Carolly Erickson creatively tells the tale of how treacherous is to be a wife of Henry VIII’s 1500’s England. In “The Unfaithful Queen”, Catherine is a young girl living in her grandmother’s house. Her mother is dead and her father is a destitute Howard with only his name to show for his lineage—no wealth or lands. Catherine is wooed by several men but when the king sees her he is reminded of his great love, Jocasta and immediately befriends the young maiden. Catherine is integrated into the royal household and Henry VIII leaves his fourth wife to marry Catherine. Henry VIII is old, smelly and sick and Catherine continues to see her true love, Tom Culpeper. The royal court is littered with deceit, rivalry and struggle for power and Catherine is too young and naïve to realize the court is not loyal to her. Of course, a wife or lover to the king is only valued if she can produce a son, an heir to the throne. Catherine is unable to produce the heir which leads to disastrous results. “The Unfaithful Queen” reads as if Catherine is telling you a personal story. Erickson writes vividly and realistically and I was pulled in from page one. The reader will definitely get a sense of what the royal court might have been like under Henry VIII’s rein.
Month: January 2013
Engage Passive Learners
According to the January 2013 issue of “Chief Learning Officer” 60% of people are passive learners. I find this so interesting because when I design classes or content, I always focus on “active learning”. I want my learners to engage with the content, to actually have to use the new knowledge to change behavior. Randy Emelo suggests, “learning professionals need to construct learning environments, events and programs that encourage active participation and speak to employees in ways that trigger an innate need and desire to learn.
Sounds easy but it is actually pretty difficult. Think about all the “training” you have attended that is essentially information sharing. You are not asked to construct “new” knowledge or use the new skills and behaviors in thought-provoking, meaningful ways. Certainly social media has aided in engagement and collaboration, but more often than not, there are many that are “lurkers” staying in the background rather than getting involved in the conversation. But tap into someone’s passions or allow them to be an “expert” and motivation can increase. I think Trip Advisor does this really well. I was reminded of this during my recent trip to Palm Springs. When we wanted suggestions for things to do or places to eat, I would search Trip Advisor’s reviews. I was then compelled to “give back” by writing reviews after I visited places. And then Trip Advisor acknowledged my contributions by giving me a “contributor” badge and when another reader finds my review helpful, I get an email telling me someone thought my review was helpful. Genius!
The article suggests some ideas to foster active learning:
1. “Set up learning environments and systems that are personally motivating.
2. Look for systems that have push and pull.
3. Reward and recognize people for building the organization’s learning culture.”
Check out the complete article: http://read.clomedia.com/publication/?i=138586&p=32
seniyegroff 