Implementing Diverse Learning Methodologies Propel SME Success in South Africa

Enhancing SME Success: Diverse Learning Methodologies in South Africa

Discover how diverse learning approaches are driving success for SMEs in South Africa. Explore innovative methods transforming business outcomes and fostering growth in a competitive market.

Enhance your business learning initiatives by incorporating diverse methodologies that cater to various learning styles. Discover effective ways to facilitate engagement through interactive and participatory approaches, ensuring knowledge retention and practical application.



Unlocking Growth: Why SMEs Must Embrace Diverse Learning Methodologies

Investing in diverse learning methodologies is pivotal for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to thrive. By understanding and implementing various educational approaches, SMEs can foster a culture of continuous learning among employees, enhance skill development, and adapt to evolving industry demands. From hands-on workshops to online courses and mentorship programs, embracing a variety of learning methods empowers SMEs to stay competitive in today's dynamic business landscape. Discover how embracing diverse learning methodologies can drive innovation, improve employee performance, and fuel the growth of your SME.

Learning Facilitation Considerations


Facilitate learning using a variety of given methodologies

Learning and Development Image

Written by: Malose Makgeta

MBA with 20+ years experience in SME development and material. LinkedIn Profile

Learning Facilitation - Entrepreneurship Lessons from Movies The Founder, War Dogs and Moneyball


CONTEXT

Learning and development (L&D) is a function within an organisation that is in charge of empowering employees growth as well as developing their knowledge, skills, and capabilities in order to drive better business performance. The term learning and development refers to any professional development provided by a business to its employees. This skills programme provides a platform and tools for entrepreneurs and business managers to conduct skills audits, identify skill gaps, and develop fundable training plans.

Description

The module about providing educators with group facilitation skills for use in experientially-based training workshops in a variety of focus areas.

Purpose

Be able to create a learning environment that allows the team to learn and improve performance.

Rational

Formal recognition will enhance their employability and also provide a means to identify competent learning facilitators.

Key Lessons

Facilitate Learning Using a Variety of Given Methodologies

Facilitating learning using a variety of methodologies is crucial for engaging and meeting the diverse needs of students. Here are some methodologies commonly used in education:

By employing a variety of methodologies, educators can cater to different learning styles, enhance student engagement, and facilitate a deeper understanding of the subject matter.

Aligning Passion and Skills: Lessons from McDonald's

Picture this: a small but fervent idea born in the minds of Ray Kroc and the McDonald brothers. Little did they know, the vulnerability in the initial stages of building the franchise empire would become a cornerstone of their eventual success. In the early days, their dreams were not as golden as the famous arches. But within that vulnerability lay the seeds of resilience and adaptability—qualities we'll delve into as we explore the methodologies they employed to create a global phenomenon.

In the heart of the McDonald's story lies a narrative that speaks to entrepreneurs from all walks of life. The journey involves characters who faced challenges and triumphs in setting up a franchise model. As the McDonald brothers transformed their local eatery into a global brand, they exemplified the collective journey that every entrepreneur embarks on when diving into the world of franchising. This story is not just about them; it's about all of us navigating the twists and turns of entrepreneurship.

The journey of turning a local eatery into a global franchise behemoth wasn't without its hurdles. Ray Kroc, faced with the challenge of scaling, pioneered the franchise model. A practical lesson from their story is the importance of developing systems and processes that can be replicated. Through standardisation, they maintained consistency across franchises while allowing room for local adaptations. It's a delicate balance that aspiring entrepreneurs can learn from, emphasising the need for adaptable frameworks in the face of challenges.

What set the McDonald's founders apart was their passion for efficiency and a deep understanding of the food industry. Ray Kroc's realisation that the franchise model aligned with his skills as a businessman and his passion for streamlined processes was pivotal. The golden nugget here is the alignment of personal passion and skills with the venture. It's a principle that echoes in the success of any entrepreneurial journey—finding that sweet spot where what you love intersects with what you excel at.

