I am learning that the "broad liberal arts education" that we try to "get out of the way" is a little more important than we probably realize as undergraduates.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Competencies
Our conversation today about competencies for careers in instructional technology, design, and human performance technology was quite interesting. I was a little surprised by the reports from each of the groups about what companies/organizations were looking for in terms of those that they hire. We tend to assume that highly technical knowledge or tangible skills are what will get us our dream jobs. But, as I listened to each of the groups it seemed like it is our broad, transferable skills (e.g. written communication, ability to function as a part of a team, organizational skills, etc.) that are what will make us most attractive. That isn't to say that we should not be focused on developing technical expertise; however, an expert that can't communicate or get along with anyone isn't very useful to an organization.
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2 comments:
Do you think that when we try to specialize, we become more theorists instead of practitioners?
I think that there is some danger in that, but I do think that there can be expert practitioners. Actually, I'm not sure that I would consider a theorist an expert because they aren't engaged in performance. They might be an expert in developing or researching theories, but probably not a real expert in what they are theorizing about.
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