Millette Reflection – Learning Launch 

 Challenge 

 Air Force acquisition program managers lack education that replicates the situation in   which they most often find themselves .   Just about every project or program management class   available to Air Force personnel starts with a blank sheet of paper and teaches the students   how to build a project plan .   This is an effective method of presenting the best practices , tools ,   and techniques in project management .   However , very few program managers actually get to   build their own program / project plan .   In most cases , they get dropped into a program or   project that is already underway – essentially executing someone else ’s plan .   I had an idea to   build curriculum that would address this gap – providing the Air Force acquisition program   managers education on project execution . 

 Selection 

 Based on my experience ( as both an Air Force acquisition program manager and an   educator of Air Force acquisition program managers ) and discussions with my colleagues and   students , I believed I already had a solid educational design for a course or workshop on project   execution .   What I needed to do was find out if I was on the right track .   Was my assumption   that Air Force acquisition program managers want this type of education correct ?   Was my   assumption that our design ( immerse the students in a scenario with detailed realistic artifacts ,   let them realize what they do n’t know , then teach them the best practices ) an effective way to   provide this education ?   As Robert Mayer suggests in the video lesson , “ Learning launches test key   customer , execution and defensibility assumptions ” .   Rather than following our arduous and   time - consuming standard course development process – i.e. identify the target audience ,   define detailed learning objectives , design content , build course , offer course – I wanted to   engage real students quickly to test my assumptions . 

 Application & Insight 

 In order to garner feedback from actual students , I put together a half - day workshop   and scheduled it as part of a regular training session offered at our base .   I built the scenario   artifacts and the best practice lessons .   I created a draft syllabus and teaching notes .   Following   the workshop , I solicited feedback from the students both verbally and via a survey they   received later .   The students reported the exercise - then - lessons design was an effective way to   engage them and enhanced their learning ; but that they felt rushed during the exercises ( as I   did in providing the lessons ) .   The primary lesson I learned as a result of this first learning   launch was that a half - day was n’t long enough . 

 I then scheduled a day - long workshop as part of a journeyman program manager   training session offered later .   We held the second learning launch .   The result was further   confirmation that the design was effective , but needed some tweaking .   As provided , the   course started with the scenario / exercise in the morning followed by an afternoon of lecture . 

 The students said the afternoon was too much lecture . In addition , I learned that the course   STILL was n’t long enough . 

 A third learning launch event was held ; this time as a day - and - a - half stand - alone   workshop with a modified design .   This time , we would start with a portion of the   scenario / exercise , then provide the best practices via lecture , but allow the students to get   back into the scenario to try the best practices themselves .   As such , this third learning launch   would provide additional insight into a couple of areas :   Did we have the right length at 1 ½   days ?   And , was the modified design better for the students ?   The resulting feedback was a   resounding yes and yes . 

 With the information gleaned from the learning launch activities , I was confident we   had designed curriculum that Air Force acquisition program managers needed and that   effectively met their needs .   Armed with this information , I handed the design over to   additional faculty to formalize the workshop into a course .   This would close the   administrative / bureaucratic loops ( i.e. obtaining a course number and satisfying higher   headquarters paperwork requirements ) and get the new Project Execution course on the   academic calendar for offerings in fiscal year 2021 . 

 Approach 

 Bolstered by the success of applying learning launches to course development , I plan to   make this my preferred methodology for narrowing down target audience requirements and   honing in on an effective course design .   For example , I have identified a requirement for   Innovation education for the Air Force acquisition workforce .   I have a good idea what the   specific education needs are in this area , but will use short workshops to validate my   assumptions as to what the workforce desires .   Further , each of these learning launch   workshops will provide insight into whether my design ( still undecided ; I will likely employ   other Design Thinking methodologies like brainstorming or mind - mapping to help come up with   an initial design ) assumptions are correct . 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: 
PHONE_NUM: 
STREET_ADDRESS: 
URL_PERSONAL: 
USERNAME: 

