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Welcome to Soft Skills Students. I’m Michael Forrester. In this lesson, we explore how teaching and learning drive collaboration, innovation, and high performance in DevOps teams.

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Why Teaching and Learning Matter

The image shows an illustration of three people working together to lift an upward-pointing arrow, symbolizing teamwork and growth, with the text "Teaching and Learning – Why It Should Matter to Teams" above. Below, it states, "Teams that grow together stay together and produce better results."
Teams that learn together build deeper trust, communicate more effectively, and adapt faster. While self-study accelerates individual progress, structured group learning (workshops, demos, peer teaching) aligns everyone around shared goals and best practices. This collective approach cements core concepts and reveals each member’s strengths and areas for growth.

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Strengthening Team Bonds

The image shows a diagram with colorful icons representing people and speech bubbles arranged in a circle, titled "Teaching and Learning – Strengthening Team Bonds." In the bottom right corner, there's a person speaking.
Shared learning formats:
ActivityFormatKey Benefit
Workshops & ClassesIn-person or VirtualConsistent knowledge foundation
Online Courses TogetherSelf-paced + Group CallsFlexible skill building
Proof-of-Concept ProjectsPair or Team ExperimentsHands-on collaboration
Real-World Problem SolvingSprint-style SessionsJoint decision-making and innovation
Rotate facilitators for each session to surface diverse perspectives and keep engagement high.

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Learning Together

The image features a presentation slide titled "Teaching and Learning – Learning Together," with three sections labeled "Workshops," "POCs," and "Problem-Solving," each with corresponding icons. In the bottom right corner, there is a person speaking, wearing a shirt with a logo.
Beyond formal classes and POCs, embed peer learning by:
  • Hosting regular demos and “show me” sessions
  • Pairing for mentoring—cross-functional or senior-junior
  • Encouraging conference talks, blog posts, or webinars
  • Organizing teach-back sessions and lunch-and-learns
These touchpoints make implicit knowledge visible and accelerate skill transfer across the team.

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Fostering a Culture of Knowledge Sharing

The image is a diagram titled "Teaching and Learning – A Culture of Knowledge Sharing," featuring a circular flowchart with sections labeled "Demos and Show Me’s," "Mentoring," "Speaking at Conferences," and "Teach-Back and Lunch N’ Learns." There is also a person in the bottom right corner.
To make teaching and learning habits:
  1. Schedule monthly knowledge-sharing ceremonies
  2. Track topics and rotate presenters
  3. Recognize contributors in team retrospectives
  4. Maintain a shared “learning backlog”
When continuous learning is baked into your workflow, your team becomes resilient, more innovative, and better equipped for change.

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Summary

The image is a summary slide titled "Teaching and Learning – Summary," featuring four key points about the benefits of teaching and learning within teams. There is also a person sitting at a desk in the bottom right corner.
Key takeaways:
  • Empowers teams with shared knowledge, skills, and insights
  • Strengthens bonds through collaborative learning
  • Raises overall competency across the group
  • Cultivates an enduring culture of growth
Teams that teach and learn together become high-performing units. Prioritize these practices to build collaborative, adaptable, and effective DevOps teams.

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