Best Resilience and Adaptability Courses - Q2 2023
The age-old saying is that “the only constant is change.” In today’s world of rapidly evolving technologies, changing work environments, economic changes, legal changes, and organizational changes within every company, the ability to adapt and be resilient has become an extremely valuable skill. In fact, The Manpower Group lists Adaptability and Resiliency as one of the top 5 skills currently valued by IT and Technology employers. As (or more) importantly, the ability to “bounce back” from hardship can help you to better handle stress and achieve greater enjoyment in life.
Our Expert Picks
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Our Expert Review
Content Coverage (5/5)
This course is organized into 4 modules, each containing videos lectures, readings, and quizzes. Some modules also include exercises and discussion prompts. The course contains the majority of topics we consider to be important in a Resilience course, along with helpful additional material. The sequence of the course is excellent and allows the learner to build concepts easily.
Lecture Quality (5/5)
The lectures in this course are relatively brief (less than 15 mins) videos consisting of the instructor presenting directly to the learner, augmented by vignettes of experts or people acting out scenarios. The instructor is very confident, engaging, and poised and the vignettes are well-produced and helpful.
Quiz Quality (4.5/5)
Quizzes consisting of multiple-choice and true/false questions conclude each module. The quizzes are automatically graded and learners are presented with helpful feedback for all questions after submitting. A grade of 70% or higher is required to earn credit for the quiz, and learners can retake quizzes up to 3 times every 8 hours. The only downside to the quizzing in this course is the number of quizzes and the number of questions in each quiz seems insufficient to test all of the material covered in the modules.
Assignment/Exercise Quality (4/5)
There are two, peer-graded written assignments in this course as well as discussion prompts, and assignments that do not require submission. All of the assignments are well-designed to allow the learner to reflect on and practice the concepts covered.
There seems to be very little participation in the discussion prompts. The peer-reviewed assignments require peers to review each learner’s submission based on defined criteria. The learner is also expected to review submissions from their peers. For conscientious learners, this can be an excellent learning tool. However, neither the submissions nor the reviews are supervised by the instructor.
Certificate Brand Quality (5/5)
This course is offered by the University of Pennsylvania through Coursera. The University of Pennsylvania is a very well-known and respected university and Coursera is one of the leading online learning platforms.
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Our Expert Review
Content Coverage (5/5)
This course is organized into 5 modules, each containing brief videos, focused video lectures, readings, practice quizzes, and graded quizzes. All of the topics we consider to be important for a resilience course are covered, with a special focus on building resilience in the workplace. The sequence of the course follows the Resiliency Framework, which is an excellent way for the learner to conceptualize the material.
The course also includes additional material not usually covered in a resilience course, but very helpful for applying resilience in the workplace. These lessons include time management practices, and dealing with procrastination and perfectionism.
Lecture Quality (5/5)
The lectures are given by Dr. Alena Soboleva, a confident, knowledgeable, and poised instructor. The lectures are well-organized and written, and each lecture is augmented by well-designed images and animations that help learners understand more complex concepts.
Quiz Quality (5/5)
The course offers both practice quizzes and end-of-module graded quizzes. Both types of quizzes include very well-written multiple-choice and multiple-select questions. Both types of quizzes are automatically scored and provide links directly back to the lectures that are covered in the question as feedback. The number and variety of questions are appropriate to cover all of the material covered in the modules.
Students must receive a grade of 80% or higher in order to earn credit for the practice quizzes and can retake them as many times as necessary.
Students must receive a grade of 80% on the end-of-module quizzes as well but can only retake them every 3 times every 8 hours.
Assignment/Exercise Quality (1/5)
There are no assignments or exercises offered in this course.
Certificate Brand Quality (5/5)
This certificate is offered by Macquarie University through Coursera. Macquarie University’s Business School is internationally known and respected.
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Our Expert Review
Content Coverage (5/5)
This course is organized into 13 modules. Most of the module content consists of very brief and focused videos, but there are also many readings and exercises. The majority of topics that we consider to be important in a course on resilience are covered thoroughly. The sequence in which the content is presented is very intuitive.
Lecture Quality (5/5)
The video lectures are very short and focused, which allows busy learners to pop in and out of the course when they have time. The instructor is a professional corporate trainer and is very knowledgeable, comfortable, and poised. His lectures are engaging and well-organized, with minimal, but helpful graphics and animations.
