I chose the Adult Education Degree program as a course of study to pursue my Ph.D. for several reasons. The first reason is that although I've worked in the petrochemical industry for over twenty years, I have never received formal education in training, training delivery, or adult education. Secondly, our organization's leadership wanted to find ways that our organization can differentiate our safety council from competitors. Having a leader of our executive team who has completed a Ph.D. in Adult Education and who is implementing the tools and techniques that are taught in these courses can yield superior training content and deliverables. Finally, I enjoy learning new ways to lead and teach, discovering ways to develop my teams, and persuade my employees to enjoy their jobs and careers.
As a technical writer and proposal writer, I supported contractors in the petrochemical industry. I learned about safety and compliance standards on the job. As an operations analyst and project manager, again I learned in the field. Learning by doing has been a hallmark of my life and career, and up to a point I've had success in that method. When I was promoted to Director of Training I used what I learned in the field and translated it into training content as best I could. I provided and used no specific technique beyond using that field experience.
HASC, where I currently work, is a non-profit training group that occupies a space between contractors and plant owners, but we are not immune to typical business demands. HASC must compete against other training centers or lose our market share. Our goal is to stay abreast of adult learning techniques so that we can be competitive. This degree program will provide us the knowledge as well as tools and techniques to develop the ones we have stumbled into over the years.
As a Training Director for a contractor, our projects had to be quick and nimble. Most projects always had a horizon date of a year and usually an expiration date a year after that. The delivery of the projects was more important than the analysis of results. This degree program, and my new position, has provided me a view of projects with a longer time horizon. My work on CBT engagement, VR microlearning reinforcement, and on analyzing data and results will all benefit from my working on this degree.
In 2003 I earned an MBA with a focus on technology and eBusiness. This has helped me fine-tune and tweak training delivery systems and make training easier for our learners to consume. Using eLearning tools like virtual classrooms, microlearning, chatbots, and more make delivery easier but doesn't necessarily make training more effective. What I'm learning in this degree program provides a stronger understanding of how to engage adults and can make our training more effective. Learning by doing and slick delivery methods can only take me so far.
Already the courses I have been completed have contributed to my personal goals. There are many tools and techniques that we have used in the past that we have fallen into without any academic understanding. Knowing about Pratt's five perspectives on teaching, understanding that HASC provides most of our training via a Transmission Perspective and that our leadership program uses the Developmental Perspective has already made me a stronger leader and facilitator. HASC developed training the way we have because it seemed right, but no one at HASC would have been able to define why or how it was worthwhile. Already, because of what I've been learning, I have helped HASC become a more potent learning community.
Until I started working toward this Ph.D. I had no further career goals. I enjoy training, teaching and facilitating. The work I'm doing now will make me a stronger trainer, teacher, and facilitator. A multitude of pathways can open up following my earning a Ph.D. in Adult Education and Leadership, pathways that would not have been as easy to access previously.
The work I've completed already has made me and my organization stronger and has made our training more effective. Not only will I benefit from a more solid understanding of adult learning principles, but HASC and the trainee's and contractors HASC supports will find their training more beneficial. Our industry needs extremely effective safety and skills training for oue contractors or catastrophic damage and personal harm could result, especially if it's provided poorly. Understanding how to effectively train our learners through this degree program will have benefits for our industry and my own personal, career goals.
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