The Language of Learning Term of the Week postings begin on October 16, 2003, and continue for one year. Each week, we will post a new term on this site.
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The entirety of all the systems, resources, procedures, practices, and people that influence learning for an individual or group, including the interrelationships among these elements.
In this age of self-directed learning and rapid change, the health of the learning ecosystem is critical. People learn more effectively and contribute more valuably if they can quickly access robust and relevant learning support.
Leaders can exert considerable influence on the elements and qualities of a learning ecosystem in an organization, thereby affecting how efficiently and successfully people can develop their knowledge and skills.
A leader’s role is to selectively curate the components of the ecosystem, align them toward articulated goals, and troubleshoot any issues that arise. In shaping a learning ecosystem, leaders are very much like gardeners. They select what to plant, ensure adequate water and sunlight, boost nutrients, and prune here and there.
Leaders advocate for elements that enable learning and performance—from training and development programs to searchable databases to enterprise social networks and more. They ensure that people have access to the most useful and relevant resources and facilitate sharing of resources to help spread new knowledge and effective practices. They craft procedures and practices with an eye toward efficiency, productivity, and flexibility for change, and they align them to a common purpose. And leaders bring people together to learn from and with one another.
By managing all of these elements as part of an ecosystem instead of as unrelated pieces, leaders can create reinforcing loops that propel learning and development, positively affecting performance. Just as a biological ecosystem benefits from human intervention to nurture balance and counter destructive forces, the learning ecosystem benefits from a leader’s careful cultivation to support people’s growth.
Catherine Lombardozzi is a lifelong learning and development practitioner and founder of Learning 4 Learning Professionals. Her work focuses on supporting the professional development of designers, facilitators, faculty, consultants, and learning leaders. She is the author of Learning Environments by Design.
Term: Learning Ecosystem
Email: clombardozzi@l4lp.com
Website: l4lp.com/
Twitter: @L4LP
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/catherinelombardozzi/
Connecting in an engaging way by truly listening, having empathy, and understanding the perspective of others such that the learners’ ways of knowing have deepened or changed in a meaningful way.
Meaningful interaction is needed to effectively manage conflict, collaborate, influence, and create a sense of belonging and community.
Interaction is a critical attribute for anyone in business. If you are only hearing, rather than listening, you can miss important information, leading to situations such as: developing a solution for the wrong problem, losing talented individuals, or being unable to lead change or move a project successfully forward.
Good interactions also enable you to build human relationships of trust, which you need to effectively give and receive feedback, mentor and coach, and sustain and build business relationships.
In the learning context, some forms of learning content rely on the use of interaction to enhance the experience of learning. Good interaction can also trigger a brain response that aids learners in their ability to absorb and retain content.
The meaning of the term interaction changes depending on the type of learning content experienced. For example, in an in-person class, it might be defined as exchanges between learners, such as group work, role playing, or simulation practice. In a self-paced learning context, it is defined by the way the learner uses or experiences the interface, including interactions such as completing the content in the order that they choose, responding to items or questions, or providing feedback upon completion.
Patrice Torcivia Prusko is Director of Learning Design, Technology and Media within the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She leads the design, development and project management of online and technology-enhanced courses, including the school's first fully online degree program. Patrice holds a BS degree in mechanical engineering, an MBA from Union College, and a PhD in curriculum and instruction from the University at Albany - State University of New York. She researches and presents on compassion fatigue, supporting women in STEM, equitable and inclusive design practices, and global education.
Term: Interaction
Email: patrice.torcivia@gmail.com
Website: edtechisgorges.com/
Twitter: @profpatrice
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/patrice-torcivia-prusko/
Using traits of games (e.g., rules, goals, effort, rewards, competition, etc.) to immerse learners in engaging and risk-free settings that allow and encourage learning by experimentation. Game-based learning presents learning content in a game format, in contrast with gamification, which applies gaming principles to more traditional learning methods.
Game-based learning processes are dynamic and personalized. Properly implemented, game-based learning that uses emotions, cooperation, or competition has the potential to engage busy and easily distracted learners.
The steady growth of the game industry demonstrates that the level of engagement triggered by games is in high demand worldwide. Well-designed games immerse people in an experience where time passes by without notice. In this state, learners are engaged, which improves the efficacy of learning.
Gamification applies gaming principles to traditional learning methods to engage and motivate the learners to learn and retain the learning.
