Do you feel like you are on the brink of something exciting? That something may be about to come into your life that can help you make some positive, significant changes? Join District 39 as we begin a journey down a new pathway!
Pathways Learning Experience is Toastmasters’ new education program. It is the most significant change to the Toastmasters education program since founder Ralph Smedley introduced the Basic Training Manual in the 1940’s.
Pathways will help you reach your personal and professional goals by building current, real-world skills. It is a user-friendly online learning experience you can customize to fit your needs; whether those be in public speaking, interpersonal communication, management, or strategic leadership—or combinations of those areas. Some of Pathways’ features you will enjoy:
10 unique learning paths (chosen by you, based on your goals and needs)
Learning at your own pace
Engaging videos and digital content
Experiencing the program online or in print
Interactive quizzes and activities
Expanded resources to model skills you are building—online tips, tools, and videos
More specific and frequent feedback and recognition
New projects such as podcasting, blogging, holding online meetings
Pathways is new, but based on familiar concepts and projects. Your club meeting will remain very much the same. With the help and input of members from throughout the world, Toastmasters International has taken the very best of the current education program and transformed it into a modern, dynamic, robust learning system! If you completed all 16 of the current communication manuals (85 speeches), you could achieve 68 different competencies. In Pathways, you can achieve that many in one path! In all of Pathways, there are more than 300 competencies just waiting for you to realize them!
Each path you take will have multiple projects in each of 5 levels. You will complete all the projects in one level before you move on to the next level. The skills and knowledge you gain in Level 1 will be the foundation for the projects in Level 2. Those gained in Level 2 will be the foundation for projects in Level 3. The goal throughout the Pathways program is to not just learn, but to apply what you learn. Paths have a combination of required projects and elective projects you select. The power of Pathways is your ability to customize the program to match your own goals and needs.
Pathways has an online learning management system called Base Camp. In Base Camp, you will select paths, track your progress in projects, and maintain your evaluations and awards. You will find lots of resources and tutorials to answer questions and provide information and guidance. You can see videos of members who have completed the same project you are working on, who are sharing some tips to make the project easier for you. You can even “file” copies of your speeches and any comments you receive.
Now that you are anxious to start, you want to know when Pathways will be available, right? Pathways is being released to the entire world in phases. For District 39 (in Region 2), it is just around the corner! We are scheduled for rollout this September. Before we can roll out, the District 39 Pathways Ambassadors and Guides need to visit each club to make sure every member has the opportunity to hear about the program prior to it going live. Look for them to visit your club sometime in August or early September. They are coming to introduce the program to you–not to train you in detail. Why not in detail? Because the current education program and the new Pathways program will work concurrently for nearly two and a half years. After the rollout, you can jump right into Pathways…or you can ease your way into it. You can even work in both the current system and Pathways at the same time. But rest assured, you aren’t expected to know everything about Pathways the day it rolls out. Your Ambassador and Guide will be there to help you for several months after the rollout.
It truly is an exciting time to be a Toastmaster!
Tracy Fletcher-Bowman DTM
D39 Pathway Ambassador
“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” George Bernard Shaw
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