Learning Designer
My goal is to create engaging, beautiful, meaningful training solutions that allow for learners to become the best possible contributors to their teams. When training design is done well, it develops confident, motivated, productive people who have the skills to maximize their contribution to growing, thriving, more profitable organizations
Design Philosophy
As an Instructional Designer, my training design philosophy is that learning should be fun, engaging, aesthetically pleasing, and always get learners from where they are to where they need to be. To design learning that works, you must be able to answer questions about what the learner should be able to do once they have completed their training. Whether the problem is environmental, human performance, or training for new skills, the goal of learning design should be to solve problems by changing behaviors.
Problem-Centered Design
Cathy Moore said “As a profession, we’re obsessed with knowledge transfer. We spend our days in a cloud of knowledge that floats so high above the real world that we cannot see the intelligence in the faces of the people below or the rocks they must climb over. We just assume that they need the information we have, and we rain it down on them, not noticing that the information soon evaporates, and the rocks are still there” (Moore, 2017, p.11). My role in the learning and development of people in the organizations I work with is to help them find a way over the barriers that may be in the way of them doing their best work. Often, the perceived barriers I am asked to train on are not even the true barriers. By utilizing various needs assessment approaches, depending upon the purpose of the proposed training, I can better understand the true problem at hand and then design the best training solution, if a training solution is even necessary. Needs assessments set the direction for learning, training, development, and performance improvement initiatives (Sleezer, Russ-Eft, & Gupta, 2014, p.33).
“Knowledge isn’t power until it’s applied.”
The above quote from Dale Carnegie is so true. No amount of “knowledge transfer” will help unless you can use the knowledge and decide what to do with it in the situation in front of you. All too often it is assumed that if we provide the knowledge to learners it will magically change how they do their jobs. If that were really true, and all that was required to do a job proficiently was to simply have the knowledge, then everyone who passes the learning assessment at the end of training would be a top performer on their team. Our jobs require so much more than just the knowledge. We must be able to apply that knowledge in all kinds of situations and use that knowledge to make the correct decisions in our work. While learners naturally make connections between pieces of knowledge, those connections must be well organized for learners to apply the knowledge in real time. When designing, I believe it is imperative to make connections between the knowledge and the tasks the knowledge will be applied to. Those connections must be clear for the learner to truly be able to apply what they have learned.
I provide learners with the organizational structure of the course so it is clear what the expectations are and how the information will be used. I will often create a visual of the full content to allow learners to see the full picture of what they are being asked to learn and apply. This allows them to have a “you are here” view of the information they are learning and helps them better connect that knowledge to the overall job they are being asked to do. “It’s not just what you know, but how you organize what you know that influences learning and performance” (Ambrose, Bridges, & Lovett, 2010, p.65). Focusing on application of knowledge, rather than simply providing knowledge is always the goal
Design for How People Actually Learn
It is also my responsibility to help change what people do on the job. Perhaps it is closing a learning gap, developing content for newly hired employees, upskilling an employee, etc. My role is to make sure that people are prepared to do their jobs efficiently and effectively. To accomplish this, it is important to meet the learner where they are in their knowledge base. Once they have learned the information they need to do their jobs well and they understand how to apply that information in various situations, to develop mastery of the information learners must be given opportunities to practice what they have learned. It is not enough to simply compile knowledge and information, but it must be practiced and utilized in a variety of scenarios to ensure that the concepts are well organized and able to be recalled at a moment’s notice. When designing for skills mastery, I include scenario-based practice, case studies, and simulations so learners have a chance to use the knowledge before they are required to do so on the actual job. Sometimes it is important to also break larger concepts or tasks into “baby steps” to allow full understanding of the knowledge and the application. Not only do I design for a facilitator or self-paced learning to impart this knowledge but will often times require the learner to break things down and generalize to show they truly understand. Learners must be given ample time and opportunity to use the information they are learning in a safe space away from the pressures of production and metrics.
In addition to practice, timely feedback that is targeted to the learning is also imperative and allows for better retention of the skills built in training. In an instructor led training, this might be feedback given in real time to a whole group of students or could be provided in a one-on-one coaching depending on the needs of the learners. Building in opportunities for peer feedback through working in teams or pairs to work through practice activities is also helpful to not only the person getting the feedback, but to the person providing it. Allowing the learners to approach the knowledge from different perspectives helps drive home the concepts and the real-life application of the knowledge.
Acknowledge the Humanity of the Learner
The final piece of my personal training design philosophy it to acknowledge the humanity of the learner. When designing content, I try to always be aware of the tone and approach I use to communicate. It is important to me to be aware of what kinds of assumptions I may be making about the learners who will use my content. Assumptions of what their prior knowledge may be, what their frames of reference are, or what their identity or viewpoints may be only serve to hinder learning. I try to always create learning opportunities that engage all learners and provide a learning environment where everyone feels welcome to contribute and be recognized as the individual learners they are. I also work extremely hard to make sure to be inclusive in my language and to provide diverse examples in activities and scenarios. It is important to me to make sure that no learner walks away from training I have created feeling marginalized in the process. As part of my own feedback process, I welcome the opportunity to learn and to find ways to be more inclusive of all the learners I serve. When I have missed the mark on this goal, I make a concerted effort to actively listen to concerns and feedback and use those as an opportunity for personal and professional growth for myself. Learning new concepts and information for a job can be challenging and stressful enough on its own. Learners should not have to also be concerned with the kinds of language, examples, or representation is included in the training materials. If I can remove one more distraction for the learners, I will go out of my way to do so.
Ambrose, S., Bridges, M., & Lovett, M. (2010). How learning works: 7 research-based principles for smart teaching. San Francisco: John Wiley and Sons.
Moore, C. (2017). Map it: The hands-on guide to strategic training design. Montesa Press.
Sleezer, C. M., Russ-Eft, D., & Gupta, K. (2014). A Practical Guide to Needs Assessment, 3rd Edition (co-published with ASTD). John Wiley & Sons.
