Design for How People Learn (Voices That Matter)

You can see that if we are going to focus on developing software that our users want and like, it’s essential that we know and understand our audience, not just the subject matter. I would suggest that you research the brands, hobbies, and media (television, films, games, websites, etc.) that your target audience enjoys. This should give you a bett

For most of us, a large percentage of our day is habit-driven. When I get up in the morning, probably the first half hour of my day is on auto-pilot (let the dog out, make coffee, brush teeth, etc.). The difficulty with habits as a gap is that most of the traditional learning solutions have only mixed results at best.

Sometimes, people have the knowledge, skills, and motivation and there still may be a gap.

include: • Scouring their situation for intrinsic motivators. Is there anything—anything—that they find intrinsically motivating about the subject matter? Ask lots of questions about what they might do with the information. Try to tie it back to relevant, real-world tasks or to their sense of identity as professionals. • Having them tell you. Start

If the structure and setup of your learning situation don’t allow for coaching follow-up, there are other ways to reach out and follow up with learners: • Create a forum online and encourage learners to report back on their experiences. • Send periodic emails with examples, tips, and opportunities for learners to self-evaluate. • Have virtual criti

One of my all-time favorite clients was a group that did drug and alcohol prevention curriculums for middle-school kids. When they were initially explaining the curriculum to me, they talked about how a lot of earlier drug-prevention curriculums focused on information (“THIS is a crack pipe. Crack is BAD.”). Now does anyone think the main reason ki

Have you ever noticed that when someone is not a native speaker of your language, the word order in their sentences can be a little weird? This is called L1 interference: Your knowledge of your first language interferes with your ability to speak a second language.

You can use this one of two ways. You can move the point of learning closer to the point of use (a just-in-time video that the learner watches only when they need it), or, if that’s not possible, you can move the point of use closer to the point of learning, by using a scenario or problem for the learner to solve (more on that shortly).

This suggests that the cognitive resources of memory, focus, and control are finite. You can control the elephant, just not for very long. There have been a number of studies that suggest that self-control is a limited and exhaustible resource

Learning experiences are like journeys. The journey starts where the learner is now, and ends when the learner is successful (however that is defined). The end of the journey isn’t just knowing more, it’s doing more.