You spent three weeks on that compliance module. Got the objectives perfectly clear. Slide two, exactly where Gagne said they should be. Your instructional design was textbook. Then you watched what happened: Learners skimmed the objectives and jumped ahead. Exit interviews revealed the pattern: “I knew what I was supposed to learn, so I didn’tContinueContinue reading “Most Instructional Designers Put This at the Start. Here’s Why YOU Shouldn’t!”
Author Archives: Mike Taylor
Stop Building Courses. Start Fixing Problems.
A practical crash course in performance-first thinking It’s Tuesday at 2:47 PM when the Slack message arrives. “We need a two-hour eLearning course on communication skills. By Friday.” If you’re in L&D or instructional design, you probably fire back: What content should it include? Video or scenarios? Self-paced or instructor-led? Here’s the uncomfortable truth: thoseContinueContinue reading “Stop Building Courses. Start Fixing Problems.”
Debunking Learning Styles: What The Research Really Says
You’re in a kickoff meeting. Someone suggests, “Let’s find out everyone’s learning style first. Then we can tailor the training.” Heads nod. It sounds thoughtful. It sounds learner-centered.And you feel that small, nagging voice: Is this actually a thing? If you’ve been in L&D for a while, you’ve probably been in that room. It feltContinueContinue reading “Debunking Learning Styles: What The Research Really Says”
Take Back Your Feed: A Simple Guide to Getting Started With RSS (Even If Tech Intimidates You)
Most of us are drowning in information. Emails. Social feeds. Notifications piling on notifications. You look away for one minute and miss three posts from a writer you actually wanted to read—because an algorithm decided you needed fourteen kitchen remodeling hacks instead. There’s a better way to keep up with the things you care about.ContinueContinue reading “Take Back Your Feed: A Simple Guide to Getting Started With RSS (Even If Tech Intimidates You)”
The Testing Effect: Why Retrieval Practice is Your Most Powerful Learning Tool
The Lie We Tell Ourselves Sarah’s quarterly review went well. Her compliance training program had a 94% completion rate. Everyone passed the quiz. Leadership was pleased. Three months later, a manager made a comment that clearly crossed the line. Nobody reported it. When HR investigated, five employees gave the same answer: “I didn’t know thatContinueContinue reading “The Testing Effect: Why Retrieval Practice is Your Most Powerful Learning Tool”
The Dangerous Allure of Distraction: Why Seductive Details Can Derail Learning (and When They Don’t)
NOTE: I’ve updated this post from the previous version to incorporate some new research shared by Julie Dirksen & Will Thalheimer. Every learning designer knows the temptation. You’ve built a solid course… but it still feels a little flat.So you add a funny story.Or a dramatic photo.Or a splash of background music because “engagement!” AndContinueContinue reading “The Dangerous Allure of Distraction: Why Seductive Details Can Derail Learning (and When They Don’t)”
The Right Kind of Difficulty: Why Worked Examples Beat Practice for Novices
Evidence-Based L&D Series: Article 3 of 8 Picture Maria, three weeks into her new role as a financial advisor. Her manager has just assigned her first real client—a 52-year-old teacher who needs retirement planning. Maria opens the spreadsheet. Stares at it. Closes it. Opens the training manual. Scans for the formula. Tries a calculation. GetsContinueContinue reading “The Right Kind of Difficulty: Why Worked Examples Beat Practice for Novices”
Why Harder is Better: The Surprising Science of Desirable Difficulties
The training session crushed it. Ninety-four percent completion. Satisfaction scores at 4.8 out of 5. Your VP sent a congratulatory email. Three months later? Those same learners failed the audit. Couldn’t recall key steps. Couldn’t apply the principles they’d supposedly mastered. What happened? You fell into what cognitive scientist Robert Bjork calls the fluency trap.ContinueContinue reading “Why Harder is Better: The Surprising Science of Desirable Difficulties”
AI Can Help Us Be More Human: The Director’s Job
AI has become the loudest voice in every room right now. Especially in learning and development. The headlines promise revolution. The vendors promise automation. And many of us quietly wonder what happens to our own value when machines can generate courses, videos, and entire learning modules faster than we can write a learning objective. ButContinueContinue reading “AI Can Help Us Be More Human: The Director’s Job”
Friday Finds – Better endings, smarter work, and your new AI research sidekick
Friday Finds – How to end better, learn smarter, and research faster “There is only one success—to be able to spend your life in your own way.” — Christopher Morley I’ve always liked that saying: you either win or you learn. Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of learning. The kind that comes with friction — theContinueContinue reading “Friday Finds – Better endings, smarter work, and your new AI research sidekick”
Mike Taylor 