Learning Portfolios Presentation Now on the Forms Page

I created a brief presentation to go over the process of the Learning Portfolio creation and approval.  You might want to view this before you download the Learning Portfolio forms and instructions.  As always, direct any questions to SD&T.

Lisa

Learning Portfolio Form

 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1X9pbM4AlJujmqDPIAonLVygEIez1UCnS/edit#heading=h.gjdgxs

Questions Employees Should Ask Their Managers About Their Development

Think about where you would like to be, professionally, in the next few years.  Do you have the skills/abilities needed?  You should begin to increase your skills now, so that when new opportunities come along you will be ready.  An importat step in this process is having regular conversations with your manager.  Part of her/his responsibility as managers is to to assist staff members with their professional development.  Here are ideas and phrases to get the conversation started:

In the future, I would like to move into (department.position).  What are the skills I would need to make this change?

I'd like to strengthen my skills in(area/subject), how can I get more training in these areas?

I think I could learn from (person). Is there a way I could shadow/work with her/him for a time?

I'd like to gain more experience with (topic/technique/skill).  What types of trainings are available?

I really enjoy (task) and would like to exapand my responsibilities to include (new task). What skills do I need to take on this new task?

In my current position, I don't have a chance to use my (your ability). Are there other tasks in the department/branch/office that I could do that would let me show my abilities?

I found these classes/webinars in (area).  Can I participate in these trainings to strengthen my abilities in (skill)?  

You need to be involved in your own development, and see opportunities to improve your skills.  You can also contact SD&T with questions about opportunities and classes.

Questions Managers Should Ask Employees About Their Development

Managers, it is important to have regular conversations with your employees about their development.  All staff, not just librarians and LAs, should be working on their skills and abilities.   Here are some questions you can use to start these discussions:

What are one or two areas where your abilities/skills could be stronger?  How can we improve your performance in these areas?

What new skills would you like to learn?  Why did you select these skills?  What types of trainings are available for this skill?

What are your strongest skills/abilities?  How have you gotten to this point?  Could you share your abilities and teach other staff to be stronger in this area?

What new challenges/duties would you like to add to your job?  Why are you interested in these?

Are there positions at the library that you find attractive?  Can you connect your job to that job directly?  If not, what do you need to learn, and what type of experience do you need to add to your resume?

Where would you like to be, professionally, in the next few years?  What skills do you need to acquire or improve to meet this goal?

It is important that you and the employee are both invested in his/her development.  Help your employees strengthen their skills and increase their productivity.

5 Tips for Managing Emotions

If you are having trouble dealing with a situation at work, step back and give your brain time to work on the problem.

     Identify the cause of the problem (what is the real issue?)

     Take 3 deep breaths and/or count to 10 (or 20 or 30)

     Use your words to say how you feel (talk through the issues)

     Ask for help to solve the problem
      (share the responsibility and get a fresh viewpoint)

     Take time to calm down (walk away if necessary)


If you have  difficulty with a customer, ask for help from a colleague.

Remember:  it is never okay to take out your feelings on others (assistants, friends).

If you have on-going issues, seek help from your manager, HR, or your division chief.

You can also contact EAP for some outside help.

Core 4 -- A Conference in the Crescent City

Beignets, beads, Bourbon Street debauchery, and...breakthrough learning.  Ok, so I didn’t actually feel the need to hit up Bourbon St., having done that in my more tender undergraduate years, and sadly, I didn’t make it to Cafe du Monde to partake of their famous flaky french doughnuts, but I did learn about breakthrough learning techniques and other concepts related to instructional design and training facilitation during the 2 1/2 days I spent at the ATD Core 4 Conference in New Orleans, LA.   

    

The conference is designed for HR professionals, curriculum designers, corporate trainers, nonprofit facilitators, teachers -- really anyone who has anything to do with professional development in any type of organization.  As a SLRC Librarian I deliver a variety of face-to-face and virtual trainings, and I attended ATD with the goal of absorbing new ideas.

So, what did I learn?

• It takes A LOT of time simply to design effective training.  According to research by Brian Chapman,  it takes anywhere between 22 and 82 hours to create 1 hour of instructor-led classroom learning.  Developing 1 hour of basic e-learning from scratch takes an average of 49 hours.    

• Avoiding “death by powerpoint” is a must, and visual design play a huge role.    Playing with font styles, shapes, and types of imagery creates appealing slides, and as Connie Malamed pointed out in her session on “Crash Course on Visual Design,” aesthetic appeal actually leads to greater learning.

