Continuing on from the last episode’s subject of The Learning and Development Handbook , in this latest episode of ‘The Reset Show’ Emma talks to Donald Clark; CEO of Wildfire Learning and his most recent book which looks at learning experience design. Donald could be called the father of online or digital learning with over 30 years of experience.
And while many people think that the COVID pandemic kick-started the need to be more agile with the way we approach learning design, we heard that this is not the case. In fact learning experience design and the digital space stretches back decades.
In the show there were 3 key areas that really resonated with me:
Learning Eco-System – the blender
Donald talked about the three elements of the learning eco system;
- information about learners
- information about learning and
- the resources available.
He explained how he uses AI to determine the best blended approach to learning which optimises the best solution for the budget available. This was really interesting as he explained how we can use data available in a smart way to develop what is needed and more importantly ensure that what is learnt is then embedded into the business.
Mindset
For a long time we have approached learning and development in the same way we’d approach choosing a meal at a restaurant: selecting items from a menu to create a course to meet a pre-determined set of objectives. Learning and development needs to be more personal; we need to approach it in the same way that we would create a meal; selecting a set of ingredients to create a meal that will feed hunger and allow people to flourish. Donald stresses that learning should be more resources than courses, and recognising this will help to bring about a much needed mindset change.
Role and Responsibilities
Different skills are needed at different stages in a learning journey. Whilst being a jack of all trades and master of none is helpful to avoid over engineering things; you need to have different skill sets. I agree with Donald in that what is at the epicentre; like the sun, is learning theory. By understanding what is needed to get the learning right.
So here we have heard about learning through a different lens; that actually we should be ripping up the rule book and approaching learning using a scientific approach. The book and show make for very interesting and thought-provoking viewing but what really resonated for me was Donald’s last few comments:
“Learning is a process, not an event & less is always more”
To listen to this and other episodes in the reset show library click here
