I’m sure you’ve seen the news regarding the new COVID variant called Omicron.
Our hopes is this variant is just a scare and not the cause for more disruptions.
If your team teaches at a school, business or are part of a team that leads professional learning, training or staff development, Omicron is a reminder of 3 important things.
Reminder #1: Make learning sticks to be your team’s focus.
COVID forced a lot of teaching and learning to go online. And today, there’s more information being “delivered” than ever before and more ways to “deliver” that information.
If your school, business, or organisation is only “delivering” information, you can easily be replaced by the latest App, a competitor, or an internet search.
But, if you know how to make learning stick, even during times of disruption, you’re able to do something that many cannot: Get outcomes.
Your content or workshops might change. Your teachers and presenters might come and go.
What doesn’t change is your need to get outcomes. That’s why knowing how to make learning stick is essential.
It might be the most important thing you and your team know how to do.
Reminder #2: Make learning stick for everyone
I’m guessing you and your team want to make a big impact, even during times of disruption.
In fact, I’m guessing you want learning to stick for everyone, not just a few people.
If so, it’s important that you (and I) know what everyone means.
Our students, participants and learners come from different races, genders, language backgrounds. They have different sexual orientations, ages, nationalities and more.
If we want to make learning stick, it must be for everyone.
Their identities matter and their identities impact the ways we work to make learning stick.
During this COVID/Omicron period (and beyond), it’s a reminder that your teaching, presenting and professional learning work needs to stick for everyone.
The world might keep changing, ensuring that you’re teaching and learning practices affirm diversity and support inclusion never changes.
Reminder #3: It must stick for everyone, no matter what
During this COVID/ Omicron period (and beyond) we all need to be able to make learning stick for everyone, no matter what.
This means your team needs an embedded practice that can be used in all learning environments quickly and easily.
That means if tomorrow your team must run their programs online, they have an approach they can bring from their face-to-face teaching and learning efforts to an online environment.
My hope is that this Omicron variant will have little impact on our work and our world. But it’s also a reminder that during a time of disruption and uncertainty, that your team’s ability:
- To make learning stick
- For everyone
- No matter what
Is more important than ever.
Onwards!
Dr. William DeJean