• Learning styles are a big lie.  Ok, not totally but several presenters referred to recent research that suggests it’s less important to focus on individual learning styles and more meaningful to provide variety in your training because most people learn best by using a combination of visual, auditory, and kinesthetic techniques.  While we’re on the topic of theory, having a grasp of adult learning theory is super important.  When designing training,  adults often want to know WIIFM (What’s In It For Me), or how this is going to immediately and practically impact them.  Also, they often appreciate opportunities to share their life experiences during learning events as well as relate newly acquired knowledge and skills to previous knowledge.    

• Action mapping is a useful instructional design strategy that helps  trainers avoid the all too common “information dump” presentation.  The 4 step method involves 1.) identifying the goal, 2.) identifying what actions (not necessarily knowledge) people need to do to accomplish the goal,  3.) designing practice activities, and 4.) identifying the minimum information people need to complete each activity.   Maybe it’s not totally practical in all library learning contexts but if you’re like me, you’ll try anything to keep your participants from snapchatting and playing Angry Birds during your trainings.   

• Games are a great learning tool to integrate into training and instruction.  No, wait games are distracting and bad. Ok, so both things can be true.   Games are ok if they facilitate successful learning outcomes (I played a friendly competitive game of Jeopardy to find out how much technical lingo I already knew about e-learning), but don’t throw them in with no strategy and call it “engagement.”  Then it just becomes what presenter termed “clicky clicky bling bling,” just for looks.      

• The New World Kirkpatrick Model  used for training evaluation is super useful and super hard to implement.   Measuring level 1 (learners’ reaction to training) and level 2 (if and how much learners’ actually learn during training) is totally doable, but it becomes much harder when we try and measure how training changes behavior (Level 3) and how it influences outcomes (Level 4). Oh,  the ever present challenge of assessment.   No magic answers here, but some good food for thought.  

Speaking of food,  I did sneak out of the hotel one day between sessions to enjoy a classic muffaletta from the world-famous Central Grocery and a view of the muddy Mississippi.   It was yet another breakthrough learning experience, I promise.  

Emily Sachs

Information Services

Learning Portfolios

A Learning Portfolio is a self-directed, independent study of a subject that is relevant to the staff member’s job requirements and/or duties.  The topic of the portfolio is selected by the staff member, in consultation with her/his supervisor, and completed within a set time frame.  The portfolios are an excellent way for staff to acquire knowledge of subjects where there is no formal course or ready made instruction available for the person to learn/acquire knowledge on that subject.  Portfolios are also a great way for staff to study subjects that are relevant to their specific duties or needs, or on topics which might not be of interested to the staff as a whole.

The Learning Portfolio Instructions document provides the information needed to complete a Learning Portfolio.  There are two parts to the process, and signatures from the supervisor and staff development coordinator are required for both.  Part 1 is a planning process.  Part 2 is a completion process that includes an Activities and Resources Log. This study must be approved by the staff member’s supervisor and the staff development coordinator of their library system

Although multiple Learning Portfolios may be completed during the 5 year period, a maximum of 40 total hours can be used, with a minimum of 1 hour and a maximum of 20 hours on any single Learning Portfolio.

Completed portfolios will be posted on the staff development coordinators wiki site, and will accessible by staff statewide.

The Process: 

• Staff member decides on a topic and schedules a brief meeting with immediate supervisor to determine if topic is appropriate and relevant to the staff member’s responsibilities or areas of interest.
• If topic is approved by supervisor, the staff member then completes the Learning Portfolio Plan, following the instructions on form.  The staff member then meets with the supervisor to review the information and receive feedback from the supervisor.  Once the staff member and supervisor agree on the project, the supervisor signs the form and then forwards the paperwork to the Staff Development and Training Coordinator. 
• The SD&T Coordinator reviews the Portfolio Plan, and (if necessary) contacts the staff member with questions or suggestions.  If revision is required, the forms will be returned to the staff member and then re-submitted to SD&T.  If revision is not required, the SD&T Coordinator will sign the form and send the original back to the staff member.  A copy of the paperwork will be retained in the SD&T files.
• Staff member begins and completes the project according to the approved timeline.
• Staff member meets with the supervisor to review completed project, and supervisor signs the completion form. The staff member then creates the “Official Record of Continuing Education Activity” form (CEU).
• The signed form and supporting documents are sent to the SD&T Coordinator for approval.  If the Coordinator has questions or concerns about the project, a meeting may be scheduled with the staff member and/or supervisor.  The Coordinator signs the completion form and returns the signed original to the staff member.  A copy of the paperwork will be retained in the SD&T files.
• The staff member will include the title of the activity on the appropriate “Full Record of Earned Continuing Education Units” form as part of the re-certification paperwork.

