Learning and professional development

“It is the responsibility of the aid worker to become a good team-player and take the initiative to capture the new knowledge that is generated by his work, updating his knowledge profile in a way that it can be transmitted to peers and successors”

© ODI 2004, Faulkner & Foster, ALNAP, Managing Learning at the Field Level in the Humanitarian Sector

How this is achieved will depend on the:

• particular knowledge, skills, or behaviour you want to develop.
• level of knowledge, skill, or behaviour you already have.
• your preferred learning style.
• resources available (people, money, equipment, opportunity and time).

- formal structured training and learning in different sized groups

• Training courses / Workshops (short courses run internally or by others)
• Briefings  (short inputs on specific issues)
• Road shows (short sessions in many locations)
• Conferences  (large meeting for consultation or discussion)

- self-choosing groups where individuals learn from each other

• Discussion forum   (in-person or electronic forum to exchange ideas, post questions, offer answers, offer help on relevant subjects)
• Action learning sets   (regular meetings to explore solutions to real problems and decide action)
• Communities of practice  (informal network of like-minded individuals sharing expertise)

• target a wide audience
• builds skills / knowledge
• builds relationships and contacts
• two-way exchange of information

• the larger the numbers, the more general the content
• takes time to plan
• expensive to run

• real, live issues
• action based
• directly relevant
• can be easy to arrange
• useful for teams working on same site

• coordination
• continuity
• can need skilled facilitation
• seen as gimmicky
• lack of focus
• becomes a talking shop

- specific individual  learning opportunities

• Coaching / mentoring   (providing guidance, feedback and direction)
• Shadowing   (following and observing experienced person)
• Field visits   (visiting actual programme sites)
• Practical demonstrations
• Placements/secondments (temporary assignment in another organisation)

- individual actions the learning in their own time

Self study:

• books, reports, downloadable resources
• CDs , videos, DVDs, podcasts
• distance learning

Personal reflection:

• Observing and listening
• Learning logs (written record of learning)

• very specific
• on-going learning
• focused on needs of the individual
• practical learning

• resource intense
• time
• can pass on bad habits

• written materials give standardised messages
• can reach large audience
• individual responsibility and motivation for learning

• relies on individual motivation
• written messages can be too general or misinterpreted
• materials take time to produce