Now, let's add a dash of humor to the business recipe. Imagine the McDonald's founders grappling with the challenges of creating the perfect French fry or designing the most efficient drive-thru system. Behind the serious decisions and business strategies, there were surely lighthearted moments. Humor serves as a vital ingredient in entrepreneurship, acting as a release valve for stress and fostering a positive work environment. So, in the spirit of the golden arches, let's not forget to share a laugh along this entrepreneurial journey.

How to Facilitate Outcome Based Learning

To facilitate outcome-based learning, consider the following steps:

  1. Identify desired outcomes: Clearly define the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities that students should acquire by the end of the learning experience.
  2. Align assessments: Design assessments that directly measure the achievement of the desired outcomes. Ensure that the assessment criteria are clear, measurable, and aligned with the stated outcomes.
  3. Design learning activities: Develop engaging and relevant learning activities that provide opportunities for students to practice and apply their knowledge and skills in order to achieve the desired outcomes.
  4. Provide guidance and support: Offer guidance and support to students throughout the learning process. Provide resources, feedback, and assistance to help them progress towards the desired outcomes.
  5. Promote reflection and self-assessment: Encourage students to reflect on their learning journey, assess their own progress, and identify areas for improvement. Help them develop metacognitive skills to become self-directed learners.
  6. Evaluate and adjust: Continuously assess the effectiveness of the learning experience and make necessary adjustments based on feedback, student performance, and emerging needs.
  7. Celebrate achievements: Recognise and celebrate student achievements as they successfully demonstrate the desired outcomes. This can motivate students and reinforce their learning.

By following these steps, educators can effectively facilitate outcome-based learning and support students in achieving the desired learning outcomes.

When to Facilitate Outcone Based Learning at Workplace

Outcome-based learning can be facilitated in the workplace in various situations:

By incorporating outcome-based learning in the workplace, organisations can enhance employee performance, foster professional development, and achieve their business goals effectively.

Who should Facilitate Outcome-Based Learning at Workplace

Various stakeholders can facilitate outcome-based learning in the workplace:

By involving a diverse range of stakeholders, organisations can create a collaborative learning environment where outcome-based learning is facilitated effectively.

Aligning Skills Development and Passion at Play: Lessons from Moneyball

Imagine a world where the success of your entrepreneurial venture hinges on a single metric, much like baseball's reliance on the batting average. Billy Beane and the Oakland Athletics shattered this tradition, pioneering a data-driven approach that redefined the game. As entrepreneurs, let's explore how we can decode success metrics and break free from the shackles of conventional wisdom.

Billy Beane's journey mirrors the entrepreneurial quest for innovative methodologies. In his pursuit of success, Beane embraced data analytics, challenging the traditional scouting system. Entrepreneurs can adopt a similar approach, utilising tools and methods to gather insights, make informed decisions, and navigate the uncertainties of the business world. Data becomes your playbook, guiding strategic moves in the entrepreneurial ballpark.

Beane's playbook extends beyond theory, offering tangible lessons for entrepreneurs. Embrace data analytics tools, invest in technologies that provide actionable insights, and build a team proficient in the language of data. Collaborate with experts who can translate raw data into strategic maneuvers. Like Beane, entrepreneurs wielding these tools can navigate the dynamic field of business with a competitive edge.

Billy Beane's journey wasn't just about statistics; it was about a passion for the game and a determination to rewrite the rules. Entrepreneurs, like Beane, should align their ventures with personal passion and skills. Your success isn't solely measured by conventional metrics but by the passion and commitment you bring to the entrepreneurial field. Embrace your unique strengths, infuse passion into your strategy, and watch your entrepreneurial journey unfold with purpose.

Challenges in entrepreneurship, much like baseball's uncertainties, demand finesse. Adaptability and continuous learning are your most valuable tools. Learn from Beane's unconventional journey; confront challenges with data-backed strategies, collaborate wisely, and dare to redefine success. Just as Beane transformed the game, entrepreneurs can reshape their industry landscapes by embracing innovation and fearlessly stepping into the batter's box of uncertainty.

