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 [...]

It’s three weeks into the new year and I’m sure you’re already thinking ahead to the success you want in 2021. Our goals shape our solutions and results. When transitioning from creating “peanut butter,” one-size-fits all training to designing strategic learning clusters to meet learners in their moment of learning need, L&D professionals need to set new goals. So, what does this new goal look like? The new goal is to change on-the-job behavior, as opposed to changing behavior by the end of the course. LCD Model Action of the Week: Change On-The-Job Behavior Typically, L&D has defined goals and success [...]

You might be familiar with the popular 70-20-10 model, which formulates that learners obtain 70 percent of their knowledge from job-related experiences, 20 percent from interactions with others, and 10 percent from formal educational events. This model has been around since the early 1980s, and is widely used amongst L&D professionals globally. The 70-20-10 model seeks to encourage L&D to consider their role outside of formal learning. However, in practice, organizations inadvertently make the following mistakes: Believing that 70-20-10 is a prescription, and learning assets must follow this exact ratio. Shedding accountability, and only taking responsibility for designing and delivering for the 10 percent part of [...]

In the video below, Loc Nguyen, Director of Customer Education at Bluescape shares the following takeaways from the Learning Cluster Design workshop: How he moved from the mindset of  “just building a course” to giving his learners the freedom to learn when, where and how they want to learn The wins he and his team have experienced after attending the workshop and implementing the LCD model His advice to L&D leaders when it comes to implementing a new learning model for the first time

Wouldn’t you love to learn more about your learners and make an even bigger impact with your learning initiatives? In an ever-changing, fast-paced world, L&D professionals are often asked to do a lot, with very little time. For many learning and development models to actually transform on-the-job behavior, they require deep analysis, expert-level design and thoroughly planned implementation. While most L&D professionals would love to run through all of these steps each time they are asked to develop training, the timeframes of stakeholders and organizational leaders don’t allow for L&D professionals to truly follow any model to a T. So what [...]

As we approach Thanksgiving here in the US and the end of the year in general, I find myself reflecting on the year. This year brought along with it many workplace shifts and challenges. For L&D, the biggest shift we faced was reimagining workplace learning without live, in person training classes. Many L&D professionals were quick to convert all of their instructor-led live training into eLearning courses and curriculums, spending valuable time, energy, and resources to do so. I am thankful to hear from folks how their work has helped organizations in a tremendously tough year! However, while under pressure from [...]

For as long as organizational learning has been around, so has the concept of our role being the owners and deliverers of content. Our sole purpose has been to “create training,” and with that came the need to exist as subject matter experts in the content being delivered. Rather than being strategic learning partners, the L&D field fell into a pattern of order taking, and with information changing as rapidly as it does, it has become challenging, if not impossible to keep up with not only the subject matter but with the changes in training and delivery methods. As we begin [...]

One of the biggest barriers to change and transformation when it comes to designing modern learning is the idea of having to “unlearn” all of the tools and models that got us where we are today. Many L&D professionals are either hesitant to apply a new model for fear of having to start from scratch, while others are over-eager to “throw the baby out with the bathwater” and recreate every single learning asset from the ground up. In the clip below, LCD Model co-creator, Crystal Kadakia shares why the model is a happy medium between the two and how to use [...]