Here’s a REAL EXAMPLE of a Learning Cluster and L&D professional developed in our workshop. ASK: The business asked the LCD workshop participant to develop and update their annual harassment training to remain compliant with standard HR & Legal Policies. TRADITIONAL SOLUTIONS: e-Learning module, videos with knowledge check, or live-class. LCD APPROACH: The workshop participant had a huge aha moment by refocusing the Goal on Performance and Strategic Impact - It’s not about compliance for compliance sake! The Change Action shifted the goals from just liability to something that employees might care about as well. Take a look at the difference: “By helping [...]

Here's a REAL EXAMPLE of a Learning Cluster and L&D professional developed in our workshop. ASK: We need new hire onboarding. TRADITIONAL APPROACH: 1 week long live class or blended learning to orient to company, orient to people, orient to technical skills, etc. LCD APPROACH: First, we get clear on the most critical differences we want to see on the job from the employee, with clear ROI for the business. The L&D professional attending our workshop crafted a detailed goal for the Learning Cluster during the Change Action. “By improving the onboarding process for new members of the Delivery Services organization, the business [...]

We all do it. We cram as much content into a training course as we can. Why? Because once we get an employee’s attention, we have to take advantage of that time; otherwise, we may not see these learners again for some time to come. But what if we could do it differently? What if, instead of providing learning assets that employees use only once every few months (see How the Workforce Learns from Degreed), L&D provided learning assets that learners were more likely to use every week or every day? Read the rest at ATD.com.

The following is a Q&A with Crystal Kadakia and Lisa M.D. Owens, the authors of Designing for Modern Learning: Beyond ADDIE and SAM, the latest book from ATD Press about how L&D professionals can better design for the modern learner. 1. What does “Designing for Modern Learning” mean? Is there a definition for modern learning or for the modern learner? Crystal: When people hear the term modern learner, almost everyone thinks or describes someone from the millennial generation. Yet the definition of modern learner is much broader and more inclusive. We define a modern learner as someone who needs to learn fast in an ever-changing environment, [...]

In Designing for Modern Learning: Beyond ADDIE and SAM (ATD Press, June 2020), L&D experts Crystal Kadakia and Lisa M.D. Owens introduce the Owens-Kadakia Learning Cluster Design (OK-LCD) model to address the question of how L&D professionals can better design for modern learning. In a world where learning is needed every day, the role of L&D is more important than ever, but the toolkit used by L&D professionals is outdated and incomplete....   Read more on at PRweb.com

What do you do when you’re faced with the unknown? The unknown used to be combatted by asking the experts with years of experience, passing on stories, and, frankly, sheer faith. You learned to transform the unknown into the known by doing — and doing took time. In that time, nothing much changed about what you were learning. It certainly didn’t change to the extent that your knowledge would be irrelevant. Sounds comfortable – and, unfortunately, a bit unrealistic today. If you’re like most people, today you Google it and make sure to get the latest answer. The goal for organizations [...]

There are two reasons why people learn: 1) because they are told to and 2) because they choose to. Historically, learning and development teams have been focused on delivering the former. The highest priorities tend to be those that mitigate the biggest business risks: compliance, performance, leadership, management, and general onboarding. It’s all about telling people what they need to know to be most successful in their jobs and when and where they can get that training. Now, it’s time to retool how we train employees. In addition to being company-centric— delivering what needs to be known (i.e. company priorities)—it’s time [...]

In our previous post, we explored the idea of using learner personas. L&D practitioners need to learn how to identify key subgroups within the larger target audience then collect or create the right array of learning assets to meet the learning needs. What’s more, they must go beyond segmenting learner groups by the traditional criteria of age, experience, education, language, job role, and so forth. Here’s a sample description of three personas used for developing manager training: Chris, the new manager, is under 35 years old, loves to text and chat online, is highly motivated to be good at this new job, [...]

“Who are we designing for?” That’s traditionally one of the first questions asked by L&D when starting a training project. Typically, there’s just one answer, and it sounds something like this: all managers, or IT employees using the XYZ program, or customer-facing employees. In other words, it’s a description of the one target audience. Once we have that single target learner group definition, we design one training solution to cover the needs of this monolithic target. This approach is not working for modern learners. Once we have that single target learner group definition, we design one training solution to cover the needs of this monolithic target. Because [...]

Has L&D already given up on having a presence in informal learning? Are we going to remain stuck in our world of classes and courses, the world of counting seats filled and clicks on e-learning? We’re seeing some L&D professionals willing to embrace new possibilities, but most are struggling to find a way forward. That’s no surprise; our industry is facing a staggering increase in complexity as well as organizational expectations that reduce L&D’s control of learning experiences. As a result, the L&D profession is becoming less relevant for employees. Research by Degreed shows that modern learners use L&D’s traditional course solutions about [...]