Learning: it is probably one of the most misunderstood and misapplied concepts today. Many of us assume learning results from attending a class. We believe that our brains are like sponges that just absorb whatever it hears or sees. We presume that learning is a byproduct of listening to a lecture. We’ve even given names … [Read more…]
The demands of our 21st Century conference participants mandate that we change our traditional event experience. Today’s workforce requires that our participants interact, think and work in collaborative ways. Yet our conferences persistently promote expert-directed, one-way passive monologues and panel dialogues. Our conferences continue to resemble the routines of the 19th and 20th century school. … [Read more…]
Most conference organizers are not even aware of the mental models that drive their decisions—especially when it comes to conference education. Rarely do we openly examine or actively process our mental models. We just act. So those beliefs continue to govern our thoughts and decisions, without our awareness or knowledge. As a conference organizer, your … [Read more…]
The empirical research on how we learn and remember shows that… …Most of what we know as truth about learning is nothing more than wasted effort! The learning opportunities that we offer to our customers and members are based on outdated theory, lore, past experiences and gut instincts. And the empirical evidence says much of … [Read more…]
Those born on or after 1962 have witnessed three major culture shifts. These shifts set them apart from older generations. It also creates new challenges for those trying to create conference experiences for multiple generations. Everyone’s expectations are different. Three Major Society Shifts Since 1962 Conference organizers need to acknowledge that the needs of their … [Read more…]
To paraphrase cognitive scientist and author Cathy Davidson: Our nonprofit institutions, for the most part trade and professional associations as well as professional societies, are acting as if the world has not suddenly, irrevocably, cataclysmically, epistemically changed. Learning Is Changing Learning is changing. Anyone. Any time. Anywhere. By the end of 2011, 2 billion people … [Read more…]
Meeting professionals are long overdue to retire learning style myths in favor of evidenced-based education. (So are ASAE and the Convention Industry Council-CIC-which promotes unscientific learning styles in the CMP Handbook!) It’s time for conference organizers to bridge the gap between learning research and practice. It’s time to bring the research into the conference planning for … [Read more…]
80 percent of what we learn comes from informal learning.* Ironically, 60% to 80% of a conference attendee’s time is spent in formal learning, passively listening to a presenter. Unfortunately, 14 days later we only recall 20% of what we hear in those presentations. (John Medina, Brain Rules; E. Dale, Audio-Visual Methods in Teaching). 30 … [Read more…]