Key Steps in Identifying Learning Gaps for SMEs

Employees frequently struggle to identify their own learning needs. Self-reflection is not an easy skill to master. It's one that younger generations of employees just starting out in the workforce are more likely to have than our current generation of employees. The right questions and feedback from managers can help employees identify learning needs that are aligned with team and organisational needs. Learning and development can aid in the identification of learning needs by providing self-assessment and benchmarking tools.

A learning need occurs when you recognise a gap in your knowledge and skills or a need to update them. You'll identify the needs by reflecting on your practice and any gaps that emerge as you work.

What are the current skill levels?

Conversations with employees, both directly and through their peers, are critical at this stage. You can combine their feedback with your assessment of their skill and proficiency in specific areas. If you've chosen your learning system or platform wisely, it can be extremely useful at this point. In HowNow, your employees can grade themselves for job-related skills, and you can rate them on a one-to-five scale. At this point, your learning platform analytics will be invaluable for understanding newly acquired skills.

Determine the skill gap

No pressure, but your performance in the first two stages of your learning needs analysis will be evaluated. Determine the current gap between the skills your person, role, or team currently possesses and the levels required to achieve your goals.

How can education help to bridge that gap?

Begin by identifying the business's subject matter experts and evaluating your existing learning materials. There will be a gap (yes, another gap) between those and the resources you'll need to develop the necessary skills. To cater to all of your learning needs, it's important to use or consider platforms that curate learning content from high-quality third parties.

Implement and evaluate a learning development strategy

Are your learning and development practices, opportunities, and personal development paths developing the necessary skills? What constitutes success in this regard, and how will you measure it?

Delivery of facilitated learning

As previously stated, the role of the facilitator in facilitated learning is to create and manage collaborative learning experiences, or group learning in which exchanges occur over time between instructors and learners and among learners. Facilitated courses and learning experiences are typically held over a number of weeks and may include:

Facilitated learning in its purest form is most likely to occur in a well-resourced environment with highly motivated and proactive participants. Most training environments are unlikely to provide the required conditions. However, elements of facilitated learning can be effectively combined with other training styles to provide many of the benefits inherent in the methodology.

Competent facilitation

Competent learning facilitation increases the likelihood that you will:

70:20:10 Learning Model

70:20:10 is a Learning and Development (L&D) model that summarises how employees learn. According to the 70:20:10 framework, employees learn 70% of what they know on the job and 20% by interacting with coworkers. Because employees learn by doing, these components of the model are also known as informal learning. The other component is about formal learning: 10% of what employees learn happens outside of work through structured classroom training.

For a long time, Learning and Development (L&D) was primarily concerned with formal education. When the 70:20:10 model became popular, it triggered a shift, and L&D realised it is also important to focus on performance support and knowledge sharing. This represented a significant shift in thinking. Employees no longer have to wait for formal training because of the 70:20:10 framework's informal component. They can learn by interacting with colleagues or applying learning content. This framework enables employees to incorporate learning activities into their work, allowing them to be more productive and improve their work quality.

Your organisation must create a learning ecosystem in order to successfully implement 70:20:10. In such an ecosystem, you work with various tools and platforms to support performance, knowledge sharing, and formal training. The fact that all learning content is in-house and accessible to employees is a significant benefit of working with those tools and having an ecosystem.

Because 70:20:10 requires employees to provide feedback, ask questions, and collaborate, they frequently recognise that development occurs all the time and in a variety of ways. Employees will be very motivated by this. Organisations that use the 70:20:10 framework have seen an increase in employee engagement.

70:20:10 is an effective method of learning that boosts productivity, and it is not limited to employees. People working in groups can learn about each other's strengths and weaknesses, complement each other, and teach each other new skills to help them grow. In this way, 70:20:10 can improve the performance of an entire team.

