Learning Philosophy at the Sloan School - Ed Arnold

Paper by Ed Arnold at Monitor Group's LeveragePoint team. Cover a talk given by MIT CIO Alfred Essa on its philosophy of learning. The key points,

can it apply to other non-academic organizations? Here is a set of recommendations that could apply to any organization's learning strategy:

• Your learning strategy should closely link to your organization's mission rather than exist as a standalone mission.
• Your strategy should provide multiple touch-points and roles for stakeholders to enter into the learning community. For example, a learner in one context might become a mentor in another context.
• Part of your strategy should enable participants to solve real-time business problems. Create a learning environment that challenges people to think creatively and tackle difficult unsolved problems.
• Don't neglect aesthetics. Learning spaces should be designed to be humane, inhabitable, appealing, and fun.
• Think carefully about the infrastructure you're designing. Consider yourself an urban planner that has to develop buildings but also needs to design such common areas as public parks and infrastructure for transportation.