Ep 08: Designing Organizations for Engagement and Meaningful Contributions with Nancy J. Hess

My guest, Nancy J. Hess, brings her perspective on education and organizational change based on her deep work with state and local governments.  Her expertise is rooted in guiding leadership through change, developing strategies for more efficient and engaging HR structures, and fostering learning environments that address the many challenges of local government. Nancy and …

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06. Empowering Students With AI: Lessons From the Past, Opportunities for the Future with Jody Britten

When Google first came on the scene, it forced teachers to change the way they taught learners and to ask “better questions”. The common adage was, if it could be Googled (by the student), it wasn’t a good question.  Now, with the rise of AI tools, we are again forced to look at our teaching …

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05. Breaking Stigma, Fostering Belonging: The Sources of Strength Movement with Katrina Johnson

Today I have a conversation that delves into the intriguing concept of the Wellness Contagion with my guest, Katrina Johnson. A Wellness Contagion shifts the focus from illness to well-being and aims to spread awareness of protective factors. At the core of Katrina’s work is a program called Sources of Strength, which empowers students to …

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04. From Blame to Learning: Exploring the Power of Just Culture with Julie Stephenson

What happens in your organization when someone makes a mistake?  Is the process about blame and punishment? Or is it about shared accountability for systems and recognizing the humanity of those involved? Today, my guest, Julie Stephenson, and I are diving into the concept of building a Just Culture. A Just Culture radically shifts the …

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02. The Immunity to Change Framework: Identifying Your Hidden Commitments

In today’s world, personal growth and transformation are crucial for success and happiness. But often, we find ourselves struggling to make lasting changes. In Episode 01, we introduced the Modern Learners Lens, likening it to a kaleidoscope where beliefs, contexts, and practices come together to create a vibrant, harmonious learning culture. Today, we are going …

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01. The Modern Learners Lens

Many people think they know what learning means, but often these beliefs go unexamined and can be oversimplified or even misleading. Our intentions are usually honorable when we think of learning. But when these good intentions result in total or partial failures, we are disappointed and puzzled. We direct blame to various factors. Rarely do …

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Learning to Change: Trailer

Change is hard. It’s hard enough when you’re trying to break a bad habit or work toward a new goal, but leading change in your organization? That can feel impossible. So why is change so difficult? What most people don’t see when they acknowledge that a change is necessary is the competing commitments that work …

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world book day recommendations

World Book Day Recommendations

What a better time to share the books near and dear to me and my work at Modern Learners than on World Book Day? The team relies on some awesome books to inform the work that we do in the community, content, and event space. First, let’s talk books about community. Peter Block’s book Community: …

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decorative image with title of the post 66 questions to ask when designing an event

66 Event Design Questions

At Modern Learners, we believe the purpose of events is to grow, change, and learn! In order to design an effective learning event, we start by asking our clients a lot of event design questions. We want you to be successful. We know events facilitate connections. Connections provide opportunities to learn more. Learning more together …

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decorative image with blog title designing learning events

Designing Learning Events

Intentionally designing learning events sits at the core of what our team at Modern Learners does on a daily basis. Events are a component of what Modern Learners believes to be the future of learning. This component needs care and attention because when organization’s miss the mark on this, people are snoozin’ and losin’! You’ve …

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Learning As A Retention Strategy?

No organizations are safe from the era of great resignation. However, I’m starting to understand organizations that focus on learning might have the best retention strategy. Organizations have a big task. Some of the barriers learning organizations faced before the pandemic are even more prevalent now. They must continue to support their people, and right …

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