Quiz Quality (1/5)
This course does not offer automatically graded quizzes.
Assignment/Exercise Quality (3.5/5)
There are a wide variety of assignments and exercises. Most allow self-reflection, which is appropriate for this course. Some of the assignments also allow giving and receiving feedback from other learners. For conscientious learners, this can be an excellent learning tool. However, neither the submissions nor the feedback is supervised by the instructor.
Certificate Brand Quality (5/5)
This Udemy course is Globally Accredited and comes with an opportunity to apply for optional Continued Professional Development / Continued Education Credit Hours (CPD/CE) and Professional LSA Certification.
Topics to Look For in a Resilience and Adaptability Course
- How resilience and emotional intelligence are related
- Understanding the biological aspects of anxiety
- Understanding basic human emotions
- Personal Stress management
- Developing coping strategies
- Communicating feelings
- Developing mindfulness
- Establishing work-life balance
- Developing flexibility
- Developing social competency and managing interpersonal relationships
- Understanding optimism, pessimism, realism and their relation to resilience
- Building practices of gratitude
The Major Online Learning Platforms
Each online learning platform is unique. Some specialize in certain types of content, some partner with major universities or corporations to develop content, and some have special learning features. While not exhaustive, the list below includes the major online platforms whose courses we feature.
Pros / Cons
Pros: Certificates often are offered from major universities or corporations.
Cons: The quality of course content and features available varies dramatically between courses.
Cost
$$$
Pros / Cons
Pros: Courses are very similar to those offered in colleges.
Cons: The quality of content and features offered varies dramatically between learning programs.
Cost
$$$$
Pros / Cons
Pros: A focus on microlearning with consistently high-quality content. Consistent use of quizzes throughout all courses.
Cons: Pricing is skewed toward annual subscriptions, which is far more content (and cost) than most learners need within a year.
Cost
$$$
Pros / Cons
Pros: Labs offer a means of gaining practical experience in technical skills.
Cons: There are no incremental quizzes or ways to test learners on specific topics.
Cost
$$$$
Pros / Cons
Pros: Udemy tends to be one of the more affordable options for individuals looking to learn specific technical skills.
Cons: Highly inconsistent quality between courses.
Cost
$
Pros / Cons
Pros: Consistent, high-quality micro-content that focuses on practical exercises.
Cons: The catalog is somewhat limited compared to other vendors on this list.
Cost
$$$
Pros / Cons
Pros: Many free online classes are offered. Live online classroom experiences are offered for some of their courses.
Cons: Variable quality of courses, with some courses having relatively low quality.
Cost
$$$$$
Pros / Cons
Pros: Skillshare has a large library of courses related to creative skills.
Cons: Most courses are just a series of lectures with no interactivity, quizzing, or opportunities to practice concepts.
Cost
$$$
For more information, check out our detailed post on the best online course platforms.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is resilience?
According to the American Pychological Association, “Resilience is the process and outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences, especially through mental, emotional, and behavioral flexibility and adjustment to external and internal demands.”
Why is resilience important in leadership?
Leaders are often faced with stressful, challenging, and unpredictable situations that can have an impact on their organizations and stakeholders. The ability to manage stress and maintain composure helps leaders make sound decisions and lead effectively during difficult times.
Are resilience and tenacity the same?
Tenacity is often considered a quality of resilience but is not the same. Tenacity is the quality of being persistent and determined, especially in the face of difficulties or obstacles.
Can resilience be taught?
Yes – While some individuals may have a natural inclination towards resilience, it’s a skill that can be learned and grown through experience and effort. All of the courses in our list provide a variety of proven ways to build resilience.
Can resilience be measured?
Yes – there are several psychological assessments that measure resilience, including:
- Resilience Scale: This self-report questionnaire assesses an individual’s level of resilience, based on their ability to cope with stress and adversity.
- The Brief Resilience Scale: This self-report measure assesses an individual’s capacity for resilience, based on their ability to bounce back from difficulties and maintain a positive outlook.
- The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC): This self-report measure assesses an individual’s level of resilience based on their ability to adapt and recover from stress and adversity.
- The Resilience and Thriving in Life Scale: This self-report measure assesses an individual’s level of resilience and well-being, based on their ability to cope with stress and adversity and maintain a positive outlook.