We live in a connected world, where there is ample opportunity to learn and sign up for courses online. But how many of these courses are actually designed with people in mind?
In a fast-paced world, we can become very focused on achieving outcomes, ticking boxes and gathering data for statistical analysis, but there is always a person behind the screen. People are also multifaceted, which means that we need a more holistic approach to meet our ever changing needs.
From an Applied Psychology perspective, this means taking a more human-centered approach to learning.
What is a human-centered approach?
Human centric learning and teaching means taking people as a whole into consideration. When signing up for a course in Applied Psychology, Communication, People Management or Business Management, it’s especially important to not only process information on an intellectual level, but to learn through social interaction, and by putting theory into practice.
In a human-centered learning approach, a variety of needs are taken into consideration. For example, establishing online learning communities on virtual platforms caters to the need for social interaction and discussing ideas while completing a course. This includes technical functionality like chat boxes or forums, which makes sharing information easy.
Comment, like and sharing functions give you the ability to respond and engage with peers. This allows for easy interaction with course facilitators. It also breaks down barriers of communication between both those running the course, and those taking it. It’s also easy to submit assignments and take part in assessments on an online platform, which is much more convenient, and allows for more efficient course administration.
Understanding humans: ourselves and others
Another benefit from a human-centered learning approach is understanding ourselves and others better. But why should we want to understand ourselves and each other better in the first place?
We might feel disconnected from each other at times, as we engage more and more through screens and technology. However, there is always still a person, or people, behind every piece of software or hardware. A person with a myriad of emotional and physical experiences, and their own lens with which to make sense of it all.
We can learn a lot from reading, which can build self-awareness, but understanding ourselves and each other goes hand in hand, as we learn through interacting with others, and vice versa. In both a personal and work environment, this kind of awareness is critical to avoid unnecessary conflict. Thereby ensuring harmonious and respectful relationships that can help families, communities and businesses flourish.
But how do we really develop the tools and capacity to understand ourselves, and each other? Through taking focused and academically robust online courses, that simultaneously give us highly practical skills that we can apply immediately helps to enhance both our personal and professional competency.
In a world that is constantly changing, developing a foundational approach to dealing with ourselves and others is more critical than ever before.
SACAP Global: human-centered online courses
At SACAP Global, we offer a variety of courses. They are grounded in Applied Psychology, and human-centred in design and delivery. These include contemporary topics within Psychology, Business Management, Communication, Coaching and People Management.
Our courses are based on psychology theories, and allow you to grow in your chosen career path, by honing the soft skills you need to make an impact, both in a personal and professional capacity.
Designed to help you prepare for the future of work, we offer the following micro-credentials and short courses on the OpenLearning platform. There are frequent updates by our team of academics and experts:
- Managing and Motivating People – Do you manage a team or want to pursue a management role? This course explores how managing people and teams requires work, collaboration and understanding.
- Intro to Human Behaviour – learn more about what makes you, “you” in this course. It is aimed at anyone who is looking to work more effectively with others to achieve their goals.
- Intro to Management and Leadership – learn more about when to manage and when to lead. This course takes a pragmatic approach to issues and challenges that managers face and how to cope with them.
Start your human-centered learning journey
The OpenLearning platform hosts the flexible online courses from SACAP Global. Therefore they are accessible to anyone, anytime and anywhere. To ensure the most optimal human-centric experience, our courses are only available at certain times of the year. This guarantees that you receive the full benefit of interacting with your facilitator and cohort of fellow learners for the duration of the course.
All you need to join is a willingness to learn, and a stable internet connection!
Contact us for more information about our online courses. Our team has extensive interdisciplinary experience in higher education and would be very happy to help guide your interactive learning experience!