Why Data Literacy Matters, or Why Ronald McDonald was Spotted Dancing at Nightclubs in the Mid-90s
In 1996, McDonald’s unveiled a new burger called the Arch Deluxe. This was “the burger for grownups.” In an effort to gain some market share back that they had lost, they did some market research and found that lots of people wanted a burger “catered to them.” So they released the Arch Deluxe, and spent […]
Evaluation and the Art of Cooking Spaghetti
We talk a lot about evaluation in the learning world – well, we talk a lot about it everywhere, really – and we always come back to the same question. “How can I measure effectiveness? How can I create an objective measure that I can use against my program?” Well I’d like to help you […]
“I Don’t Understand”
I was a pretty cringey person in my late teens and well into my 20s. You might be thinking, “Most young folks are,” and you’re probably right, but I can only comment on myself, and I have a lot of memories that I think about late at night. There really is no stimulant greater than […]
The “Fear of Silly” is Harming Our Learning
What age did you stop dancing? Was it when a kid made fun of you at school, and you vowed you would never be caught on their radar ever again? Was it when a significant other made an offhand comment about your moves that made you self-conscious enough that you lost your courage? Maybe you […]
The Misunderstood Art of Making Mistakes
“I don’t think it was supposed to do that.” If you’ve ever taught any kind of software to a group, you might have heard this phrase a time or two. You might be bent over one learner’s computer, walking them through something, then you hear another learner pipe up, their voice either timid and nervous […]
“Oh no, I forgot!” – How to Improve Your Prospective Memory
It’s a ritual in our household each Wednesday morning. Wake up, get breakfast going, hear the ever-closer rumble of the garbage truck, sprint to put the bin out on the curb before they pass us. We inevitably get the bin out on time, but I imagine we’re a routine sight for the workers at this […]
Three Reasons Your Managers Need to be Good Trainers
According to research done by McKinsey in 2022, about 70 percent of the US workforce is considered frontlines. These are retail workers, healthcare workers, sales, hospitality, sanitation, food service, and a host of other people. The vast majority of these workers don’t have a company email address or access to the company intranet. Most of […]
The Curse of Knowledge
Here’s an experiment you can try the next time you’re with a group of people. Pick out a common song (“Happy Birthday,” for example) and clap it out in rhythm, then see if they can guess what it is. Before you do this, however, take a guess at how many people you think will correctly […]
Spotting Pseudoscience – It is TOO Story-Shaped?
We as learning professionals are always looking for ways to create engaging materials for our learners. We do that a lot with story, which can be a powerful memory aide. And as learning professionals, we are also constantly making sure our materials are precise and up-to-date. Since we are models of integrity and accuracy, we […]
Why Subject Matter Experts Are Often the Best – and, Simultaneously, Often the Worst – Folks to Train Your Employees
When I was in college, I took a fencing class. I had never tried it before, and it sounded like an interesting way to fulfill a physical education requirement. We spent the semester learning how to parry, thrust, and lunge. The instructor was a super nice guy who had once been in the running to […]