Tag: adult education


You Need To Move The Finish Line For Your Learning Participants

We are sending the wrong message with the majority of our organization’s learning opportunities. Our programs often end with a certificate of completion, CEU credit or some type of recognition. It implies that the learner is done. The learner has arrived. That learners have completed all that is required of them. The Real Work The … [Read more…]

Conferences Are Providing Inferior Education Through Lectures

Conferences are providing inferior education if all they provide is didactic, presenter monologue lectures. Yes, that’s right. The speaker lecture is ineffective and inferior! If all your attendees do is sit and listen passively to speakers, you’re providing bad conference education! At least that’s what 2001 Physics Nobel Prize recipient, Stanford professor and former director … [Read more…]

15 Myths We Hold As Truths About Conference Education

We all believe in myths. Some of us don’t know that our own personal beliefs are actually based on fiction. Some of us hold on to our own personal experiences as supporting evidence of our beliefs. We don’t realize that our realities are often grounded in confirmation bias. We fail prey to the adage, “But … [Read more…]

What Will Associations Monetize In The Future?

Associations offer more than education opportunities. They provide industry research, membership, certification and standards, networking and advocacy. And all of these services have been monetized in order to provide additional services for their members. Yet, today, many of these services have become commoditized. Others produce these products, often at higher quality, with value-adds, at lower … [Read more…]

Kneebucklingly Sweet Idea Generation Tool: Brainwriting

Brainstorming is out! Brainwriting is in! Brainstorming Challenges Brainstorming is something most of us know and have used at some point in our lives. It’s a tool often used to create a list of spontaneous ideas contributed by a group. Alex Faickney Osborn popularized the tool in 1953. Osborn claimed that brainstorming was more effective … [Read more…]

Flipping Conference Education For Successful Learning

Sure, the “flipped classroom” is a buzzword and the trend right now. However, the concept of being learner-centric and providing active learning during the education session is not a trend! It’s here to stay because it works! Defining Flipped Education So what is the flipped conference education session? In short, the term is used to … [Read more…]

When Speakers Truly Care: From Spouting Witty Repartee To Transforming Lives

Our conferences and association education programming depend upon speakers as experts sharing their knowledge with the crowd. Yet, the education research is loud and clear that people talking at an audience does not necessarily lead to attendees’ learning. Actually, there’s more likelihood that you’ll win a multi-million dollar Powerball lottery than telling leads to learning. … [Read more…]

How To Choose Education Content That Leads to a Treasure of Learners

Pirates are treasure hunters that don’t always play by the rules. As an association education professional, you too can buck tradition by searching for hidden treasures of content and delivering them to your members. The Pirate Spirit Many of us have negative images of pirates as shipmates that pillage and rob other vessels. Some of … [Read more…]

Without People Your Conference Has No Knowledge

Who is more knowledgeable? The expert speaker or the room of conference attendees? In today’s rapidly changing world with knowledge at our fingertips, often the wisdom of the crowd outranks the insight of an expert speaker. Why? Because knowledge now lives in networks. The Web Facilitates Connections Hat Tips Cluetrain Manifesto The Internet has made … [Read more…]

Stop Trying To Offer Conference Content To Everyone

As a conference organizer, you want everyone to become a registrant, right? Male, female, young, old and everyone in between. So you try to attract as many people as possible with your programming. And you try to reach as many people as possible with your marketing. You are willing to take money from anyone willing … [Read more…]