2010 NZATD Education Trust Training Awards
Mind Warriors recently entered JOLT Challenge into the 2010 NZATD Education Trust Training Awards. The winners were announced at the NZATD Expo at the end of May. The JOLT Challenge program was in the top two and missed out on the main award by a "hairs breadth" according to judges see details of the Award and Judges' comments below.
Learning and Development Innovation Award
Overview of Award
NZATD introduced the Learning and Development Innovation Award to recognise innovation in the Learning and Development field. Rather than focus on a particular skill area or methodology, it seeks to acknowledge that individuals may exhibit excellence within the profession through a range of expertise that may span a range of different learning disciplines.
Developing criteria to allow for robust comparison was difficult but for this award we did know that we were looking for something special which needed to show one of more of the following.
• The introduction of an entirely new paradigm to the learning and development field
• The significant evolution of an existing methodology/resource/approach related to learning and development
• The application/adaptation of a methodology/resource/approach usually associated with one context to an entirely new context
• Some other indication that demonstrates novelty, uniqueness and / or creativity.
Overview of Judges
This award category attracted strong entries that were genuinely enjoyable and a pleasure to judge. With a variety of topics and approaches, each entry impressed across a wide range of different areas including social contribution; appeal to target audience; addictive readability; relentless commitment to development; content suitability; and many more besides.
The calibre of the innovations themselves – and their supporting submissions – gave great assurance that innovation is very much alive and well in New Zealand.
Standards were so high in this category that the judges wanted to present two awards. There was very little to separate the top two entries and the runner-up in this category literary missed the mark by a hair’s breadth. So we are going to present a highly commended award to the very worthy runner-up.
Feedback for the Highly Commended Award
JOLT Challenge
The JOLT Challenge Entry impressed all the judges for its addictive, fun, and freshly innovative approach to an already crowded niche. Using an effective blend of old and new, combining hard science and the creative arts, this initiative is indeed ‘comprehensive, relevant, quotable, practical, doable, and inspirational’.
The judges were impressed with the new “take” on an area that has already received much attention over the years. They felt the approach was able to seamlessly draw together many strands of existing research and present them in a way that is fresh and appealing to its target market. Its use of a variety of techniques, spanning reading, self reflection, social interaction, experiential learning, guided visualisation and many more, demonstrated a sound use of learning principles to make convey a complex and very personal topic in a very accessible way.
The judges were also very impressed by the rigour with which the research and development was conducted, actively seeking out a panel of experts to provide input. This ensured that the material was “fit for purpose”. The level of peer review and attention to detail in the presentation were critical quality assurance factors which shone through in the materials that were presented for judging.
The judges were very impressed with this entry and felt that the programme will find a ready audience. With its lively and energising approach they have no doubt that this initiative will be as rewarding and popular with others as it was with them.