eLearn: Best Practices

eLearn: Best Practices

Learning organizations are proficient at two types of learning: "adaptive" learning and "generative" learning. To survive, an organization must solve short-term problems. This is the realm of adaptive learning. But, what sets learning organizations apart from other institutions is generative learning. Generative learning enhances the capacity to create. Senge describes the foundations of a learning organization, as generative learning requiring the mastery of five disciplines:

1. Systems Thinking (The discipline that integrates the other four)
2. Personal Mastery
3. Shared Vision
4. Mental Models
5. Team Learning

I was immediately struck by its relevance for teaching in virtual classrooms. Two related ideas occurred to me: 1) A successful online class is a microcosm of a learning organization; and 2) Virtual team projects are instrumental in achieving an online course's learning objectives as they create a vibrant interaction between students and the instructor and among students. These interactions overcome the solitary nature of online instruction.