Three Lessons from Associations

Three Lessons from Associations

Earlier this month, I spoke at the ASAE Annual Conference & Exhibition in Atlanta, Georgia, USA (ASAE13).  My topic was “Learning on the Run:  Professional Development in a Mobile World.”  I wrote two white papers on the topic:

Introduction to Professional Development in a Mobile World; and

Mobile Professional Development Readiness Review

A room full of association executives and vendor partners attended the session in the ice-cold venue.  Their interest and ideas heated up discussion if not the room.

I always learn when I teach and this session was no exception.  Association leaders and community members are sharp and insightful.  Here are three things I learned from session participants:

1. Association leaders want to lead creatively yet recognize organizational resistance to change.
2. Associations are considering mobile as a learning delivery option but the challenge is in the details;
3. Associations keep curriculum in an academic box and do not realize the transformative, sustainable power of a written curriculum for professional development.

It is that last item that really grabbed my attention and to which I will attend.

Does your association have a written, curated, peer-reviewed curriculum?