I’ve been talking a fair bit about AI, but that’s not really what I’m interested in right now. So maybe it’s worth talking a bit more about two things I’m currently on about. I’d welcome your feedback!
So, first, I’m on about bridging. For obvious reasons, I’ve been thinking about the gap between training and sustained impact on the business. That includes spacing (warning: PDF), reflection, planning, after-action reviews, coaching, evaluation, and more. I’ve already expressed some thoughts on these, and it’ll of course continue. The main thing is that too many orgs aren’t thinking about it. And they should, because without concrete plans to facilitate the initial learning, it’s lost. Not a good investment!
For one way my thinking on bridging will continue is that we’re beginning to see results from analyzing data being collected by the use of the Elevator 9 platform (caveat, I’ve been involved in the initial design). It appears that following the recommended spacing works. The corollary, of course, is that not following the recommended spacing doesn’t work. That includes not doing the reactivations, and also trying to do them in a rush at the end. Not surprising, but interesting nonetheless.
The other area I’m increasingly thinking is important is meta-learning, or learning to learn (see diagram). I like Harold Jarche’s Personal Knowledge Mastery, simplified, as a framework. Now, I’ve been a fan of meta-learning since at least grad school (took Jean Mandler’s class on it), and probably before. Right now, of course, I think it’s essential to make good decisions about how to use generative AI, if you’re going to. However, I reckon it’s also important in more general terms. It’s the key to innovation, for one, because (as I maintain), it’s a form of learning. (Can’t find where I’ve stated it in my blog, which doesn’t mean I haven’t, because I’m pretty sure I have!) It’s also the key to continual personal development, which means doing better at anything you care about. And you do care about something!
There likely is a third area (besides the general long-term interest in learning, technology, design, engagement, etc that are where my interests and experience lie). It’s just that I haven’t expressly thought about it, like I have the two above. I still think there’s not enough interest in the alignment between engagement and learning, which I explored in both my first book and my next to most recent one. For that matter, there’s not even sufficient understanding of learning science (topic of my sixth book), too many myths (my fifth book), and overall the wrong focus for L&D (my fourth book, if you happen to notice a trend :).
Of course, I’m basically on about helping orgs apply the cognitive and learning sciences to identify, understand, and provide remedies to problems they’re not quite sure whether or why they exist. (Hence the Learning Development Accelerator’s Learning Science Conference.) That’s the bigger picture. But, life’s short and there’s only so much one can focus on at any one time. So, bridging and meta-learning are two things I’m currently on about, while I continue to track what’s happening in all the related fields I care about. Am I missing anything?
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