"Results Day....Yay I can stop learning now"

14:03:00 Learning Boffins 0 Comments






This time of year always takes me back to memories of the school summer holidays and the one day we all dreaded, GSCE results day, A Level results day and actually every single assignment result I waited for whilst at University. Every time I received these results I felt a big sigh of relief and thought 'no more learning....until the next one obviously'. And when my final year marks where given to me at University I thought 'no more learning EVER'. At the time this felt like the greatest feeling and it was one that was of course celebrated in traditional student fashion.

But I look back now and think 'o how wrong I was' and not in a negative way at all. Without even realising it everyday since completing my final year of University (and in-between) I potentially have had a learning experience everyday that has helped me in the working world without even realising it. It took awhile for me to realise that after my educational years learning can happen outside of the classroom.

In our conversations we can see that many organisations still don't see learning outside of the classroom as 'learning'. The well known 70:20:10  model (which of course isn't a prescriptive model) shows that 70% of learning is from on-the-job experience, 20% from coaching and relationships and then only 10% from formal classroom learning.

It certainly is a mind-set shift to realise that you are learning outside of the classroom and is one that can be embraced by organisations. It can inspire organisations to use non-formal learning as part of other learning programmes or as an on-going learning support. Getting L&D to understand and implement this is the easy bit, but where you need buy-in and the shift to be noticeable is for the employees to go on the culture shift with you.

Even at times when informal support is in place, employees still say that they don't get any training in their organisation. Therefore it is important that employees understand the concept of informal learning. Through continued targeted communication and simple messaging to employees you can start to get employees to recognise 'informal' as learning and most importantly understand and get the value out of it.

We have had first-hand experience of taking employees on this mind-shift journey and as a result have supported clients through their own journey's, which in a formal sense can be seen as culture change and managed in this way and as result is a process and a journey that shouldn't be underestimated.

Take a look at our digital learning info graphic: http://capitakpconsultants.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/our-digital-learning-infographic.html 
or tweet us @LearningBoffins. We would love to hear your experience of moving to informal.....



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What is the difference that makes the difference?

15:01:00 Learning Boffins 0 Comments


We’re all well into the Olympics now, and a question I’ve pondered is how much difference the equipment makes to the performance of our elite athletes?

In diving for example, it’s pretty clear-cut, there is no equipment: Tom Daley and Dan Goodfellow jump through 10m of air into the pool below.  But what difference does Andy Murray’s choice of racket make against his opponent?  Or the quality of Greg Rutherford’s running shoes affect his long jump?  However I’ll let you decide what difference Amber Hill’s spray painted shotgun and pink cartridges make to her performance.

Following a series of crashes on the cycling course, a TV interview showed that whilst competitive cycling allows some latitude in the dimensions and weight of the bikes, they’re all very similar: perhaps the most significant decision a cyclist makes is how hard to pump the tyres (higher pressure means less drag, but also less grip on corners).

In sport, the rules quite rightly seek to create a ‘level playing field’, so athletes compete as much as possible on equal terms.  Any difference is therefore down to the skill, strength and wit of the athlete, not their equipment.

Now here comes the rather predictable connection to L&D…

… because when it comes to formal training, I notice we make a very different assumption – that the outcomes of learning depend very heavily on the quality of the training course.  Generic content is usually frowned upon in favour of something bespoke: specifically designed for our purpose.  We take a lot of time developing the training.  If we’re outsourcing, a great deal of time and thought goes into choosing the right supplier.  And even if we find something suitable on the shelf, we’ll still want to tailor it for our purposes.  “Content is king” we say (and preferably content built to high standards of instructional design).

Content is important, no doubt about that.  But I have noticed that if you look at learning in terms of outcomes, then content does not influence the result anywhere near as much as our practice would suggest.

Here's my list of the 'Big Four' influences on learning outcomes:
  • Motivation: whether the learner has the desire to learn
  • How relevant the learning is to what the learner needs to be able to do better
  • Line manager support and encouragement of the learner (before and after the training)
  • After training, how much the learner uses the knowledge and skill they have learned.

In my experience, unless these things are right, it doesn’t much matter whether the content is good bad or indifferent.  And yet, how often do we give them even the briefest consideration, let alone investment. 

My conclusion is that, rather like our top athletes, the outcome is down to the people.

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Millennials, learning and PokémonGo

14:04:00 Learning Boffins 0 Comments




Where have you been if you haven’t heard of PokémonGo? I’m a millennial that collected Pokémon cards and played the red, blue, gold and silver games on my colour gameboy in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. I got a little excited when I heard the game was going to launched (even though I am now 25).

If you find yourself still asking what is PokémonGo here is a little intro. It’s an augmented reality game available on IOS and android devices, it uses GPS and camera to capture, battle and train virtual creatures. When the GPS finds a Pokémon it shows on the screen as if it were in the same real-world location. You catch it and it's yours. You collect as many as possible and the game is to catch them all, all 250 of them (especially Pikachu). Looks like I will be doing a lot of walking to find them then!

I wanted to understand why I am so addicted and engrossed into the game, what were the factors that were affecting this and could these elements apply to how we approach and think about learning. So here were my top 3 points that have helped to drive my interest and addiction to the game.

1. Ease of use: 

It’s on my iPhone (basically an attachment to most people now), I open it when I can. So, on my walk for lunch, on the train, just as and when I need it. It’s also simple, straightforward and with little instruction I understand the objectives of the game. Removing all barriers of me accessing it and getting involved.


Learning link:

So looking at this point from a learning perspective. If learning is available when I need it and has limited complexity on its objectives, it removes barriers to get involved. Not saying this increases the motivation towards learning, but it certainly doesn’t block it.


2. Part of a community:

Being part of the game allows me to be part of a Pokémon community which helps to drive my involvement in the game. I talk about it amongst peers and would feel excluded if I wasn’t part of the Pokémon world.

Learning link:

This feeling of being part of a community and being connected is certainly a characteristic of the millennial world, but I think as the growth of technology has allowed us to be a more connected world we are seeing all generations stating that a community element is something that is desired in learning. This ‘network effect’ makes learning interactive and participatory, allowing people to learn from others experience through discussing and experiencing content together.


3. Personal:

Although I am part of the wider Pokémon community, it’s my game. I move through the levels as I wish and only interact with the parts that are of interest to me. I move through it at my own pace and don’t feel pressure to get into all parts of the game.

Learning link:

Having something that I choose how and when to work through at my own pace and only interact with what is relevant to me, reduces the feelings of pointless learning. It also allows for the time spent on learning to be more productive as what I am focused on is more relevant to me as a learner.

I think these 3 points are an important take-away from PokémonGo. Looking at ease of use, community elements and personalisation of learning can help to make for more engaging learning environments according to research. However, this article and research that was done for it is all from a millennials perspective. Do we think these elements we have discussed for learning is something that applies across all generation and not just millennials?

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