Game-based learning presents learning content in a game format. Learners engage with the learning content while playing a game.
The deep concentration and motivation that game-based learning can provide following benefits:
The organization also benefits in the following ways:
Since 1999, Marek has worked with over 100 companies in learning strategies, learning environment development, and instructional design. As a thought leader he manages the network of people involved in innovative initiatives at Accenture. He is the author/co-author of four books (3 in Polish, 1 in English) on the topics of learning technologies, instructional strategies, and design. He is also the creator of learning and development (L&D) industry solutions: supermemo.net, Learning Battle Cards, and Moments that Matter in Learning.
Term: Game-based Learning
Email: marek.hyla@accenture.com
Website: learningbattlecards.net/
Twitter: @marek_hyla
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/marekhyla/
Gaining knowledge by actively doing something, reflecting upon the experience, allowing these reflections to change your thinking in some way, and then applying this new understanding.
Experiential learning goes beyond involving students with real-world projects. It uses a cycle of doing something, taking time to observe and reflect, considering how to adjust, trying a new approach, and then reflecting again(Kolb & Kolb, 2017). It is excellent for mentoring, service learning, project-based learning, action learning, adventure education, case studies, simulation, and gaming, and it has been shown to have a positive impact on learning(Burch et al, 2019)(Kolb & Kolb, 2017).
As a business professional, you may have the opportunity to engage with employees who have experience with experiential learning, giving your business the benefit their knowledge of new theories and practices in this area. You can look forward to these employees bringing fresh ideas and perspectives into your team as well as providing the opportunity for junior staff to develop mentorship skills(Hoessler & Godden, 2021).
It may also be helpful to understand that potential new employees who have completed experiential learning have some practical experience, but more than that they have been encouraged to deeply reflect on and learn from this experience. This structured reflection can be very valuable(Burch et al., 2019).
If you are involved in experiential learning projects, it is important for you to understand enough about the term to position yourself for success. It is critical for experiential learning to be set up in a methodical way that aligns your business goals with student learning objectives and course assessments. Otherwise, you may not see the benefits you were hoping for(Hoessler & Godden, 2021). Additionally, it is important for you to understand the role you will play in the experiential learning process(Hoessler & Godden, 2021)(Kolb & Kolb, 2017).
Lorraine Weaver is currently working as an instructional designer at Thompson Rivers University (TRU). Prior to TRU, she completed 20 years of work in the Canadian Forces as an Aerospace Engineering Officer. Her work included engineering, personnel management, mentoring, and training and development. She has completed degrees in BSc (math), MSc (human factors), a graduate diploma in technology-enhanced learning and design, and an MEd.
Term: Experiential Learning
Email: lweaver2008@gmail.com
The name given to theories of learning grounded in the notion that meaning is imposed on the world rather than extant in it. Constructivists hold that meaning is constructed in our minds as we interact with the physical, social, and mental worlds we inhabit and that we make sense of our experiences by building and adjusting the internal mental structures that collect and organize our perceptions of, and reflections on, reality.
Constructivism is important because it points to the types of activities that support robust learning, namely activities that are learner-centered, social, and active and which incorporate authentic contexts.
A business professional should know what constructivism means because it is the learning theory most commonly accepted by educators worldwide. It not only describes how we believe people learn, it suggests pedagogical strategies to support learning.
Although there are a variety of constructivist theories—cognitive constructivism, constructionism, social constructivism, situated learning, distributed cognition—such theories basically represent different points of view on shared assumptions about the nature of learning and the construction of knowledge.
Constructivism refers to a set of psychological theories that share common assumptions about learning and which collectively represent the most widely accepted beliefs about how people learn. According to constructivists, all learning involves mental construction, no matter how one is taught.
All learning occurs in our minds as we create and adjust internal mental structures to accommodate our ever-growing and ever-changing stores of knowledge. All knowledge is thus unique to the individual, and all learning is an active process, intimately tied to experience and the contexts of experience, no matter how or where that learning takes place.
Although constructivism is neither a pedagogical theory nor a theory of instruction, it does have implications for both. In particular, it suggests that education should focus on learners and learning and not on teachers and teaching.
Karen Swan, who passed away in September 2021, was the Stukel Professor of Educational Research at the University of Illinois Springfield. For more than 20 years, she was a leading teacher and researcher in the field of online learning. She received the Online Learning Consortium (OLC) Outstanding Individual Achievement award, the National University Technology Network (NUTN) Distinguished Service Award, and the Burks Oakley Distinguished Online Teaching Award for her work in this area. In 2010 she was named an OLC Fellow and is a member of the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame.
