Episode 256

Mastering Action First Learning: How to Boost Engagement and Outcomes

It’s time to ditch the lectures. The secret to creating powerful learning content that people actually pay attention to and use in their daily lives is all about action. 

Dr. Karl Kapp introduces us to action-based learning in this episode – his go-to tactic for making learning more engaging, useful, and practical. Karl is a Professor of Instructional Technology at Bloomsburg University and the author of multiple books, including Action-First Learning and Learning in 3D.

He explains what action-based learning really looks like and why front-loading learners with bags of information is the wrong approach. His method is to throw learners into realistic scenarios and activities that break down the barrier of failure-avoidance.

Karl also talks about the missing piece of most training sessions: reflection. He shares what good reflection activities look like and why it needs to be an ongoing process to get that new knowledge to stick.

Learning points from the episode include:

  • 00:00 - 01:19 Introduction to Karl
  • 01:19 – 03:30 Karl’s number one tip for using images or video in learning
  • 03:30 – 05:35 What is action first learning? How it ties to psychology 
  • 05:35 – 09:15 How to avoid the feeling of failing in adult learning
  • 09:15 – 13:02 The ideal time for action-based learning
  • 13:02 – 17:57 Why reflection is essential to turn learning into action
  • 17:57 – 20:43 When to schedule reflection after a learning session
  • 20:43 – 25:34 How images and video add visual cues that support learning
  • 25:34 – 28:08 Speed round questions
  • 28:08 – 29:46 How to connect and learn more from Karl
  • 29:46 – 30:46 Karl’s final take
  • 30:46 – 31:38 Outro

Important links and mentions:

All Episodes Previous Episode

About the Podcast

Show artwork for The Visual Lounge
The Visual Lounge
Discussions about the power of visuals and videos and how to make them even better.

Listen for free

About your host

Profile picture for Matthew Pierce

Matthew Pierce

Matthew Pierce, Learning & Video Ambassador from TechSmith Corporation, has created videos for learning and marketing for over a decade. He is the lead behind TechSmith Academy, a free platform teaching video and image creation for business, which has been used by tens of thousands of users. He is the host of The Visual Lounge Podcast from TechSmith, which streams live on Youtube and LinkedIn weekly. Matthew is a regular speaker at multiple learning and development-focused conferences and is a regular contributor to various training publications. Connect with him on LinkedIn.