Self-paced learning can improve your ability to learn and adapt

Studies show students who decide how best to distribute their study time perform better

Over the last year, most of us have learned to better adapt, persevere and become agile. These, among many other characteristics, have been highlighted as important in helping new leaders learn out how to become high performers.

At the Schulich ExecEd (Schulich ExecEd), we have adopted the same philosophy and enhanced our programs to support the necessary leadership skills to succeed in today’s world.

We have taken advantage of new technology, optimized our talented faculty engagement and aligned our programs with what you need to succeed professionally:

We have also made efforts to apply the skills highlighted above on how we offer our programs:

1. Online collaboration to match with today’s career demands.
2. The reality of virtual teams as part of a geographically dispersed growing category of jobs.
3. Commitment of students to focus and self-discipline toward digital learning.

As someone who teaches on both the academic and executive education sides of the University, there is a particular area of learning I wish to emphasize: self-paced learning via digital platforms. Our learning platform was well-established prior to the pandemic and has since been upgraded to ensure ease of use and accessibility by all students.

What stands out in our programs is the interactive activities we have integrated into the programs to ensure a balanced experience during your learning journey. The new skills you will enhance include:

• Organizational acumen to support your career progression
• Emotional intelligence necessary for effective leadership
• Self-discipline needed for modern careers, particularly those that allow for the growing trend of working in remote, distributed teams.

The sooner that the participants master these proficiencies, the higher impact they can have on their growing career.

These are called “new collar” jobs, which often require specific, in-demand skills acquired through apprenticeships or credentials earned from abbreviated post-secondary coursework.

Self-paced learning significantly improves memory performance compared to a control condition in which the same overall study time was used but time was not differentially allocated across items. By choosing how to distribute study time, students outperformed others who spent the same total time studying the material.

Currently, we offer the following programs that are fully digital, self-paced with proven highly evaluated facilitators who are subject matter experts:

• Winning Sales Strategies
• E-Negotiation: Essential Skills for Virtual Interactions
• Developing and Presenting a Successful Business Case
• Communication Skills for Early-in-Career Success
• Guided Self-Coaching for New Supervisors and Managers

I encourage you to enrol in one of these programs that fills the gap in your career. You will see the benefit immediately.

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Sanjay Dhebar is a facilitator in the Schulich ExecEd and adjunct faculty at the Schulich School of Business at York University. His own program, Winning Sales Strategies, is now open for enrolment 365 days a year. Schulich ExecEd’s other online self-paced programs, which are currently available at various scheduled dates, will also soon be available year-round.