About

Facilitators

Jeff Merrell

Current: Exploring Innovations in Networked Work and Learning #msloc430
Past: Exploring Personal Learning Networks #xplrpln [Archive]

I am Associate Director and lecturer at the Master’s Program in Learning & Organizational Change (MSLOC) at Northwestern University where I teach MSLOC 430, a graduate-level course examining the use of social technology for sharing knowledge in organizations. I am an educational technology enthusiast and led MSLOC’s adoption of an Enterprise 2.0 platform as the backbone of its learning and teaching environment. My academic and professional interests focus on linking innovative knowledge-sharing tools and practices to organizational strategy with a particular interest on activities that lead to socially-responsible outcomes. Lately I have also been exploring the role that digital networked learning (personal learning networks and MOOCs) play in changing how people connect, learn and engage. I blog about learning and technology at jeffdmerrell.com.

I hold an M.S. in Learning & Organizational Change from Northwestern and an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management. Purple Line Associates is my research and consulting practice. It is dedicated to researching and designing innovative solutions for sharing knowledge. I have been Principal Consultant of Purple Line Associates since its inception in 2001.

Kimberly Scott

Past: Exploring Personal Learning Networks #xplrpln [Archive]

I’m an Assistant Professor and Director of the Master’s Program in Learning & Organizational Change and the Center for Learning & Organizational Change at Northwestern University. I joined Northwestern over eight years ago, after 10 years of management and consulting work in a variety of mid-sized and Fortune 500 companies. My PhD. and MBA are from The Ohio State University, where my studies concentrated in organizational behavior and human resource management. I don’t really blog, but when I do you can read about it here: http://mooskscott.wordpress.com/.

My work focuses on improving workplace environments and practices that foster employee wellness, learning and success. I’ve used my research opportunities to explore how people learn through problem solving and to examine relationships between organizational practices, individual engagement and well-being. I’m also interested in the transitions people experience as they move into leadership roles and how learning can be facilitated to accelerate leadership development. I have designed and taught courses that cover a range of topics, including learning and performance improvement, action learning, leadership development, change management, and the application of social network analysis to organizational change issues. As an independent consultant, my work with individuals focuses on coaching leaders and high-potential talent to develop the awareness, learning agility, and competencies that will help them achieve their career objectives. My work with organizations ranges from facilitating strategic workforce planning to designing leadership development interventions, including action learning and performance management programs.

The Master’s Program in Learning and
Organizational Change

The Master of Science in Learning and Organizational Change (MSLOC) program at Northwestern University is designed to strengthen the ability of experienced working professionals to use innovative people management and learning practices to lead strategic and sustainable organizational change.

We focus on issues that traditionally fall into categories such as change management, organizational development, knowledge management, leadership development and organizational learning. But we do so by using a distinctive approach taken from our academic home in the School of Education and Social Policy and its mission “to understand and improve human learning and development throughout the life span and in multiple contexts.”

This site is the work of Jeff Merrell and Kimberly S. Scott and is based on their academic interests as faculty for the Masters Program in Learning and Organizational Change at Northwestern University (MSLOC). All opinions or points-of-view expressed here are our own and do not represent MSLOC or Northwestern.