(Dillon originally posted this text on LinkedIn.)
In case you didn’t know I have been a part-time graduate student for nearly a year and half. During this time I experienced two very different programs. Today, I want to highlight my current program at Boise State in the College of Engineering, Organizational Performance and Workplace Learning.
How did I get started with OPWL?
After looking at many of the thought leaders I follow and reviewing the content creators on LinkedIn, I noticed a common denominator. The OPWL program.
Why OPWL?
At the time I thought all adult education programs were the same, a little Knowles, a little Kirkpatrick, and some Bloom taxonomy. The first paragraph I read about the OPWL program stopped me in my tracks, “Improving performance and sharpening desired outcomes warrants careful analysis and multidimensional solutions.” Did this program actually understand the real world of educating adults?
Why I chose OPWL?
They understood because they teach human performance improvement. In HPI, training is an option, but you systematically review all the variables related to the desired behavior. HPI recognizes training is expensive and even the best designed training has limited effectiveness. What if instead of training you replaced the missing/broken pipe wrench, clarified a confusing expectation, or didn’t punish desired performance? How many resources could be saved, by not resorting to training?
Why I recommend OPWL to others?
It’s one thing to have the right curriculum and content, but the OPWL program has the right people too. Professors that care about your success, but also professors who came from industry and remain in the industry. If you are serious about adult education , adult learning & development, workplace learning , and human performance you can’t go wrong with this program. Don’t just take my word, reach out to the alumni or active students in the program and get their opinions. Here are some to get you started: https://www.boisestate.edu/opwl/testimonials/
About the OPWL Program
The Organizational Performance and Workplace Learning (OPWL) program helps prepare students for careers in the areas of instructional design, training and development, e-learning, workplace performance improvement, organizational development, program evaluation and performance consulting.