Of course the big news this month is that Pathways is now live in our District! Thanks to the great work of our Pathways Guides and Ambassadors, and all the clubs who have hosted their visits, District 91 has exceeded its targets to ensure the roll-out went ahead on time.
This is the beginning, not the end. Your Pathways Guides and Ambassadors will continue to support your clubs for several more months, so if you have any questions speak to your VP Education who will have access to that support for your club.
The first step on your Pathways journey is to choose your first Learning Path. My advice is to read through the descriptions of each Learning Path and the required projects in each to get an understanding of what each involves before you take the online assessment. Details are on our website. Once you have completed the assessment you are still free to choose any of the 10 Learning Paths and not just the ones recommended.
For dual members who wish to select their second free Learning Path, you will need to email Toastmasters with the following information:
- First and Last Name
- Member ID
- Email address
- Club Name
- Club Number
- 2nd Free Path Requested
Pathways Pioneers
I have already heard of several members who have completed their Pathways Ice Breaker project, including at Guildford Speakers, Arun Speakers, Berkhamsted Speakers, Thame Speakers, and three in the same evening at Chiltern Speakers! One of the first to tackle his Ice Breaker was Donovan Bradley of Thame Speakers. He gave me the following feedback on his experience:
“I attended my first Club meeting in January 2018 so I have no experience or knowledge of the Toastmasters modules to make a comparison. However I did find the Pathways platform very user friendly and detailed. I logged on as advised on the Toastmasters website to access Pathways; as with any new website or platform it takes a short while to familiarise yourself with the navigation structure and content layout. But as I entered Pathways I scrolled down to the bottom of first landing page; Home/Pathways learning experience, clicked on that and my Pathway has begun.
I instantly noticed the time, effort and thought that has gone into developing this project; the process is very intuitive and includes video content, content text and supportive information for your mental state/nerves. Your personal self-assessments are at the start and end of the project which proved very helpful; this closes the loop to reflect back on oneself and what has been achieved or not.
The documentation is clear and available with View Option and PDF to print or save electronically which caters for all users’ style of working. Supporting Documents:
- Ice Breaker Speech Outline Worksheet
- Project Checklist
- Evaluation Resource
- Print My Project
In summary; I had heard the discussions surrounding the new Pathways platform and the uncertainty but I was pleasantly surprised and now ready for my next project.”
For more information on Pathways take a look at this handy Pathways paths and projects catalogue.
I look forward to hearing many more of your stories over the coming months and hope that every club will have its own Pathways Pioneers, leading and supporting their members.
Andy Hammond
Progam Quality Director (PQD)