Learning and Development Practice – by Kathy Beevers and Andrew Rea
The text to support the CIPD’s Certificate in Learning and Development Practice and for anyone interested in learning more about Learning and Development.
“If you buy one text for the CIPD’s Certificate in Learing and Development Practice make sure it’s this one” say the CIPD and quite rightly so. Split into chapters which mirror the actual modules it has given me so much useful information to use during the workbooks and support the learning from the workshops. I would have been lost without it!
This book is clearly intended for those on the CIPD qualification however it will appeal to anyone who wants to either move into a career in L&D or who is currently working and wants to increase their knowledge informally.
The production of the book is very good. The chapters are well thought through and the handy “how to use this book” guide at the front is especially useful. I liked how the chapters have the same broad structure which made it easier to read in segments rather than having to read a full chapter in a sitting. I find reading fiction and biographies easier than textbooks so this certainly helped me.
Each chapter uses a good mix of text and visual images, breaking up the text which appeals to the visual learners. They introduce the topic, provide a short section on why that subject is important to L&D Practitioners, a section clarifying the meaning of the subject, practical advice about how to carry out the subject and a final “what next” section providing suggestions about extending your learning in the subject area.
There are case studies and real life examples throughout the chapters which helped me as a reader understand how the subject area is actually used in practice. Also there were questions which were aimed to encourage your own thinking around the subject matter. At the time I would have liked some suggested answers as a reference to give me support on if my thoughts were along the right lines.
Complementing the chapters are the Essential Learning Pages which are give you an overview of key learning topics such as Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle, Left Brain Right Brain thinking, the GROW coaching model and more. All of these can be easily referenced to reinforce the learning and the further reader sections ensure that the reader knows where to go to get more information.
You can probably tell that I have taken a lot from this book and in my view it works so well alongside the workshops and workbooks that I completed. The informal style and layout means that it is easy to read, it provides subject matter in an easily digestible manner and I’d recommend this book completely.
