/>

First Kill All the Role Plays: Innovation Can Live in Classroom, Too

Because of its profound impact on the learning landscape, technology is often viewed by learning leaders as the answer to any question about innovation (or, at least, as the answer’s starting point). But in the rush to build better learning through technology, have we left behind opportunities to assess and improve our classroom practices?

Takeaways:

• The evolution of live, classroom-based learning practices has failed to keep pace with either the changing needs of modern learners or the advances in our understanding of how people learn.
• In this age of on-demand resources, the practice-to-perform model of classroom-based instruction is largely obsolete for knowledge workers.
• The work effort applied to creating blended solutions often seems weighted toward the technology-based elements. This may be appropriate — but it should not be assumed.
• It’s time for a paradigm shift that goes beyond “minimize lecture.”

About Michael Kennedy

Mike Kennedy is the NBA’s global head of Learning and Leadership Development, responsible for the L&LD team’s design and delivery of innovative, enduring learning solutions to the league’s 1,300 employees worldwide. Kennedy was hired as the NBA’s Director of L&D in 2012, and in 2015 launched its Leadership Development function, which has since established a new standard of practice within the sports industry and distinguished the NBA as a premier developer of top talent. In his time with the NBA, Kennedy has overseen a dramatic expansion of the league’s professional development catalog, implemented its learning management system, introduced competency-based learning, and founded the NBA Business Academy to support the growth of the league’s high-potential population. His team was awarded Gold in Brandon Hall’s 2016 Excellence Awards for Best Advance in Leadership Development.

Prior to joining the NBA, Mike was an Associate Director of Learning and Leadership Development with KPMG LLP. During his six years there, he headed the learning function that supported one quarter of the firm’s 20,000+ employees; oversaw instructional design for major Audit training programs; led the development of the firm’s pre-Partner leadership program for client-facing Senior Managers; rolled out a series of business development e-learning courses under the direction of the firm’s Vice Chair of Market Development; and authored the Audit function’s Presentation Skills and Facilitation Skills programs, which rank among the top-rated and most-attended courses in firm history. Mike was a frequently requested instructor for the firm’s major national programs, and served as the master facilitator for its annual New Manager Training.

Additional past employers include Tiffany and Co., where Mike specialized in organizationaldevelopment and held primary responsibility for the company’s performance management process, aswell as learning initiatives on customer service and behavioral interviewing; and smaller companies in the civil engineering and community mental health industries.

Kennedy draws upon his commanding platform presence and deep expertise in leadership, communications, and learning theory to deliver powerful development experiences that produce real-world results. He holds facilitator certifications in numerous training programs and business simulations, including Situational Leadership II and Marshall Goldsmith’s BreakOut!, and is qualified by education or certification to administer a wide array of assessments, including EQi-2.0, DiSC, MBTI, and FIRO-B. He earned his Certified Professional Coach credential in 2013.

Mike received his B.A. in Psychology from Brown University in Providence, RI and his M.A. in Counseling Psychology from Assumption College in Worcester, MA, where he trained as a psychotherapist specializing in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. He received his Certificate in Training and Development from the University of Rhode Island in Providence, RI.

Brooklyn-born and raised but now living in New Jersey, he is a father of four children and husband of one adult. He is also a poor but enthusiastic guitar player, a less-poor but equally-enthusiastic singer, a lifelong fan of several New York-based sports teams, an avid TV-binger, and an occasional improv comic.