MixtMode Learning

Glad you asked! Our courses are built on the understanding that learners learn by taking a new idea and connecting it to things they already know. We use a variety of learning tools that help you make sense of things and apply your new understanding to your own work reality.

We also recognize that there is a range of learners participating in our courses. You may be working directly with clients, or you may be overseeing projects or a team. You may be just beginning your work as a practitioner, or you may have years of experience. Wherever you’re at, whatever your work is, our aim is to provide you with opportunities to make the content relevant to your own circumstance. The variety of learning components we intentionally offer in each course will hopefully support and enrich your learning experience.

These are similar concepts.

Self-directed learning means that you make the decisions and create a strategy for how to learn best. We offer you content and application opportunities wrapped in a constructivist learning pedagogy, and you choose how much you interact and respond to this.

Self-paced learning means that you determine when learning happens in your schedule, how much time you want to spend learning and applying each concept, and how fast or slow you move through the course.

Here are key factors to consider:

• Go through the content at your own pace.
• Set specific and undisturbed time aside for learning that fits your schedule – this could be 10 minutes at a time or maybe a whole hour in one go.
• Experience the course with the depth that you want and need right now. You have unlimited access to the course for a year, so don’t feel pressured to absorb it all at once.

We love to hear this question! Here are three suggested approaches that you can take to be more intentional about your learning:

• Explore: this is a good way to get familiar with new ideas and perspectives. Ways to explore: review the content, take notes of new and interesting ideas, ask your peers for help when in doubt, and complete the reflection and application prompts and/or course workbook.
• Confirm: good for when you’re familiar with the course ideas but want to validate your knowledge and check assumptions. Ways to confirm: explain what you are learning to someone else, discuss ideas with your peers for insights, and test new ideas in your practice to see if they work for you.
• Stretch: take this approach when you have a solid understanding of the ideas and want to find ways to put them into practice. Ways to stretch: dive deeper into the recommended resources, look up and read related academic articles, participate in conferences, reach out to experts in the field, and implement pilot projects in your work.

Here are some ways:

• If you have a question about the concepts you’re trying to learn about, post it in the course discussion community. It’s likely that someone else is wondering the same thing you are, and you may initiate a very fruitful conversation.
• If you have a technical support question, please check the Troubleshooting & Tech Support section below.
• If you have a private question, you can email us at [email protected]

Short answer: totally up to you!

Long answer: each course indicates in its description the average time it takes. It’s usually between 30 minutes to 2 hours. However, the benefit of a self-paced format is that you can manage your own time. If you want to spend more time revisiting a concept, digging deeper into the resources provided, or engaging in discussions, you are more than welcome to do so.

One of the keys to learning online is self-discipline. Because you are not required to be in a training session at a specific time, you have to craft time and be motivated to learn on your own. If you block a specific time in your schedule that you will dedicate to your learning, it will be easier to commit.

Though our stand-alone courses are bite-sized, meaning you can take an entire course in one go, you do not have to. We encourage you to take your time and stop to reflect, apply, and process the content as much as you need to.

Course discussions are an opportunity for peer-to-peer (P2P) learning. We believe they are an excellent opportunity to interact with your peers in the career development sector and learn from others’ perspectives. Learners are prompted to share insights, strategies, and experiences which is a powerful way to deepen their understanding of the course content.

We hear you. Engaging in discussions is an optional (but highly recommended) part of your learning. Some of us shy away from interacting in an online group discussion, especially if we’re new to it. Your participation could be a short description of a unique client experience. Or showing appreciation for someone else’s post. Or simply asking a question.

Here are some of the ways you can enrich course discussions:

• Post your answer or point of view to the course's group discussion question
• Ask a question. It’s likely that someone else is wondering the same thing you are, and you may initiate a very fruitful conversation
• Like other people's posts when they resonate with your thinking
• Comment on other people's posts when you want to contribute to the conversation or want to clarify something