Term: Constructivism
The process of learning a skill by performing that skill with consistent repetition and feedback. Also referred to as competency-based education.
People learn by doing. Learning and development specialists often apply the 70-20-10 model, which says that 70% of what people learn is from job-related experience, 20% from interactions with others, and 10% from formal training or education(Training Industry 2014). This suggests that well over half of learning should be based on the learner performing a skill rather than an instructor or peer presenting knowledge about the skill.
To keep pace with innovation and execute on transformative initiatives, organizations need to make skill development, and any needed re-skilling, a core component of the employee journey. And employees need to continue to master new skills as quickly as possible.
Competency-based learning is a key strategy to help companies meet these challenges. It helps ensure that training is relevant to the work by putting the tasks learners will do on the job into the learning content.
Competency-based learning begins with a needs analysis, which identifies the actual competencies required for mastery on the job. Equipped with information from the needs analysis, subject matter experts, and prospective learners, the learning and development team crafts learning content that challenges learners to perform aspects of the work as part of the curriculum.
Typically, competency-based learning allows individual learners to practice until they reach a designated mastery level before moving forward. Practice or repetition might take the form of simulation practice, scenarios, timed drills, etc. It might also include peer mentoring, coaching, and demonstration of mastery. This repetition and practice is especially helpful when the job tasks carry a risk of harm or injury.
Successful and effective competency-based learning provides learning content that is as close to real-world experiences as possible. This includes methods such as simulations, scenarios, hand-on exercises, timed drills, task observation with feedback, etc. Well-designed competency-based learning helps learners connect what they are learning to what they will be doing on the job.
Dan McCann is an experienced and dynamic leader with a passion for lifetime learning, growth strategy, and innovation. Dan started his career in sales, co-founded FRONTLINE Selling where he successfully managed the business from start-up through 15 consecutive years of profitable growth. In 2018, Dan launched SymTrain, which is transforming the future of work by automating the process of situational learning. SymTrain customers train and assess sales, service, and support employees faster and better than they ever could using manual alternatives.
Term: Competency Based Learning
Email: dan.mccann@symtrain.com
Website: symtrain.com
Twitter: @symtrain
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/symtrain/
Facebook: facebook.com/symtrain/
A group of people pursuing mutual interests or endeavors who deepen their knowledge and skills through regular and ongoing interactions.
Whether formally sanctioned or self-organizing, Communities of Practice (CoPs) provide an opportunity for individuals to share insights and innovate. Long before Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger(Wenger 2002) introduced CoPs and a series of best practices, these types of groups were an organically forming, ever-evolving phenomenon that supported knowledge management. Today, CoPs are hailed as a key strategy to support an organization’s competitive edge in a knowledge-based global economy.
Communities of Practice (CoPs) are more than a knowledge management strategy in service of a larger business strategy. They are fluid, living repositories of tacit and explicit domain-specific knowledge. Knowledge can live within, without, or across personal and professional silos. CoPs codify shared knowledge and shape the identities of their members. Understanding what a CoP is and what it is not is critical to designing as well as nurturing this type of resource.
At the core of this term are two words: community and practice.
Creating a CoP and assigning it a digital space is only the first step. How knowledge will be shared is equally important. Opportunities for storytelling, coaching, and apprenticeship must also be present.
Knowing about CoPs empowers a business professional to unite participants around a process of continuous improvement while reminding them that they are not alone.
Rhoda Deon, PhD, is a healer, musician and educator. On a mission to normalize the struggle of being human, her frameworks weave mindfulness practices and data analysis techniques together with games of chance. She has served diverse, global learners in K-12, post-secondary, corporate, and non-traditional settings. Rhoda is a co-designer of Conscious Conversations, a card game that uses levity to help people talk openly about their organization's culture and business practices.
Term: Communities of Practice
Email: rhoda.deon@gmail.com
Website: rhodadeon.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rhodadeon
A learning theory that conceptualizes learning processes in terms of how the mind receives, organizes, codes, transforms, stores, rehearses, and retrieves information. Learning occurs when information is stored in memory in a meaningful and retrievable manner.
