Real Professional Development Requires Real Effort

Learning moved up into the driver’s seat in 2022. Over just the last few months, more opportunities to create impactful, lifechanging learning experiences have risen to dominate conversations than in any time I can remember. My simple hypothesis is people are now highly motivated to make a lasting impact. The mission has become more important than the old primary measures of on-time and on-budget. Yes, all three are important, but this spring it seems (finally) the focus is on the measures of success that truly matters: behavior change.

In the comments section at the bottom of this newsletter, I’d love to read your impression of learning initiatives this spring. Is your peer group focused on fast and cost minimization or gaining buy in for projects that produce durable performance outcomes?

HR.com Annual Learning Report and Survey

For several years the team at HR.com has produced a valuable report on the state of the industry. Data collection for this year’s report is underway and asks some important questions about learning engagement and the technology solutions we use to optimize learning.

Having spent time poring over results from prior years, this research has been invaluable in directing new technology experiments at Allen and helping consulting teams dig into problem areas we might not have otherwise probed.

If you have 5 minutes to spare, please share your thoughts and expertise with our advisory team, and I’ll make sure you get a copy of the next research report on the State of Learning Engagement, Solutions & Platforms.

Not Surprising Revelations

Posttests though common and traditional are pretty useless. Performance on posttests and performance on the job are quite different. So much of our learning design, predicated by easy templates in rapid authoring tools, focuses on a culminating quiz or test. We need something to measure, right? Although a posttest doesn’t have to be comprised of multiple-choice questions, they often are. They can be created quickly and inexpensively. But:

Our memory of feedback from multiple choice tests is unreliable

Multiple choice test scores are not good predictors of performance

Blog posts, articles, primary research…what do you use to push back on stakeholders when there is a call for tests and quizzes to evaluate eLearning courses? Post your favorite resources below. Next month I’ll post a collection of new resources.

Meeting People in Real Life

Last week a team of colleagues and I attended and exhibited at the 37th?Space Symposium in Colorado Springs. Holy smokes! Seeing people in real life is back! Busy expo halls. Lively discussions. And most importantly there was an abundance of interest in quality training solutions.

As an industry, Space has a lot of highly educated professionals. The initial feedback from stakeholders when demonstrating experience-based learning design was wow, you can do that??

PowerPoint supported lectures, video recordings, virtual meetings, crummy ‘text and next’ eLearning has burned out people in too many fields. From last week’s in-person events, it seems clear to me that if your design isn’t focused on active and engaging experiences, students are going to tune out right away.

During the Space Symposium last week, our highly interactive, simulation-based Nova Space Professional course received certification from the Space Foundation in Education .

We think this recognition underscores the type of eLearning that’s both widely desired and needed.

Next Up – ATD ICE

Designing the Learner’s Journey: Building Intrigue, Confidence, and Joy

Join us May 16th?1-2pm for a session covering?what it looks like to move beyond content-centric and experience-based instruction to truly learner-centric experiences .

I’m excited for our presentation to be on the First-Time Attendee Curated Learning path at ATD ICE.?We hope to help get new L&D professionals started out with some practical but high-impact methods of individualizing training.