Ways to blend learning

I spent a week at a cottage recently with my husband’s entire family. We’re all double vaxxed,?so?I?felt comfortable gathering with so many people. It was wonderful to be on the lake and able to socialize! With?extended family,?there are bound to be disagreements and differences of opinion.??

Parenting is one of those areas where?it’s easy to see the differences.?While it’s easy to?question?parenting styles that differ from our own, we usually remain oblivious to the?shortcomings?of our approaches. It’s hard to see our blinders.?

I read a book about instructional design,?and it made me?reflect?on the blinders we also have for developing employees.?So often,?we default to the same approach – often a training event.?The book I read outlines several ways to blend learning to provide a rich?experience?and?more?impactful outcome.??

Book Summary: More than Blended Learning?

In?“More than Blended Learning:?Designing world-class learning interventions,”?Clive Shepherd?outlines four different?lenses?to consider?with?learning?design and?when?creating a blended program.?Here’s a summary of these lenses.?

Strategy?

This focuses on how information is delivered to the individual. It?includes:??

• Exposition?–?Information is delivered from a subject?matter expert to the learner.?(e.g., presentation, lecture.)?
• Instruction?–?Information is delivered through a structured design process to develop knowledge?and?skills.?(e.g.,??self-assessment, role-play, demonstrations, training.)
• Guided discovery?–?Information is learned through a structured process that creates opportunities from which the person can learn.?(e.g., simulations, cases, coaching, job rotation.)?
• Exploration?–?Information is learned, reinforced, and applied through resources and on-demand support the learner accesses when needed.?(e.g.,??job aids, a community of practice,?Wikispace.)?

Social Context?

Humans are social creatures and,?in many cases,?learn?better when?learning with?others. Social context outlines these approaches and who learners?are?with when learning:??

• Self-study?–?The individual learns alone.?(e.g.,??reading a book or article,?individual?practice,?or?completing a computer simulation.)?
• One-on-one?–?The individual learns with another person.?(e.g.,??instructor, coach,?or?subject matter expert.)?
• Group?–?The?individual?learns with a group of others.?(e.g.,??classroom,?online forums, or discussion boards.)?
• Community?–?The individual learns from a broader community.?(e.g.,??professional association, a community of practice, or conference.)?

Delivery Channel?

This is often what we gravitate towards when we initially think of designing and blending a course. It?includes:

• Face-to-face –?Learning that involves one or more participants learning in?real-time in the same physical space.?(e.g.,??classroom training?or?on-the-job?assignments.)?
• Offline?–?Learning that doesn’t require an internet connection.?(e.g., printed book?or?downloaded podcast.)?
• Online?–?Learning that requires an internet connection.?(e.g.,??e-learning modules, discussion?forums,?Wikispaces, or virtual training.)?

Communication?Mode?

The communication mode reflects the timing of when an individual learns.??

• Asynchronous – Learning is completed independently on the?individual's?own time.?(e.g.,??e-learning or reading a book.)?
• Synchronous – Learning is completed with others at the same time.?(e.g.,??in-person or virtual?training,?coaching, or?joining a webinar.)?

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When I reviewed the different lenses for designing and blending learning, some felt more natural and familiar than others. Delivery channel and communication mode are very much at the forefront of my thinking when creating a program. I’m intentional about when to use which and how to integrate them.??

Strategy is more intuitive for me, especially exposition and instruction. It’s helpful to have a language to move these into my consciousness and raise my awareness of guided discovery and exploration. These last two approaches move learning from an event to applying skills to the job – from learning to performance.??

Finally, social context as a lens was new for me. Learning individually, one-on-one, or with a group has been intuitive, but social context as a way to consider the benefits of each beyond the logistical considerations was very helpful. Recognizing community as an intentional design approach supports the learner in applying what they have learned to their job and reinforces the ongoing behaviour change.??

Finally, it strikes me (and probably you as well) that these lenses overlap. Reading an article is an example of exposition and is probably completed as self-study. It could be completed online or offline and is probably asynchronous. But, if you incorporate a discussion forum, it expands the learning, so it now also includes exploration and occurs in a group or community social context.??

The lenses and approaches aren’t discreet. When we integrate them, we bring colour and richness to our learning and development programs and give them a greater success of changing performance.??

What’s your reaction to these?approaches??Where’s the opportunity to?elevate?your design??

In case you missed it?

I’ve shared some additional posts online. Here they are in case you missed them.??

• Considerations for sourcing training?–?(vlog post )?
• Tips?on?how to critique virtual courses?- (link )?
• Aligning training to your business?– (vlog post )?
• Ideas for performance instead of training?- (link )?
• The online training metaphor?– (vlog post )?
• Rules-based or Principles-based content - (link )?

Curious to learn more?

P.S. Whenever you're ready, here are 3 ways I can help you:

1. Sign up for a free webinar, Learning Strategy: Getting started - Be introduced to a framework for creating a learning strategy and zero in on one component for more detail. Click here to find see upcoming dates and to register.
2. Sign up for my Learning Strategy masterclass - Apply processes and use templates to design your online course so it will wow participants. Click here for dates and to register.
3. Work with me one-on-one. If you'd like to work with me directly to develop your curriculum or learning strategy, reply with the words "learning strategy" and we'll arrange a time to discuss your situation and see if we might be a fit.

Check out the other?services? I provide to clients to help them improve employee performance.?