Librarians and library associates in Maryland can chose to create a Learning Portfolio as an additional means of earning contact hours to meet their continuing education requirements.  

Why is Professional Development Important for Librarians and Library Associates?

The continuing education requirement for public librarians and library associates in the state of Maryland is part of the Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR) under Title 13A.05.04.02, and is the process is the responsibility of the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE).  Certification is required not only for employment as a librarian/library associate in Maryland, but also for participation in the retirement system.

So this tells us the technical “why,” but not the actual “why” of library professional development.  Often, staff are so focused on the numbers (hours, due dates) that they forget why the requirement is there in the first place.  Professional development and continuing education are crucial to improving library related skills and to the development of the staff member as a professional:  

Education for the contemporary professional no longer ends with diploma, if it ever did. It has been recognized that continuing education strengthens not only knowledge and skills necessary for competent performance but also values and attitudes necessary for the service orientation of a profession.[1]

The ever-changing role of the library requires that the staff also be ever-changing, and ever-improving.  Some estimates show that human knowledge is doubling every 13 months[2], and between 600,000 and 1,000,000 books published every year in the US[3].  The need to learn new technologies, stay relevant, and restructure services based on the needs of our customers requires ongoing professional development. 

Instead of fixating on the number of hours needed, librarians and library associates should focus on gaining knowledge, updating skills, remaining “abreast of trends and developments in the field”[4], and improving both technical and inter-personal skills.  By recognizing that training and development is a “crucial element in ensuring positive user experiences within libraries,”[5]  staff can explore learning as a means of becoming better professionals.  We don’t take classes to get hours; we get hours to remind us that we need to take classes!  

Of course, we have the yearly Full Record reports and SD&T staff to help ensure that you stay on track with your hours, but if our librarians and library associates are constantly improving skills and pursuing educational opportunities, then the 90 hour requirement should take care of itself. 

---

[1] Hurych, J. quoted in http://conference.ifla.org/past-wlic/2011/200-cooke-en.pdf

[2] Schilling, David Russell http://www.industrytap.com/knowledge-doubling-every-12-months-soon-to-be-every-12-hours/

[3] Morgan, Nick.  http://www.forbes.com/sites/nickmorgan/2013/01/08/thinking-of-self-publishing-your-book-in-2013-heres-what-you-need-to-know/

[4] Cooke, Nicole A. http://conference.ifla.org/past-wlic/2011/200-cooke-en.pdf

[5] Lockhart, Janine and Sulaiman Majal http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1134&context=iatul

MLA/DLA 2016 Conference Notes - Unleashing Staff Potential

I attended a program at MLA called “Unleashing Staff Potential” which was presented by Beth Roszkowski and Megan Hunt, from George Mason University.  The presenters created a program where staff members dedicate 1 hour per week to a training that is related to their interests or their job. 

Staff members chose their own training and meet with their supervisors each week for 15 minutes to discuss what they did in the previous week and what they want to do in the next week.  The training was built into their schedules to ensure that it was done, and done while they were at work.  The employees were responsible for identifying trainings that interest them and supervisors also made recommendations.

Their staff is obviously significantly smaller than ours, and this wouldn’t work as a mandatory program right now, but I thought could be a useful model for our staff.

If each of our librarians and library associates did 1 hour of training every other week, or 2 hours per month, then they could easily make their re-certification goal without having to attend day long trainings or leave their locations.  This would be particularly useful in departments that may be understaffed or in smaller braches where staff have difficulty attending classes.  If the librarians and LAs did an hour every week (allowing for vacations and holidays) they could meet the re-certification goal in under 2 years.

Likewise, staff interested in increasing their skills or moving into higher positions could use this model to learn skills that would make them better candidates when these positions become available.  Managers who are interested in developing the skills of their employees might also want to think about this model when creating performance plans.

Just something to think about, and it would be an easy way to get training and explore your interests.

Lisa R. Kenyon

SD&T

Personalization and Learning

Personalization and Learning

Learning 2014

October 2014

There was a lot of discussion about personalization and learning at the conference.  One important idea was that personalization does NOT mean letting people learn anything they want, because there are things that people need to know to do their jobs.  How they learn and the way they learn can be flexible. 

TV/Music/Movies on demand are examples of personalization, so how can we transfer this to the job?  The questions to ask are “what do I need to know now?” and “is it something I can just look up when needed or do I need to ‘know’ it?”  Personalized learning requires an appropriate level of challenge to actively engage the learner and make her/him want to learn more and/or go further.

“We sacrifice more than we know if we try to force conformity.”  Sir Ken Robinson

Lisa R. Kenyon

Staff Development and Training