### Task: You are a PII (Personal Identity Information) Detection. Given a essays written by students, you have to identify ONLY the following:
NAME_STUDENT - The full or partial name of a student that is not necessarily the author of the essay. This excludes instructors, authors, and other person names.
EMAIL - A student’s email address.
USERNAME - A student's username on any platform.
ID_NUM - A number or sequence of characters that could be used to identify a student, such as a student ID or a social security number.
PHONE_NUM - A phone number associated with a student.
URL_PERSONAL - A URL that might be used to identify a student.
STREET_ADDRESS - A full or partial street address that is associated with the student, such as their home address.
### Input: Millette Reflection – Learning Launch 

 Challenge 

 Air Force acquisition program managers lack education that replicates the situation in   which they most often find themselves .   Just about every project or program management class   available to Air Force personnel starts with a blank sheet of paper and teaches the students   how to build a project plan .   This is an effective method of presenting the best practices , tools ,   and techniques in project management .   However , very few program managers actually get to   build their own program / project plan .   In most cases , they get dropped into a program or   project that is already underway – essentially executing someone else ’s plan .   I had an idea to   build curriculum that would address this gap – providing the Air Force acquisition program   managers education on project execution . 

 Selection 

 Based on my experience ( as both an Air Force acquisition program manager and an   educator of Air Force acquisition program managers ) and discussions with my colleagues and   students , I believed I already had a solid educational design for a course or workshop on project   execution .   What I needed to do was find out if I was on the right track .   Was my assumption   that Air Force acquisition program managers want this type of education correct ?   Was my   assumption that our design ( immerse the students in a scenario with detailed realistic artifacts ,   let them realize what they do n’t know , then teach them the best practices ) an effective way to   provide this education ?   As Robert Mayer suggests in the video lesson , “ Learning launches test key   customer , execution and defensibility assumptions ” .   Rather than following our arduous and   time - consuming standard course development process – i.e. identify the target audience ,   define detailed learning objectives , design content , build course , offer course – I wanted to   engage real students quickly to test my assumptions . 

 Application & Insight 

 In order to garner feedback from actual students , I put together a half - day workshop   and scheduled it as part of a regular training session offered at our base .   I built the scenario   artifacts and the best practice lessons .   I created a draft syllabus and teaching notes .   Following   the workshop , I solicited feedback from the students both verbally and via a survey they   received later .   The students reported the exercise - then - lessons design was an effective way to   engage them and enhanced their learning ; but that they felt rushed during the exercises ( as I   did in providing the lessons ) .   The primary lesson I learned as a result of this first learning   launch was that a half - day was n’t long enough . 

 I then scheduled a day - long workshop as part of a journeyman program manager   training session offered later .   We held the second learning launch .   The result was further   confirmation that the design was effective , but needed some tweaking .   As provided , the   course started with the scenario / exercise in the morning followed by an afternoon of lecture . 

 The students said the afternoon was too much lecture . In addition , I learned that the course   STILL was n’t long enough . 

 A third learning launch event was held ; this time as a day - and - a - half stand - alone   workshop with a modified design .   This time , we would start with a portion of the   scenario / exercise , then provide the best practices via lecture , but allow the students to get   back into the scenario to try the best practices themselves .   As such , this third learning launch   would provide additional insight into a couple of areas :   Did we have the right length at 1 ½   days ?   And , was the modified design better for the students ?   The resulting feedback was a   resounding yes and yes . 

 With the information gleaned from the learning launch activities , I was confident we   had designed curriculum that Air Force acquisition program managers needed and that   effectively met their needs .   Armed with this information , I handed the design over to   additional faculty to formalize the workshop into a course .   This would close the   administrative / bureaucratic loops ( i.e. obtaining a course number and satisfying higher   headquarters paperwork requirements ) and get the new Project Execution course on the   academic calendar for offerings in fiscal year 2021 . 

 Approach 

 Bolstered by the success of applying learning launches to course development , I plan to   make this my preferred methodology for narrowing down target audience requirements and   honing in on an effective course design .   For example , I have identified a requirement for   Innovation education for the Air Force acquisition workforce .   I have a good idea what the   specific education needs are in this area , but will use short workshops to validate my   assumptions as to what the workforce desires .   Further , each of these learning launch   workshops will provide insight into whether my design ( still undecided ; I will likely employ   other Design Thinking methodologies like brainstorming or mind - mapping to help come up with   an initial design ) assumptions are correct .
### Output: 