowledge but active participants shaping their learning journey.
Stage 5: The summit! Mastery and expertise!
At last, it’s time to stand triumphant at the pinnacle: mastery and expertise. Here, learners bask in the glory of comprehensive understanding and proven application of the nuances of their field. Having traversed the multifaceted terrain of their learning journey, they are now adept at wielding their knowledge and stand as a testament to the powerful culmination of an immersive elearning expedition.
The sky’s the limit!
Embarking on a journey of structured elearning presents a thrilling ascent, enabling L&D leaders to chart their teams' transformative progression. The summit of mastery is indeed within reach.
And with Kineo, the sky truly is the limit. Explore more in our course library to see how we can equip you for this monumental but oh-so-satisfying climb: https://www.kineocourses.com.au/course-library