Because 70:20:10 is a guideline rather than a fixed model, it lends itself to being applied in various ways - and thus in the best way for your organisation. The framework is used by some organisations to target performance development outcomes, while others use it in conjunction with their learning philosophies.

70% of Learning

Does the idea of employees actively participating in their own learning and development make you happy? Would you like to foster collaboration among your company's employees and teams? It appears that the 70:20:10 rule should be followed. If this is a brand-new approach for your organisation, it may be difficult for everyone to adjust. You will be successful if you inform everyone about the benefits, have a plan, develop a strategy, and invest in the right tools.

On-the-job experiences account for up to 70% of what employees learn in the workplace. This section is all about finishing tasks, resolving problems, learning from mistakes, and practicing. It is completely integrated into the work flow of the employees.

That is why it is referred to as learning by doing. Or, to put it another way, informal learning. Performance support is a byproduct of this part of the model, because the activities help employees perform better. Employees are usually in charge of this aspect of the framework. They choose what, when, and how they will learn.

Informal learning is completely new to employees who do not yet have much work experience. The majority of what these employees know came from formal education in kindergarten, school, and college or university. This part of the model will help them balance their learning as they become more familiar with it.

20% Learning

The 20% of this framework is made up of a variety of activities. Social learning, coaching, mentoring, collaborative learning, and interacting with colleagues are all about learning by sharing knowledge. The researchers who developed the 70:20:10 model discovered that people learn a lot at work by sharing their experiences and skills.

To make the 20% a successful and effective practice, your organisation must have a strong social learning culture. Is your company already on board with this? Great! If not, you can work on the development process. Begin by considering how you can facilitate and support employee knowledge sharing.

A social learning culture does not emerge overnight. However, once it is in place, you will notice that it allows employees to work more productively and creates an environment in which they can collaborate, support, and learn from one another.

Only a small percentage of employees, in our experience, are willing to participate in knowledge sharing. To demonstrate this, we created our own twist on the 70:20:10 model.

Employees with little work experience haven't spent much time sharing their knowledge. They have spent the majority of their lives immersed in structured classroom learning. You may notice that these employees require a gentle prod in the right direction. Allow them time to adjust and assist them as needed. Finally, this is a learning experience in and of itself.

10% Learning

Formal learning is the smallest component of the 70:20:10 framework, accounting for only 10%. However, this does not make this component any less important than the others. Formal learning is the only way to learn in a structured manner. That is also why these three types of learning are complementary.

Formal learning can be divided into two categories. Employees, on the one hand, learn through seminars, workshops, and presentations. It is a method of learning that we encounter at school. We learn systematically and face-to-face in a classroom setting from our first year in kindergarten until we graduate.

It stands to reason that this takes up only about 10% of our time in corporate learning. We learn by doing and from others from the moment we start our careers; we no longer learn as much through training.

E-learning is also a type of formal education. Employees can learn whenever they want, from wherever they are, thanks to online learning. You are not required to gather a classroom full of employees, nor are you required to bring in trainers from other locations. Another advantage is that online learning comes in a variety of sises and shapes, allowing employees to select the training and courses that best meet their needs.

Employee-Generated-Learning

It is critical to convert knowledge within your organisation into learning resources for all three components of the 70:20:10 rule. Templates, how- to's, videos, quizses, and online courses are some examples of resources.

Employees with specialised knowledge or a wealth of experience and know-how can create those resources on their own. This covers all three parts of the model. The 70% is due to the fact that you provide resource performance support; the 20% is due to employees sharing knowledge; and the 10% is due to employees having access to formal training.

This is our in-house L&D method, which we call Employee-generated Learning. Employee-generated Learning delegated the creation of learning content from instructional designers to employees. Employee-generated Learning empowers non-didactic employees to create learning content and even assists those with no training experience in developing training.

This methodology is all about utilising each other's expertise while working on day-to-day tasks on the shop floor. Employee-generated Learning motivates employees and provides them with recognition and clout within the organisation. By giving employees control over the creation of these resources, you can ensure that they are relevant to your organisation and always up to date.

