A learning plan is a term to describe a document (possibly electronic or interactive) that is used for
learning development
Learning development describes work with students and staff to develop academic practices, with a main focus on students developing academic practices in higher education, which assess the progress of knowledge acquired by the means of structura ...
over a period of time.
Any entity can have a learning plan. They are often used by individuals to plan and manage their own learning, but they can also be used by teams, communities of practice or organizations. An organizational level plan can be the aggregate of its individuals plans or it can add information on the emergent learning needs of the overall organization.
The active development and maintenance of a learning plan can enrich a person's life and the sharing of learning plans can help to strengthen a community.
Components of a learning plan
A good learning plan is a well articulated document with the following components:
A set of 'learning goals' that the person (or organization) hopes to achieve within a specific period of time. It is often useful to divide larger goals into more manageable sub-goals that can be realized within weeks or months.
Each learning goal (or sub goal) should have a series of concrete steps or actions that the person will take to move towards the goal. Actions should be actual behaviors. Writing a quality article for Wikipedia is an example of an action. Or, if the learning goal is "understand Indian cooking", preparing and serving a masala to a group of East Indian friends might be an appropriate action.
Each action should be associated with one or more resources and with evidence.
Resources are anything that can be used to realize the actions to be taken towards the learning goal. One of the best resources is a mentor or coach, but there are many others, including books, courses, travel, the Internet and especially Wikipedia. Once a resource has been applied to a goal it is often helpful to rate the effectiveness of the resource, especially in cases where the learning plan will be shared.
Evidence is used to demonstrate that an action has been taken, that progress towards the goal has been made, and finally that the goal has been achieved. Evidence can be private, when the person does not need to demonstrate to other people that the goal has been achieved, or public, when evidence is required.
Modes of learning
A learning plan can be used for many modes of learning. One taxonomy is as follows:
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Culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...
- learning about one's own or other people's cultures
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Financial
Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...
- learning how to manage money and how money works in the economy
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Physical
Physical may refer to:
*Physical examination
In a physical examination, medical examination, or clinical examination, a medical practitioner examines a patient for any possible medical signs or symptoms of a medical condition. It generally co ...
-
physical fitness
Physical fitness is a state of health and well-being and, more specifically, the ability to perform aspects of Outline of sports, sports, occupations and daily activities. Physical fitness is generally achieved through proper nutrition, moderate ...
can be a form of learning and a learning plan can be used to improve and track a person's fitness
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Political
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
(Citizen) - learning more about one's polity and the rights and duties of
citizenship
Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection".
Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
*
Relationship - things that one wants to learn about people in key relationships, and how to be more effective in relationships
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Spiritual - deepening one's understanding of the spiritual dimension of life; a
prayer
Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified a ...
or meditation journal can be part of a learning plan.
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Work
Work may refer to:
* Work (human activity), intentional activity people perform to support themselves, others, or the community
** Manual labour, physical work done by humans
** House work, housework, or homemaking
** Working animal, an animal tr ...
- professional learning
A learning plan will often have parts that are strictly private, others that are only shared with one's intimates, others that are for various groups, and it may have some parts that are public.
Learning plans, learning records, and the ePortfolio
As a learning plan evolves, goals are attained, evidence is collected and becomes a learning record. There has been much attention to learning records or the
Electronic portfolio
An electronic portfolio (also known as a digital portfolio, online portfolio, e-portfolio, e-folio, or eFolio) is a collection of electronic evidence assembled and managed by a user, usually on the Web. Such electronic evidence may include input te ...
in recent
pedagogy
Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as ...
and
andragogy
Andragogy refers to methods and principles used in adult education. The word comes from the Greek ἀνδρ- (''andr-''), meaning "man", and ἀγωγός (''agogos''), meaning "leader of". Therefore, andragogy literally means "leading men", wher ...
. Whereas a learning plan looks forward to what is to be achieved, a learning record looks backwards to the past and what has been accomplished. Two sides of the same coin.
Learning landscape
A learning landscape is a broader concept than a learning plan, placing the individual at the centre of their learning, allowing them to connect with other learners and create online communities.
A learning landscape brings together the strengths of
electronic portfolio
An electronic portfolio (also known as a digital portfolio, online portfolio, e-portfolio, e-folio, or eFolio) is a collection of electronic evidence assembled and managed by a user, usually on the Web. Such electronic evidence may include input te ...
and
social networking
A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods for an ...
. A learning landscape is usually based on an individual's interests, skills, reflection and competencies. By sharing these aspirations and thoughts other members can offer support and encouragement.
Tools such as
Elgg
Elgg is a municipality in the district of Winterthur in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. On 1 January 2018 the former municipality of Hofstetten merged into the municipality of Elgg.
History
Elgg ( la, Elgovia, Sacer pagus) is first ment ...
provide facilities for developing learning landscapes.
See also
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Curriculum
In education, a curriculum (; : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view ...
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Electronic portfolio
An electronic portfolio (also known as a digital portfolio, online portfolio, e-portfolio, e-folio, or eFolio) is a collection of electronic evidence assembled and managed by a user, usually on the Web. Such electronic evidence may include input te ...
*
Lesson plan
A lesson plan is a teacher's detailed description of the course of instruction or "learning trajectory" for a lesson. A daily lesson plan is developed by a teacher to guide class learning. Details will vary depending on the preference of the teac ...
External links
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Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
provides active support for its employees learning plans and there are a number of useful documents at its site.
References
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Learning