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Clark Quinn’s Learnings about Learning

Archives for June 2023

Don’t just do!

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Look, doing is good. It’s better than not doing, for sure. When I say doing, by the way, I mean doing the things that need to be done. In your work, for instance. You should do your instructional design, your strategy. That’s all good. However, I want to suggest, it’s not enough. Don’t just do, do more! At least, if you want to continue to learn (and you should; let’s not talk about the alternative, but either you’re growing, or, well, you’re not).

What I’m talking about, here, is that just doing your job isn’t a bad thing, but you can and should do more. Most folks I talk to, at local chapter events and the like, want to go above. That’s why they’re there, after all. People say they want to learn and they want to get recognition. I’ve previously addressed that, talking about writing session descriptions. But there’s more.

I’ve also written about being an expert. Having a unique voice, a perspective, and sharing it. I think that’s important, too. However, there’s one more step I suggest that I don’t seem to have shared before. And that’s doing more.

First, of course, is taking advantage of opportunities to learn. I happen to know there are many free webinars. There are also talks that you can attend for a low fee. For more, you can attend online or in-person workshops. Then there are conferences. You likely will want to get your org to pay, but maybe even sometimes put in your own money. If you’ve a commute or other time, listen to podcasts, there are lot of those free too again I happen to know.

Read books; I work out my local library heavily, not just for fiction (which I devour), but also non-fiction. Interlibrary loan is a gift, use it if you can! Certain books are worth buying, creating a valuable library. I’ve got a shelf next to my desk that’s full of some of the best books known, so I can grab them to refer to certain things.

As you get your mind around the field, you’ll start seeing things in different ways. Not only will your work improve, but you’ll begin to find your own voice, a step on the way to expertise. Wrestle with things, and then share when they make sense. You’ll likely help others.

Then, do one further step. Don’t just attend the local chapter events, and conferences, contribute. Serve on a committee. There’s a lot to be learned in this way.  You’ll meet folks, get exposed to new ideas, and make it easier to go further. It’s a good stepping stone on the way to speaking, for one. It’s also a way to give back to those who’ve contributed.

Sure, you can just do your job. Exist. Consume and produce. But I think there’s more to life, and I think if you’re here, you agree. So, here’re some concrete actions to take. Don’t just do, do more.

Web 3.0 and system-generated content

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Not quite 15 years ago, I proposed that Web 3.0 would be system-generated content. There was talk about the semantic web, where we started tagging things, even auto-tagging, and then operating on chunks by rules connecting tags, not hard wiring. I think, however, that we’ve reached a new interpretation of Web 3.0 and system-generated content.

Back then, I postulated that Web 1.0 was producer-generated content. That is, the only folks who could put up content had all the skills. So, teams (or the rare individual) who could manage the writing, the technical specification, and the technical implementation. They had to put prose into html and then host it on the web with all the server requirements. These were the ones who controlled what was out there. Pages were static.

Then, CGIs came along, and folks could maintain state. This enabled some companies to make tools that could handle the backend, and so individuals could create. There were forms where you could type in content, and the system could handle posting it to the web (e.g. this blog!). So, most anyone could be a web creator. Social media emerged (with all the associated good and bad). This was Web 2.0, user-generated content.

I saw the next step as system-generated content. Here, I meant small chunks of (human-generated) content linked together on the fly by rules. This is, indeed, what we see in many sites. For instance, when you see recommendations, they’re based upon your actions and statistical inferences from a database of previous action. Rules pull up content descriptions by tags and present them together

There is another interpretation of Web 3.0, which is where systems are disaggregated. So, your content isn’t hosted in one place, but is distributed (c.f. Mastodon or blockchain. Here, the content and content creation are not under the control of one provider. This disaggregation undermines unified control, really a political issue with a technical solution.

However, we now see a new form of system-generated content. I’ll be clear, this isn’t what I foresaw (though, post-hoc, it could be inferred). That is, generative AI is taking semantics to a new level. It’s generating content based upon previous content. That’s different than what I meant, but it is an extension. It has positives and negatives, as did the previous approaches.

Ethics, ultimately, plays a role in how these play out. As they say, Powerpoint doesn’t kill people, bad design does. So, too, with these technologies. While I laud exploration, I also champion keeping experimentation in check. That is, nicely sandboxing such experimentation until we understand it and can have appropriate safe-guards in place. As it is, we don’t yet understand the copyright implications, for one. I note that this blog was contributing to Google C4 (according to a tool I can no longer find), for instance. Also, everyone using ChatGPT 3 has to assume that their queries are data.

I think we’re seeing system-generated content in a very new way. It’s exciting in terms of work automation, and scary in terms of the trustworthiness of the output. I’m erring on the side of not using such tools, for now. I’m fortunate that I work in a place of people paying me for my expertise. Thus, I will continue to rely on my own interpretation of what others say, not on an aggregation tool. Of course, people could generate stuff and say it’s from me; that’s Web 3.0 and system-generated content. Do be careful out there!

Skills to move into L&D?

