The Soft-skills Learning Triangle: A Learning Model for Supporting Online Management & Leadership Development

摘要

The purpose of this paper is to present the Soft-skills Learning Triangle (SLT) — a model created to help coaches, mentors, and educators understand how web-technologies can be used to support management learning and soft-skills development. SLT emerged as part of a larger action-learning research project - the NewMindsets Management Education Project - where an e-learning system was designed, built and piloted in a variety of organizations. Embedded in the model is a deep understanding of the unique attributes of the web and how the medium differs from other learning modalities and instructional media. It also highlights the challenges in creating learning experiences that go beyond simply delivering thoughts and ideas online to effectively provoking deep reflective learning. This is particularly relevant when the purpose is to stimulate peoples' ability to think for themselves or to apply what is being learned to their job situations - as is the case in most management skill development initiatives. Concrete advice, examples and practical insights on several important factors that need to be kept in mind when using the web to promote "performance learning" for innovation and continuous improvement, as opposed to "compliance learning" for conformity, are included.