Learning and Development – The Practical Science of Building Skills in Ourselves and Others

Catalog description

How do people purposefully improve their personal and professional behavior as adults? For example, how do they take ideas from a classroom (or a corporate training, or a weekend retreat) and into their lives in a way that makes a real difference? What factors promote or inhibit the success of these efforts? These are fundamental questions for most people at some point in their lives. They are especially important questions for adults as they move beyond formal educational systems and take more responsibility for their own development. These are also vital questions for leaders in organizations working to promote the development of their colleagues and teams. What can be done to help those we work with maximize their potential? In this course we draw on a variety of fields – from developmental and social psychology to behavioral economics and professional sports – to muster resources for those cultivating their own growth as well as the growth of those they work with. As a major component of the course, participants construct, undertake and evaluate a 30-day pilot project for improving some behavior in their own life. This course is designed to be downstream of any other course teaching soft skills. The course is a vehicle for deepening a student’s practice of anything they have learned from another course – in leadership, decision-making, influence, etc. – and want to improve. In the process we aim for students to learn the science and practice of skill building they can use the rest of their lives.