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Our colleague, Connie Malamed, posed a question on Twitter. She asked: “What areas and skills are essential (in order of importance if possible) for those who want to transition into learning and development.”  So, I used some of my tiny brain and generated an initial list. I’m sharing it for her (I responded with just the categories on Twitter), and for discussion. I welcome your thoughts on skills to move into L&D.

The first category I thought of was the basics of cognitive science: perception, consciousness & context, elaboration, retrieval, etc. I think (strongly) that if you know the basics of the Human Information Processing (HIP) loop, you have a foundation to understand so much more. Not just instructional design, but basically designing for people: graphic, interface, marketing, etc design. I think anyone who designs for people ought to know it. I’m surprised, frankly, that it’s not more central.

From there, the next step, and this is where we get L&D-specific, is learning science. Here I mean the role of models, examples, emotion, etc. These are phenomena that emerge from our HIP system, but are unique to learning (there are others that aren’t as specific to our roles). This is what we have to understand so that we can understand the precepts of learning experience design (LXD).

I think that in L&D, you also have to understand the process of design itself. Particularly the things that are our adaptions to the flaws in our cognitive architecture, but as learners and as designers. Here I’m talking about things like the need for iteration and formative and summative evaluation, (proper) brainstorming, etc. For instance, I got a lot of mileage out of bringing what was known from interface design to instructional design; that field was much more astute about design than was ours at the time.

Integrating the above is LXD, which I think we ought to know. That is, taking the principles above about design and learning and turning that into a process that reliably yields experiences that develop real performance. If we’re designing solutions, we need to know the science and the engineering thereof.

There are also some additional fields that have a big impact on the ability to be successful in L&D in the real world. Thus, you need things like good project management (scheduling, resource allocation, risk management, etc), for one. Even if assigned a project manager, you still need to be personally effective. Which incorporates, I suppose, time management similarly, effectively using calendaring, ‘todo’ lists, etc. There’s also working with others: being a good teammate, knowing how to work with SMEs and other stakeholders, etc. You also need to know the basics of business: planning, budgeting, strategy, also things like supply/demand, and change management in particular (interventions are org changes, and need to be treated as same).

Connie also said: “I have an opinion and would like to hear yours. ” So, here’ve been my thoughts on the skills to move into L&D. What are yours?

Two steps for L&D

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In a conversation, we were discussing how L&D fares. Badly, of course, but we were looking at why. One of the problems is that L&D folks don’t have credibility. Another was that they don’t measure. I didn’t raise it in the conversation, but it’s come up before that they’re also not being strategic. That came up in another conversation. Overall, there are two steps for L&D to really make an impact on.

Now, I joke that L&D isn’t doing well what it’s supposed to be doing, and isn’t doing enough. My first complaint is that we’re not doing a good job. In the second conversation, up-skilling came up as an important trend. My take is that it’s all well and good to want to do it, but if you really want persistent new skill development, you have to do it right! That is, shooting for retention and transfer. Which will be, by the way, the topic of my presentation at DevLearn this year, I’ve just found out. Also the topic of the Missing LXD workshop (coming in Asia Pacific times this July/Aug), in linking that learning science grounding to engagement as well.

I’ve argued that the most important thing L&D can do is start measuring, because it will point out what works (and doesn’t). That’s a barrier that came up in the first conversation; how do we move people forward in their measurements. We were talking about little steps; if they’re doing learner surveys (c.f. Thalheimer), let’s encourage them to move to survey some time after. If they’re doing that, let’s also have them ask supervisors. Etc.

So, this is a necessary step. It’s not enough, of course. You might throw courses at things where they don’t make sense, e.g. where performance support would work better. Measurement should tell you that, in that a course isn’t working, but it won’t necessarily point you directly to performance support. Still, measurement is a step along the way. There’s another step, however.

The second thing I argue we should do is start looking at going beyond courses. Not just performance support, but here I’m talking about informal and social learning, e.g. innovation. There are both principled and practical reasons for this. The principled reason is that innovation is learning; you don’t know the answer when you start. Thus, knowing how learning works provides a good basis for assisting here. The practical reason is it gives a way for L&D to contribute to the most important part of organizational success. Instead of being an appendage that can be cut when times are tough, L&D can be facilitating the survival and thrival strategies that will keep the organization agile.

Of course, we’re running a workshop on this as well. I’m not touting it because it’s on offer, I’m behind it because it’s something I’ve organized specifically because it’s so important! We’ll cover the gamut, from individual learning skills, to team, and organizational success. We’ll also cover strategy. Importantly, we have some of the best people in the world to assist! I’ve managed to convince  Harold Jarche, Emma Weber, Kat Koppett, and Mark Britz (each of which alone would be worth the price of entry!), on top of myself and Matt Richter. Because it’s the Learning Development Accelerator, it will be evidence-based. It’ll also be interactive, and practically focused.

Look, there are lots of things you can do. There are some things you should do. There are two steps for L&D to do, and you have the opportunity to get on top of each. You can do it any way you want, of course, but please, please start making these moves!