A short description of how my MET learnings have influenced my life. I graduated April 2020.
Hello. I am excited to share my post-MET journey with you. I graduated in April 2020 and have been trying to make my education matter. I hope that my story inspires you. It has been interesting, difficult, and lucrative.
Coast Mountain Bus Company (cmbc)
I still have the same job I had when I started the MET. As a result of my studies in the MET, I have felt more confident in assisting in course design. I have been able to create excellent lesson plans and presentations. I am able to contribute informed opinions towards curriculum changes. The MET helped improve my skills as an instructor.
Organization 1
My colleagues met a couple starting a driving school while I was still in the MET. My colleagues knew about my passion and studying of instructional design, so they recommended we meet. I met the school owners with the intention of offering some free advice and consulting to help them out at the start. This project became me being paid to create a government-reviewed and approved driving course. I gained the opportunity to train the new instructor and get insight from ICBC on their expectations and process. Once a month I travel over to teach classroom driving lessons at this school over a weekend. They are very happy with my work and plan to work with me indefinitely.
Lesson
If you are passionate about a topic, let people know. Don’t be afraid to do some initial free work to get involved in projects you care about. If you lack experience, initial free consultation can lead to paid ongoing work in projects you care about. Share your passion freely and things will develop.
Creating Online Courses
I created an online driving course module in one of my MET courses. It was small and partial. I offered it for sale online and was surprised that some people paid for it and found it useful. With the confidence of my experience, I created a full and robust online driving course studying aid. Now, some driving schools are recommending their students buy my study aid after completing their courses prior to taking their ICBC knowledge tests. When I teach classroom driving lessons, after I am done I hand out reference cards with the study aid’s website address.
Lesson
In your MET courses, try to make your projects meaningful. For every MET course I tried to take the projects beyond the classroom at UBC. About 70 percent went nowhere, but 30 percent made an impact on the world. 100 percent taught me more than what was encapsulated in the UBC course.
Organization 2
A colleague met a person expanding their driving school. The colleague knew about my passion and studying of instructional design, so the colleague recommended we meet. The school owner knew another school owner who had to study the National Safety Code to pass a difficult exam in a short period of time. They contracted me to help the school owner pass the test. As a result, I have become a recognized expert in the National Safety Code in my main job. This relationship grew and now the school is asking to use my online driving courses in their curriculum and are asking me to create train-the-trainer courses.
Lesson
Welcome the unexpected. Have an open mind to opportunities that will develop. Your educational background will open doors that you never can anticipate. If you welcome and seek different opportunities, there will be plenty to explore.
The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC)
ICBC had been asking for consultations on an online study aid for new drivers. With confidence in the knowledge I had gained from the MET, I asked to join that group. I was able to view an innovative new online driving aid that will be released in December 2021. There were highly esteemed driving school owners and ICBC representatives on the panel.
When asked for my input, I was able to call upon my MET learnings to provide valuable and unique insight that may make a positive difference in the world.
Lesson
Everything you study in the MET is valuable. As you study, consider everything to be relevant and important. Be an active learner in your own mind by connecting the content you learn to real-world implications.
What is going on now?
Now I am working in the same role I had when I started in the MET, but I am more involved in curriculum development and lesson design; I am also a better instructor.
I am developing online lessons to be used in driving schools in consultation with ICBC. I am teaching classroom driving courses I created one weekend a month for a driving school. I am designing a teach-the-teacher course for a driving school, which I will also be instructing as another side gig. I am selling online courses.
General Lessons
Confidence. MET gives you confidence in creating online courses. This is huge. Because of my experiences in the MET, I can create online courses in which I believe. I can talk to others with confidence about course design and implementation. Do not be shy about how much you care about helping others and high-quality standards.
Relationships. Probably the biggest deficit in the MET program is the lack of training in professional and constructive communication. I expect that some vested in the MET as it is would argue that there are group projects, forums, etc. This is very different from speaking professionally with people intimidated by change and technology. EVERY STUDENT of the MET needs to assess their own communication skills. If you feel inexperienced or deficient in professional communication, get training outside the MET in professional communication. It doesn’t matter how much you know if no one wants to work with you.
Consider what education means. How much time and money would you spend to become proficient in a program or process? Sometimes consider working on an idea that may or may not become very successful without compensation; especially if it is a side project and your bills are paid. If it works out, great. If it does not work out, you gained experience and knowledge. Sometimes you will make money, sometimes you will not. There are limitless opportunities for growth regardless of compensation. If you have a job that pays the bills and have energy to spare, this works well.
Conclusion
Opportunities abound in corporate learning, but you have to take your education and make it matter through your passion.
About the author
Stephen Campbell is a corporate training designer, instructor and consultant. His main occupation is as an Instructor with Coast Mountain Bus Company. Stephen also enjoys supporting driving schools in British Columbia in envisioning, creating and delivering high-quality and effective instruction for professional drivers.