Cognitive processing starts with the working memory, which has a limited capacity and duration in which it can hold information. Through various methods, you can move information from working to long-term memory. Once there, you can hold that information for longer periods of time. But you can only access that information if it has been stored in a way that is easy to retrieve.
Knowing the science can help a business professional structure a better learning experience. How information is presented, the context in which it’s presented, and even the emotions of the individual at the time can all affect learning.
Far too often there is a tendency to dump information on learners in an unstructured way. This can lead to cognitive overload, meaning the brain has no way of focusing on what’s important. If you want your communication to have an impact, take these cues from cognitivism:
Making intentional decisions about the context, structure, and order may take extra time but doing so ensures a greater level of understanding and deeper levels of retention.
Ashley Reardon is the Head of Design & Development for Culture Programs, Legal & Compliance at Meta, where she has been since 2020. For nearly 25 years, her passion has been in using technology to create better, individual-led, learning-by-doing experiences, and over the years, Ashley has been fortunate to develop experience and expertise in everything from eLearning to instructor-led training to performance support to blended solutions. Ashley has a BS in cognitive science from the University of California, Los Angeles, and an MA in learning sciences from Northwestern University.
Term: Cognitivism
Email: alafrenais@gmail.com
Website: kineo.com/
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ashleyreardon
The mental effort or workload imposed on a person’s working memory when processing information.
Understanding cognitive load is crucial for promoting effective learning, decision making, information processing, user experience, productivity, and training outcomes. In the context of learning and development, cognitive load theory provides insights you can apply to instructional design and delivery to improve the learning process.
Business professionals who understand cognitive load are likely to better understand the work of their team members, especially those who design marketing and communication materials, learning content, instructional products, product design, and more.
There are three types of cognitive load you should know:
An understanding of cognitive load, especially understanding how to reduce extraneous cognitive load, can help you create more efficient and effective work processes, ultimately contributing to better outcomes for your organization.
And it can help you and your team design more user-friendly products, optimize training programs, improve decision-making, and facilitate collaboration, both within your team and across the organization.
Phylise Banner is a learning experience designer with more than 25 years of vision, action, and leadership experience in transformational learning and development approaches. A pioneer in online learning, she is an Adobe Education Leader, Certified Learning Environment Architect (CLEA), Project Management Professional (PMP), STC Fellow, performance storyteller, avid angler, and aviation enthusiast. She is also the proud owner of a 1967 Amphicar.
Term: Cognitive Load
Email: pbanner@gmail.com
Website: phylisebanner.com
Twitter: @phylisebanner
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/phylisebanner
The practice of a trusted individual providing guidance and oversight to support the development of another individual.
Virtually every successful professional, in any field, has benefited from some form of coaching. It’s essential for any organization interested in the development of its people and leaders to understand the role of effective coaching.
Coaches are most commonly associated with sports, providing athletes and teams direction toward the goal of winning a game. Some professional athletes employ multiple coaches, each of whom brings a specific expertise such as skill development, diet and nutrition, strength and conditioning, or sports psychology.
The principle of coaching is tried and true and can fully apply in the workplace to help professionals better perform their responsibilities as well as grow in capacity to expand the impact they make on the business.
To be an effective coach, you need to recognize that people need objective feedback, mentorship, and accountability. It is difficult for humans to see outside themselves to have a clear assessment of their strengths and weaknesses. We all have blind spots that impair our personal development and progress.
An effective coach develops a rapport with an individual to provide a framework of development, choosing specific skills or attributes to improve on within a specific timeframe. Coaching in the workplace can be formal or informal, and the coach can be a professionally trained coach, a skilled and caring manager, or a trusted colleague.
Often, organizations will develop a centralized coaching framework to ensure consistent coaching methods throughout their workforce. Many times, this includes training on how to be an effective coach.
In short, if business professionals are genuinely vested in the success of their people, they will do well to have coaching be a vital part of their learning and development infrastructure and culture(Deloitte 2020).
Vince Han is the founder and CEO of Mobile Coach and a frequent speaker at conferences such as Training Conference, DevLearn, FocusOn, Online Learning, ATDTK and others. He holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management. Vince is an industry thought-leader for learning and learning technology with an emphasis on artificial intelligence and chatbot technology. Vince has founded several successful technology companies and resides in Utah.
Term: Coaching
Email: vince@mobilecoach.com
Website: mobilecoach.com
Twitter: @vincehan
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/vincehan/