Learning to Change

Learning to Change

Change is hard. It’s hard enough when you’re trying to break a bad habit or work toward a new goal. But leading change in your organization? That can feel impossible. Learning to Change is a show that’s about making change easier—for individuals and organizations—through learning. Bringing 20 years of education experience to leaders, managers, and executives, host Melissa Emler talks with people who have led change through learning in their organizations. Each episode is a tool for helping you and your organization create a culture of learning so that you can get unstuck, move forward with confidence, and achieve your goals. Learning to Change will help you break down barriers to learning and make learning the cultural DNA of your team.

Episodes

July 17, 2024 12 mins
I’m in a group chat with several of my favorite fellow educational leaders where we help each other work through issues stemming from a variety of topics. But one recent question posed to the group really got to the heart of so much of what is facing educators in the United States: Fear. Fear has a profound impact on public education, often holding back progress and innovation. From curriculum choices, to developing a supportive sc...
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Navigating the complexities of organizational change and personal growth can be challenging. Often we find ourselves stuck, unable to move forward because we haven't truly embraced the power of learning. But by fostering a culture of learning in our organization, by prioritizing the personal and professional growth of the people in our organizations, we can overcome the obstacles that hold us back.  As Modern Learners embarks on ou...
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[fusebox_track_player url="https://media.blubrry.com/modernlearners/content.blubrry.com/modernlearners/LTC_25_FINAL.mp3"  title="25. The PLAN Pilot Work with the New York State Education Department "] I want to share an exciting project that Modern Learners will be doing. We’ve been selected by the New York State Education Department to be the Technical Assistance Center for the PLAN Pilot work. This is a big deal. PLAN stands for ...
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Documenting our processes and outcomes when we’re doing change work is vital. I recently encountered a philosophical concept that perfectly helps illustrate this, and today, as part of our ongoing series of explainers, I want to talk through the ideas of studium and punctum and how they can be applied to our work in and out of the classroom. [fusebox_track_player url="https://media.blubrry.com/modernlearners/content.blubrry.com/mod...
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Learning design and lesson planning might sound interchangeable, but they have distinct uses and purposes in education. So what’s the difference? In today’s episode, I’m responding to a listener question and parsing out these two concepts. I’ll talk about why, how, and when both of them apply to our learning environments, along with key questions and practical considerations for each phase. [fusebox_track_player url="https://media....
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May 8, 2024 13 mins
All change is linguistic. It’s something that I frequently remind people of, but what do I really mean when I say that? The words we use have meanings. Changes in our language reflect the deeper cultural shifts at play and help us dismantle barriers and promote understanding. In this episode, I want to take a moment to dig into how linguistic changes bring us closer to our goal of more equitable, accessible, and supportive learnin...
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As part of our series on event planning and community, Gina Bianchini, founder and CEO of Mighty Networks joins me to talk about why People Magic is more than a set of tools, but a guiding philosophy of making valuable connections between people. She also explains why many online groups are using their platforms “off-label,” and how Mighty Networks is changing the game in community engagement. [fusebox_track_player url="https://med...
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March 27, 2024 11 mins
In this installment of Off the Cuff Rants on Learning, I’m sharing my unfiltered thoughts and perspectives on accessibility. A recent experience speaking at an event has accessibility and universal design for learning on my mind, and I want to invite you to consider these issues with me. Let’s think through how we can remain true to our values of inclusion even when the pressure is on, the tech isn’t working, or other obstacles cro...
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March 13, 2024 15 mins
In this installment of Off the Cuff Rants on Learning, I’m diving into the deep end and offering my unfiltered thoughts, passion, and perspectives on a topic that keeps me up at night: Bullying. These rants aren’t about getting it right on the first try, but about unpacking concepts and facing uncomfortable truths so that we can reflect and revolutionize our understanding of the challenges classrooms face every day. Let’s start the...
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Welcome back to our series on creating impactful events. In the last episode, Liz Lathan asked the question, “You know what would be really fun?” To which I said, “Inviting Liz’s business partner at The Community Factory to talk more about fun and spontaneity in events and dream about what events could be!” So today, Nicole Osibodu joins me to dig into creating events that aren’t cookie-cutter and build real connections between att...
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When dreaming up memorable events, today’s guest’s favorite question to start with is, “You know what would be really fun?” In this episode, we talk about bringing a flair of fun and spontaneity to your events, how creating shared experiences among peers builds community, and the time she ended up hosting a wedding at a corporate event. Liz believes that conversations can change the world when you facilitate an open exchange of ide...
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At Modern Learners, we help people and organizations host meaningful events. We focus on designing high-quality learning events and leverage a variety of design techniques and tools to do that. In this new series, we’re digging into some of those design techniques and tools by speaking with a variety of industry experts. Each of our guests will bring their expertise and point of view on various facets of event planning and executio...
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January 17, 2024 31 mins
In the final installment of this series on Just Culture, Julie Stephenson and I do a deep dive into the spectrum of behaviors within the Just Culture framework and how behaviors, actions, and outcomes are handled by the framework. Julie Stephenson’s commitment to and passion for conversations that move organizations toward a healthier and more human place to live, work and learn have guided her entire career. Currently, she support...
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January 3, 2024 21 mins
Julie Stephenson returns to continue our special series on Just Culture. In our previous episodes, we’ve defined what Just Culture is, along with the common language used in implementing it. We’ve also learned how mission, vision, and values are intimately connected to creating a Just Culture. Today, we’re digging into our duties in the workplace, and how we respond to breaches of those duties within a Just Culture framework. Julie...
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I’m back with Julie Stephenson for our special series on Just Culture. We’re continuing to define how Just Culture emphasizes fairness, empathy, and shared accountability and how shifting to this system is transforming the hospital where Julie works. In this episode, we explore how implementing a Just Culture model can truly impact an organization’s mission, vision, values, and beliefs. Julie Stephenson’s commitment to and passion ...
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A Just Culture is one where fairness, empathy and shared accountability are paramount.  In this special four-part series, returning guest Julie Stephenson and I will examine how this culture has transformed the hospital where she works, shifting from punitive responses to understanding and addressing root causes. We'll also look at the challenges of implementing just culture, from overcoming resistance to change, to fostering a bla...
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In the first of a new series, Off the Cuff Rants on Learning, I’m ditching the script and speaking straight from the heart. In each of these rants, I’ll share my thoughts and experiences, unfiltered and unrestrained, about a variety of issues in education and learning. I'll be tackling the topics that keep me up at night, the concepts that need unpacking and the uncomfortable truths we need to confront. First in this series is abou...
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Sharing and listening to life’s stories can have a profound impact on us and the people around us. Storytelling is an opportunity to learn, and when people learn, people change. Today, I’m talking with Graham Callis about the power of storytelling.  Graham Callis is a storyteller and life coach. He founded Your Story Life Coaching and is an experienced storyteller, having graced the stage at many events such as Madison Story Slam a...
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AI, chatbots, and generative search are already changing the way that we find and take in content online, and their impacts will only continue to grow. I’m joined today by Alex Birkett to talk about the future of search and how people will discover and interact with content online. We discuss whether websites and traffic numbers will even matter in the future and how evolutions in how we search will change how content gets accessed...
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My guest, Nancy J. Hess, brings her perspective on education and organizational change based on her deep work with state and local governments.  Her expertise is rooted in guiding leadership through change, developing strategies for more efficient and engaging HR structures, and fostering learning environments that address the many challenges of local government. Nancy and I have a conversation about engagement within organizations...
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