Facilitating Improvement Teams^SM is an intermediate-level online course that equips individuals to lead improvement teams through cycles of testing and learning. Through both reflection and practical application, participants build their understanding of improvement dispositions and how to foster them, hone skills for communicating with diverse audiences about improvement and change, and learn strategies for supporting social learning to advance an improvement aim. 

Leading a team of individuals to work together productively and make progress on an improvement goal requires a diverse set of knowledge, skills, and dispositions in improvement science, change management, and facilitation. Participants in this course will deepen their knowledge and skills in these areas by engaging with adaptive learning modules, optional live sessions, and application-focused assignments.

Course Outcomes

Upon completion of the course, participants will be prepared to:

• Lead improvement activities and routines at the team level.
• Foster an improvement culture and dispositions among members of a team.
• Communicate about the purpose and value of an improvement effort within a team and to external constituents.
• Identify facilitation actions to strengthen a team’s effectiveness.

Intended Audience

This self-paced course is ideal for individuals who are new to the role of leading an improvement team as well as those who are currently facilitating improvement work and want to build their facilitation toolkit. Participants should bring to the course a strong conceptual understanding of improvement methods or previous experience engaging in improvement efforts. 

Course Details

Structure

The eight-week course consists of six competency-based units that can be completed on the learner’s schedule. Each unit includes adaptive learning modules with video lectures, readings, knowledge checks, and interactive elements, as well as a performance task that supports reflection and applying learning in your context. 

The course also includes three optional, live webinar sessions. Through small group activities and discussions, these sessions are designed to help participants delve deeper into the content with the course community and receive further coaching around how to apply their learning in their contexts. Live sessions will also include time for instructors to address questions and are organized around specific topics in the course. The live sessions are focused on the following topics:

• Getting Started with your Team 
• Maintaining Team Momentum
• Facilitating a Team’s Improvement Work

Time Required

Learners can progress through the course content and activities at their own pace. They should expect to spend approximately three to four hours on each of the competency-based units as well as additional time applying their learning by completing performance tasks. Participants are also invited to attend the optional, 90-minute live sessions (3) offered by Carnegie faculty.

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