This approach is much less expensive than third-party or off-the-shelf training because knowledge is captured and shared in-house. It will help you significantly reduce training costs. Employee-generated Learning makes content management simple because experts own it and know exactly when it needs to be updated.

It's also very scalable: you can allow hundreds of employees to participate in online training created by their coworkers, and your employees won't have to wait until a trainer is available or a course begins. They can access home-made training at any time and from any location. Employee-generated Learning is the only long-term way to train your workforce because of all of these advantages.

70:20:10 Model Criticism

Despite the fact that the framework is widely used, many people question it for a variety of reasons. Let's take a look at some of the most common criticisms of the 70:20:10 model.

Model Criticism Disproved

Along with the criticism, there are numerous arguments for why the 70:20:10 framework is valid and valuable. Let's look at the evidence and the reasons why people believe in the model.

Benefits of the 70:20:10 model

Whether you believe in the framework, it is worthwhile to investigate its advantages. Higher productivity, increased engagement, and improved performance are among them.

How to implement the 70:20:10 model

Facilitating Learning with "War Dogs": A Journey into Entrepreneurial Methods

Picture two young entrepreneurs diving into the unpredictable world of arms dealing. Vulnerable, yes. Risky, absolutely. Now, imagine finding humor in their audacity, their quirks becoming the driving force. Meet Ephraim Diveroli and David Packouz, protagonists of the "War Dogs" story, as we unravel their journey through the lens of facilitating learning and inclusive methodologies.

The Entrepreneurial Journey: A Collective Learning Journey

In the chaos of arms dealing, Ephraim and David faced myriad challenges. Their journey, though unconventional, provides profound insights into the world of entrepreneurship. The lesson here lies not just in their successes, but in their ability to learn and adapt in a high-stakes environment. From understanding market dynamics to navigating legal intricacies, their experience becomes a rich source of entrepreneurial wisdom.

Ephraim and David's journey, though serious, had moments of levity. It's in these moments that we find gems of wisdom for entrepreneurs. Embrace the unexpected, confront challenges with a dash of humor, and adapt. In the ever-evolving business landscape, the ability to find humor in adversity fosters resilience and a creative problem-solving mindset. As you navigate your entrepreneurial path, don't forget to chuckle at the absurdities—there's often a lesson hidden in the laughter.

Passion and Skill Alignment: The Heart of Entrepreneurial Success

Ephraim and David's venture into arms dealing wasn't just about profit; it was about aligning their skills and passion with a niche market. This highlights a crucial lesson—successful entrepreneurship thrives when passion meets skill. In your own ventures, seek alignment between what you love, what you're good at, and what the market needs. This synergy forms the foundation for sustained success and fulfillment.

Embracing Challenges: Entrepreneurial Learning in Action

Ephraim and David faced legal battles, ethical dilemmas, and the inherent risks of their industry. Yet, their story underscores the importance of embracing challenges. Rather than shying away, entrepreneurs should tackle challenges head-on, learning and growing from each experience. It's this resilience that transforms obstacles into stepping stones toward success.

Facilitate Learning Key Takeaways:

The central message conveyed is the imperative for businesses to thoughtfully select methodologies when facilitating learning. This involves recognising and accommodating the diverse learning preferences of the workforce. By tailoring approaches based on these preferences, organisations can create a more inclusive and impactful learning experience, fostering effective knowledge acquisition.

Moreover, the significance of interactive and participatory learning methods is emphasised. The encouragement of active engagement through discussions, group activities, and hands-on exercises is highlighted as a way to boost knowledge retention and practical application. Integrating technology and real-world scenarios into the learning process is also suggested to establish a dynamic and relevant educational environment.

In addition, the value of continuous feedback and reflection in the learning journey is underscored. Providing opportunities for learners to independently assess their progress empowers individuals to apply acquired knowledge in practical contexts. This emphasis on self-driven learning fosters a culture of ongoing skill development within the workforce, contributing to sustained professional growth and success.



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