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Just-in-Time Learning Solutions
& Agile Learning
Just-in-Time Learning Solutions
a division of CounselCareCanada Life Solutions and
CounselCareCanada Learning Solutions
Ask Mental Health Professionals, Nurses and Physicians (we always do!) what they want in professional mental health/ psychotherapy continuing education and the answers can be summed up like this:
" ... [we want] learning opportunities that will make us more effective with our mental health/therapy clients ... that will allow us to better help them cope with the issues and challenges impacting their lives. .. [opportunities] that are ACCESSIBLE and geared for working [professionals] with busy lives ... [there is] a huge gap between what we need 'right now' and what is available 'right now' (the voices of CCCLS learners 2012-2020).
The Professional Learner and the Concept of 'Real-Time'
'Real-time learning needs' refers to particular knowledge and skills/ knowledge and skill sets required 'right now (instantly or in the very near future) by the professional to meet the immediate demands of his or her professional role. When these real time learning needs are not adequately met by a professional, their clients do not benefit from an existing and expected service. Mental Health Professionals work in 'real time' with 'real people' (individuals, couples, families and groups) experiencing 'real life problems'. They budget their time on calendars and wall clocks in the 'real world' and juggle long working hours with their own needs and the needs of those who share their lives. They juggle the psychological, social, economic and familial (often including aged parents/relatives), as well as the occasional hurdles that tend to pop up in most lives. When it comes to continuing education, it is critical that they have access to agile sources and resources that are available quickly, and that does not require them to jump through too many hoops in the process. They want to come away from a continuing education activity with procedural knowledge that they can put to use in providing evidence-based treatment for clients. Traditional learning experiences don't (and never did) meet these needs. Traditional learning experiences and Agile learning experiences are like Apples and Oranges! We choose to be Apples!
The Professional Learner and Procedural Knowledge
Procedural knowledge allows learners an opportunity to consider declarative knowledge in the context of 'real life' client issues, issues and contexts; the kinds of issues experienced by clients in their clinical practices. Continuing education implies that learners have the foundational knowledge and skills of the profession and are ready to add to this existing body of knowledge and skills.
Case study learning is ideal for this learner population because it allows them to acquire the 'right amount' of the 'right education' (evidence-based knowledge and skills) at the 'right time', by the 'right route' in the 'right place', that that has been developed for the 'right population'. The 'right amount' is what is required and what the professional has the capacity to handle at a particular time. The 'right education' is what the learner needs at that particular time to better perform in one's role and focuses on procedural (as well as the declarative) components of learning.
The Professional Learner, Time & Place
Just-in-Time Learning Solutions considers all the above these factors in curriculum development and implementation . We believe the 'right type' (learning based on evidence-based foundations) of procedural knowledge and skills, delivered in the 'right amounts' (what the learner needs at a particular point in time), at the 'right time' (available night or day, and regardless of the hour), in the 'right place' (available to the client wherever he or she is located by the 'right route' (web based), and targeted for the 'right population' can be effective in meeting the 'just-in-time' learning needs of those we serve. To ensure that learning is procedural, all our courses (even the smallest) integrate case studies in the process. Case studies have long been utilized in helping learners attain necessary competencies in clinical knowledge and skills. These case studies help learners explore what they have learned by applying it to the kinds of situations they see in clinical practice. They have the distinct advantage of critically thinking about how they will react/respond to clients in particular situations, and in being comfortable with the process as they proceed from beginner to expert in their new knowledge/skills.
The 'right time' is the actual time the learner has available to absorb and participate, be it morning, noon, night, and at whatever time the clock says. The 'right route' can be a physical or web-based environment. The 'right place', by that token, can be the person's home, office, camp site, hotel room, or pretty much anyplace that has internet service.
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