Why Meaningful? And what about this workshop?

Are you comfortable with how engaged your learners are? Are they engaging with energy and persisting? That’s the agenda I’ve had over the past year and more, since working on the learning science book . I’ve talked about this new focus, and ran workshops on it, and written about it. Each time, it gets better. At this point, you should be asking why? So let me answer that, and more. I’m talking about ‘making it meaningful’, and I want to answer ‘why’ meaningful, and what I think that entails.

To start with, I think of LXD as the elegant integration of learning science and engagement. The reason I like the push away from ID, which I actually greatly respect, is that in practice, the emotional side tends to get neglected. We focus purely on the cognitive side, yet even cognitive science recognizes there’s an emotional component. The call it conation, and it’s about your intention to learn. That’s what we’re talking about.?

Also, this is important! We’re finding out more and more that the emotional component of our learning experiences matters. Quite simply, if we are emotionally engaged, the learning works better. The process of making it meaningful also aligns better with what makes learning effective cognitively as well, it turns out. Thus, this is a necessary addition to improving your learning outcomes.

I have to be careful, because the whole notion of engagement has been trivialized. You’ll see how ‘click to see more’ increases engagement (hint: not). Or that tarted-up quiz shows make drilling content fun. Maybe, but we over use it. Of course, high production values and video both are promised to increase engagement. However, that’s not what I’m talking about.

I’m talking about going deeper. I’m talking about folks intrinsically recognizing that this content is valuable to them, that they need it, and feeling like a particular experience will address that. I’m talking about helping folks find meaning in what they’re doing, and consequently investing effort, persisting, and achieving outcomes.?

I suggest that we know we want that, but I suggest we don’t do a good job of it. I also don’t think there’s good guidance on it. When I started thinking about LXD and learning science, I realize there’s pretty good guidance on the latter (particularly after I wrote a book on it ;), and recognized that there may be an opportunity on the former.?

That’s what I’ve been focused on. I see it as two parts: an initial hook to get learners to engage, and then designing the whole experience to land them (I’m not a fisher, so excuse me if I mess up the metaphor). I think we do a bad job of each, but they’re different.?So, first, I’m concerned with the principles behind each of these.?

I have gone further, trying to align all the elements for success. First, it’s about looking at tricks and tips we can use to enhance the experience (without undermining the learning goal). From there, I talk about the implications for each element of learning: intros, models, examples, etc. Finally, I also look at what modifications to our design process we need.?

Why am I mentioning this? Because I’ve packed it all up into a four week course ; each week there’re a couple hours of discussion and activity, and in between each week there are practical assignments. There’s also a checklist and process diagram. Of course, I definitely try to practice what I preach.?I’m offering this workshop through the auspices of the Learning Development Accelerator, the society focused on evidence-based approaches to performance & development.?

You’ll find that I can’t not mention the relevant learning science as well. If you know the learning science, this is the necessary complement to truly make your learning work. If you don’t, this will help you understand many of the important components and accelerate your development. I’ve been looking at learning science and experiences for a long time, and I truly believe this is the most important component that we can integrate to take learning from a chore and make it truly transformative. I hope this explains ‘why’ meaningful, and what I’m doing to address it.?I invite you to join us on this journey, and hope to see you there.