This reminds me of how our team designates specific time for professional development. In the Learning Design and Technology department, we have dedicated groups that are centered around our continued learning. These groups are called Growth Partners. Each week, small groups explore new ID topics that interest them individually and collectively, they discuss and provide feedback on each others projects and we research solutions to departmental and organization issues from a training and development standpoint.

I love this perspective and positive outlook. I feel that time constraints often taint our viewpoint. Our ability to view each barrier that is experienced in design project should be interpreted as an opportunity to acquire new skills and a refined understanding.

I think this is evident in our current state with COVID as many traditional instructional techniques have had their effectivity revalidated and their delivery methods restructured for a digital environment.

I believe I have encountered this form of learning on many instances. It reinforces my previous correlation of this concept to the project that I built from the ground up. Many of the processes and practices that were developed in me during this time of exploration and growth then had direct impact on how I went on to develop future projects.

What I am gathering from these two concepts relates to two separate projects I have previously worked on. One would fall under maintenance learning where I redesigned the annual training that was well defined but somewhat disorganized and dated. The second, would fall under innovative learning where I was asked to develop a training program for a brand new enterprise system that did not have any training content or resources available.

What an interesting story to come full circle on the topic. You would think that museums would be centered around learner growth, the elevation of society and the expansion of understanding. However, just as soon as you make it a potential tourist destination, much of the noble ideas may go right out the window. However, it does seem like an oxymoron to have displays and information that is difficult to read and too complex for the average learner. Maybe this is why many Americans are becoming disinterested with museums?

I would agree! these factors often box you in when designing your learning approach and potential strategies. They are very real factors that can often limit or remove your ability to create content that is presented in creative and fresh ways that may be far more effective that traditional means.

I think we have to be careful with the customer is always right mentality as we are trying to raise the bar for learners who may often be seeking entertaining education as seen through various media outlets. If we are to compete on a global stage, we must seek to push people somewhat out of their comfort zones in some situations.

I could see how providing the minimum requirements to master a concept could decrease the potential for creativity. Often we are focused on micro learning where we present a consolidated version that learners can quickly pick up and apply. How do we still incorporate interesting opportunities to pull the learner in and make the process memorable and therefore internalized?

I am currently working on a project where I am encountering this very issue. Financial Acumen for new leaders is the topic and the desire is for the content to be interactive. However, the subject material is not that interesting and the SMEs are focused on financial issues using systems that are only available to leaders. Identifying creative opportunities has been difficult as I have been relying on second hand screenshots for areas that they feel could be potentially engaging to a new learner. Also, Covid has created huge collaboration issues in the healthcare industry as typical discovery and demonstration sessions have be limited or removed all together.

Delivering satisfaction is an interesting concept. I'd like to see the various methods that are used to instill this in the learner. My direct connection to this idea would be when you have completed a course, you often have a closing slide that says, "congratulations, you have completed the course. You will now be able to....". This often comes off as obligatory and a bit cheesy. I would want to learn alternatives for facilitating satisfaction that may be more effective and fresh.

I believe this is key. My experience has been that identifying why the instructional material will be important to the learner and showing them how the training will be a benefit in a very direct way often creates more buy-in and engagement.