A learner opens their laptop on Monday morning. Before they’ve finished their first cup of coffee, they’re facing dozens of unread emails, a handful of Teams notifications, back-to-back meetings, and a growing list of project deadlines. Somewhere in the middle of all that sits your carefully designed 30-minute eLearning course. Now ask yourself a simpleContinueContinue reading “Why Your 30-Minute Course Is Losing to a 60-Second Video”
Category Archives: Learning Science
Five Studies That Shaped My Thinking About Training
When training fails, our first instinct is often to add something. Another explanation. Another example. Another module. Maybe a quiz with three answers nobody could possibly get wrong. But what if content isn’t the problem? I recently reviewed 50 studies from psychology, behavioral science, and learning research. I chose them for their influence, historical value,ContinueContinue reading “Five Studies That Shaped My Thinking About Training”
Stop Calling It Mandatory Training
An email lands in your inbox with the subject line Mandatory Annual Compliance Training—Complete by Friday. Before you open it, you already know the plot: a slow march through policy slides, a quiz designed to prove you were technically present, and perhaps a cheerful stock photo of coworkers pointing at a laptop. The course mayContinueContinue reading “Stop Calling It Mandatory Training”
Attention Isn’t Given. It’s Spent.
Learners aren’t losing the ability to pay attention. They’re making rational decisions about where to spend it. That’s not a capacity problem. It’s a design problem. Attention Is a Resource. Not a Reflex. Herbert Simon saw it coming in 1971. A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention. His point was precise: information doesn’t justContinueContinue reading “Attention Isn’t Given. It’s Spent.”
The Dual Coding Problem: Why Your Learners Keep Tuning You Out
How Dual Coding Theory Explains (and Fixes) Your Biggest Learning Design Problem Your learners look glazed over. They’re reading ahead while you talk. Or they’ve checked out entirely. You know what they’re doing? Choosing. Read the slide or listen to you. Not both. They can’t. And it’s not their fault—it’s your design. Your Brain ProcessesContinueContinue reading “The Dual Coding Problem: Why Your Learners Keep Tuning You Out”
The Best L&D Books Are Not L&D Books
(A reading list that makes you useful, fast) When someone new to learning design asks a reasonable question: “What L&D books should I read?” They usually get a long list of L&D books.Models. Methods. Frameworks. More models. Helpful… up to a point. Because the real job of learning design isn’t “build a course.” It’s helpContinueContinue reading “The Best L&D Books Are Not L&D Books”
The Signaling Principle
A practical guide to designing learning people actually notice Learners don’t ignore content because they’re lazy.They ignore it because your design makes them guess what matters. That’s the signaling principle (cueing). Signaling means you guide attention—on purpose.You make the important parts easy to spot and the unimportant parts easy to ignore. Why it works isContinueContinue reading “The Signaling Principle”
Most Instructional Designers Put This at the Start. Here’s Why YOU Shouldn’t!
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!”
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)”
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