This is the final blog post required for the Program Planning Course. Boy does time fly! So for this week, we are to reflect on what we have learned from this course.
There are a number of things that I will take away from this course. First is that there are many forms of education – formal and informal. I never really considered informal education as real learning because it is done outside of the classroom. Now having almost completed this course (the final assignment still being outstanding), I’d like to change my tune. In fact, incorporating informal learning into a program could really supplement the learning process. For instance, to be perfectly honest I was skeptical on how the blog assignments would work in this course (I thought they would be an inconvenience). Now I find them to be quite helpful, as I have been able to pick up concepts and ideas that I either have overlooked or not thought of. It also challenges me to reconsider my point of view. This takes me to another interesting point that has come up in the blog discussions which is the use of technology in education and the planning of it. If the proper resources are in place, technology is quite a powerful tool to spread education and to allow it into our lives with very little disruption. It can also used to legitimately market the program (Facebook, Twitter etc). Thirdly, Caffarella (2002) suggests that as planners we must wear a number of hats. You could be a one-man team and be involved in all aspects of the program (depending on the situation) or be part of a multi-person team. But whatever hat we wear we must realize that planning is not a solo process. Many people are involved either directly or indirectly in it and have different reasons for investing in the program. A successful program is one that takes into the consideration the needs of others. Therefore, the planner must be able to cope with the power struggles among these individuals. In other words, they must have impeccable people skills. And lastly, I have gained an appreciation for how programs are planned. Being new to this field and having been only on the receiving end of a program, I never really considered the impact I as a learner made in the planning process. I think this is something most people do not consider or realize because much of the courses we take in life (especially those in a formal educational institution), are focused on giving you information that you need to know. It always seemed one-sided. I think now I won’t be so quick to judge the program/courses I take in the future. Furthermore, I should evaluate the program from different angles – from the perspective of the other stakeholders. May be I was being a little one-sided with my judgments in the past. I believe that the knowledge I have gained from this course can be easily translated to any planning process.
I’d like to end by using an analogy to represent the planning process. I would equate planning a program to a road trip – there are there are a variety maps to choose from (different planning models), you have to consider the many avenues to your destination (no correct route – Caffarella’s 12 different components of a program), some roads may be more challenging than others (needs assessment vs. marketing), and you have the opportunity to back track if you get lost or to choose a different route (evaluations).
Good luck everyone on the final assignment! It was great learning with you!
