The Real Barriers to Effective Learning: Organization, Learner, and L&D Missteps

What’s really holding your learners back from absorbing the information they need? We’ve all been through training at some point that’s either confusing or too broad, or perhaps the kind that puts you to sleep.

The truth is that training and learning design are complicated. It’s a balancing act between the learners themselves (how they learn, their interests and attention span), the designers (their desire to create engaging content), subject matter experts (who have the knowledge but aren’t always the best teachers), and then the organization, which has its own goals to achieve.

So where does learning design typically fall short? In this episode, we welcome Sara Sorenson, Product Enablement Manager at Muck Rack, and Tim Slade, Founder of The eLearning Designer’s Academy, to explore the top mistakes they see in learning design, how we can get better at creating training, plus some things learners could do to help that information stick.

Learning points from the episode include:

• 00:00 - 02:45 Introduction to Sara and Tim
• 02:45 - 05:50 The biggest thing organizations are getting wrong about learning
• 05:50 - 11:01 How should organizations use subject matter experts?
• 11:01 - 14:29 Why sometimes organizations need processes, not training
• 14:29 - 20:37 What are learners getting wrong
• 20:37 - 25:20 Why learning at work is different to the learning experience in school or college
• 25:20 - 30:07 How can learning designers help learners feel okay about mistakes
• 30:07 - 37:17 What else can we do to help learners achieve the ideal outcome
• 37:17 - 38:13 Outro

Important links and mentions:

• Connect with Sara on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarasorensonid/
• Connect with Tim on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sladetim/
• Visit The eLearning Designer’s Academy: https://elearningacademy.io/
• Subscribe to The eLearning Designer's Academy by Tim Slade: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2CE3YBPX53oeKVsiTbhX2w?sub_confirmation=1