GWENDOLYN SISKA
Staff Writer
Starting fall 2006, the Graduate School of Education and Psychology will offer a new degree: the master of science in workplace learning and performance.
The program was developed to assist students with backgrounds in education, psychology, communication, business and related fields. It will help them model transformational leadership while applying it to their work in training and development, according to program director Doug Leigh.
“Students will develop leadership capacity and expand their professional skill so as to be able to effect positive change by improving the performance of their organization and its clients,” Leigh said.
This major will prepare students who are interested in pursuing careers in many areas including human services, nongovernmental organizations, healthcare, higher education, corporations, non-profit organizations and religious institutions. It will train students in the design and development of workplace learning and performance (WLP).
WLP is extremely important, according to Leigh. The American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) described WLP as “the field and profession that measurably improves individual, group and organizational performance by locating learning in a value chain where workplace variables determine learning needs, strategies, and practices.”
In 2004, ASTD reported that on average “employees receive 28 hours of formal learning per year and that the use of technology to facilitate learning is going up, with 29 percent of companies using computer-based learning methods, with at least 75 percent of online learning being self-paced.”
Aside from GSEP professors, experts nationwide specializing in workplace and learning performance will teach the program.
“Graduates will be able to serve WLP professionals in a variety of capacities, including instructional design, curriculum development, performance consulting and training evaluation,” Leigh said.
The program will be four semesters long with the classes meeting one weekend per month. To supplement regular class time, a portion of the class will use online learning methods. At the finish of the four semesters of the program, students will be able to share their portfolios filled with plans for professional development with faculty, other students, guests and representatives invited from professional organizations.
There are only 25 spots in this program for the first semester, but it will hopefully be open to more students in the future. For more information, visit http://gsep.pepperdine.edu/academics/education/ms-lp/
10-06-2005
