Fast Co. article #2

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FAST Co. Magazine assignment #2 "The Conference Commando Field Manual" by Scott Kirsner, January, 1999, p. 125-136. By Susan Jarosak

Do you make the most out of the conferences you attend? Author Scott Kirsner says if you find yourself bored or leaving early because you think your time is being wasted, you may be going into a conference with the wrong attitude. "The Conference Commando Field Manual" gives practical advice on how to think and act to make the most of our learning experiences. Although the article focuses mainly on benefiting from tradeshows and professional conferences, it also addresses why we need to be proactive about our own learning. Kirsner contends, "going to the right conferences, and attending them in the right way, can be critical to your strategy for staying on the cutting edge - both in your company and in your career."

I agree with the author; if you are going to spend the time and money, you should try to choose a conference or workshop that will be interesting and meaningful to your work. The author says, "conferences are a way to get a fresh perspective, to develop long-term relationships, and to play with ideas." I like author Stephen Brookfield's thoughts on the same subject: "professional conferences can be studied systematically as learning episodes in which our intellects and emotions are engaged or repelled."

What interested me most about this article is how much the author advocates being a critical consumer of our own learning. Whether or not the learning happens at a conference or on the job, it is vital that we reflect on and make meaning of our experience. The M.Ed program certainly applies this way of thinking. We are learning how to be self-directed learners -- to plan and think about what we have energy and passion to learn more about. I'm realizing how important reflection and critical thinking skills are to help me apply learnings to my work. In fact, the best tip from this article, in my opinion, is the suggestion to conference goers to reflect and write down their thoughts and learning at the end of each day.

When I spoke with colleagues on campus about how they choose learning opportunities, responses were mixed. Some based their attendance on whether or not it was a short, skill-building workshop; others expressed their need to push themselves to attend a conference that would expand their minds. It made me think that being comfortable and satisfied may not always be the best way to learn something new. What about the uncomfortable and the unfamiliar that we avoid unless we are forced to deal with it?

The author's explanation about how one determines if something was a good learning experience is if it leaves you with a sense of "being stimulated to ask questions of yourself." Maybe he should have named the article, "The Reflective Conference Commando Field Manual."

REFERENCE: Stephen Brookfield (1987) "Developing Critical Thinkers" p. 45.

-- Anonymous, March 08, 1999


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