Because the Gorilla Glue Company was expanding rapidly, more people needed onboarding, upskilling, and leadership skills. When the Learning and Development department surveyed the leadership on what they needed, the response was typical - management, after narrowing, decided on 78 training topics and they wanted them delivered within 12 months. Traditionally, when given a laundry list of topics, L&D goes straight to their go-tos - one-and-done live training events, an eLearning course in the LMS, etc. It’s overwhelming to figure out personalized learning assets for that many problems when you don’t have a strategic process. With Learning Cluster Design, the L&D team [...]

The Learning Cluster Design model calls for a new way of thinking about L&D’s goal and role within organizations. Our third principle “Focus on Learner Needs” states that our context as training designers and deliverers is no longer as important as the context of the learner. Whereas in the past L&D had limited tools to deliver learning, today we can deliver learning when, where, and how the learner needs it. One of the tools that aligns with this guiding principle is ScreenSteps. How often have you sat through (or delivered) a training for a simple step by step process that the company [...]

Learning and development technology is moving at a rapid pace, especially with the pivot to virtual-based learning in 2020. Now, in 2021, for most organizations artificial intelligence accelerated from a distant dream to a more current, and needed, reality.  Driven by the data source it has been programmed to store, AI gives machines the ability to recognize, respond to, and learn from inputs.  Here’s why AI is important for learning:  We know that a one-size fits all approach does not meet the needs of modern learners Yet, we often struggle with how to surround each learner with the learning assets that [...]

Modern learning, as we share in the principles of the Learning Cluster Design model, centers on creating meaningful learning assets that surround a learner in their moment of learning need. While the model looks at what can be done to meet learners beyond one-and-done training events, live face-to-face (whether in-person or virtual), can prove to be a valuable and important asset for many people (including L&D professionals) along their learning journey. With the sudden shift to remote work (and learning) one year ago, many L&D professionals were faced with converting their full-day, in-person L&D programming into virtual learning sessions, and in [...]

Last month we introduced the intersectionality of DEI and L&D through the lens of the Learning Cluster Design model by looking at the Change Action, where we see an opportunity to create deeper, more anchoring notions when it comes to operationalizing DEI in the workplace. Moving beyond the Change Action, one of the most critical barriers to creating real change is that most efforts develop and often mandate participation in a one-size-fits-all effort when individuals are likely in completely different places on their DEI journeys. The Learn Action provides a process to help name, define, and explore the needs of different constituencies and where they are. [...]

Imagine if the next time you get a training request or see a capability gap, you could surround learners with meaningful learning assets whenever, wherever they learn? What if you could do it in less time, and actually see measurable results? Learners today need to learn both in and out of the flow of work. Most organizations leave it up to the learners to navigate resources in the flow of work. With Learning Cluster Design as a new tool in your L&D toolkit, you’ll empower learners — and business results — like never before. Over the past several years, more than [...]

When you think of “converting to modern learning,” what comes to mind for you? Is it abandoning one-and-done training events for a strictly online/eLearning experience? If that was your thought, you’re not alone. Most L&D organizations, as they started facing the pandemic last year, scrambled to turn every face to face training program into an e-learning. But that isn't modern. Nor is it sufficient to make a business-impacting difference in talent's capability. Traditionally, L&D has overwhelmingly focused on new moments of learning need, and that has typically manifested itself in the sole development of one-and-done formal learning events. Every topic is [...]

It's Black History month and we are all about intentionally educating ourselves during this time... and ongoing. Let's be real. Out of all the modern learning work we could do as L&D professionals, DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) is not a one-and-done event. While Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs have been a part of many organizations for years, in the last 12 months we have seen a big shift in the push and desire for DEI "programming" in the workplace. Oftentimes, L&D is brought in to assist and/or lead these efforts without a clear and defined strategy as to how our [...]

Imagine if you could double or even triple the effectiveness of your learning programs. How could you do that? By understanding that your learners have agency and working with that agency to help grow "super learners". What if your learners proactively grew their own capability to engage with your L&D products? Pat McLagan, author of Unstoppable You: Adopt the New Learning 4.0 Mindset and Change Your Life shared her work with the LCD community to show just how to accomplish this in last week’s Monthly Modern Learning Dialogue. Pat has spent her career focusing on transforming organizations through learning, and has been at the [...]

When you imagine a “Modern Learner,” what comes to mind? Many people we’ve asked that question automatically imagine a millennial, or someone who is really into technology. As we move from an industrial age to a digital one, when it comes to modern learning it’s not so much about technology, rather, it’s about choices surrounding learning. At February's dialogue, we will be exploring Learn-Ability and diving into learning mindsets with author and expert, Patricia McLagan. As we get excited for the event, I wanted to share a clip where I talk about Learning Cluster Design's approach to who is (and isn’t) a [...]