A Culture of Learning

What image first comes to mind when you hear the word "learn"? Is it your old elementary school? A textbook? Maybe a computer or science lab?

Contrary to the pictures of schools and classrooms that are traditionally conjured in our minds when we think of education, learning can and should occur throughout our lives in different forms. Whether it's formal education in a classroom or online setting, learning by example and observation in the workplace, or learning by experiencing mistakes and successes, a culture of lifelong learning has many benefits for our agency, our parks and facilities, and even our personal lives.

Why promote lifelong learning?

Skills and safety

• The most obvious reason to promote a culture of learning in our facilities is to have a skilled staff. By keeping up with mandatory training, we ensure that all staff members (including volunteers, seasonal staff, long term contractual and classified employees) know how to operate safely at the standards set statewide. For more park-specific skills, employees need to have an opportunity to learn on the job. This can be done by shadowing a more experienced person, or even by simply helping to complete group projects. For a quick guide on how to develop a training system for your park-specific procedures, check out this tutorial from Convergence Training.

Basic Chainsaw Training

Employee retention and satisfaction

• If a job becomes mundane and lackluster over time, one of the reasons could be that learning is not occurring frequently enough or that the position has become too comfortable. As an employee, you can make the job more satisfying by finding ways to become an expert in a park-related field, whether that's interpretation, maintenance, operations, or administrative work. You can also provide opportunities for volunteers or seasonal staff members to learn through in-service or out-service training. This tends to increase the likelihood that they will return in future years.

How can we encourage learning at work?

Schedule flexibility 

• Allow time in the schedule for training and be flexible with training requests when possible. There are hundreds of out-service training opportunities available online that only take a few hours of work time and no travel! Talk with your supervisor, fill out the appropriate out-service paperwork, and check out the links below for some online learning opportunities:
• Chief Learning Officer Webinars - Free! Great for soft skills training.
• American Trails Webinars - Minor cost with membership. Contact Dan Hudson or Bethany Watts for details on MPS membership.
• Society of Outdoor Recreation Professionals Webinars - $45 for non-members. 

Mentor

• When new employees come to the park, do you have a plan in place to train them in park procedures? Providing a mentor to each new employee can help ease the transition by ensuring there is one person to ask questions of and to learn from. This technique facilitates creative new ideas, and creates a bond that can last even after the mentor and student have moved on to different parks or facilities.

Park-specific training or scenarios

Water Rescue Training at Greenbrier

• Greenbrier State Park has tested this strategy for several months to help staff members learn while benefiting the needs of the park. Each month, a day is scheduled for staff members to respond to a practice scenario that they have received training for in the past. Following the scenario, the employees meet for a short debrief before continuing with their usual daily activities. Overall, the process typically takes 4 hours or less. The scenarios are treated solely as a learning opportunity and not as a scoring tool of any kind. Thanks to Chris Gleason-Smuck and the staff at Greenbrier for passing along the great information!

Want more ideas to promote lifelong learning? Check out this article on building a learning culture in the workplace.

How do you continue to be a lifelong learner? Do you change roles in your park every few years? Try new ways of doing old things? Post the strategies that you use in the comments section below to pass along ideas!