Don’t Create Learning Drag

I began my career in learning and development within the aerospace industry. Drag is not a good thing for air vehicles or learning. Therefore, we are always trying to minimize the drag. In the case of learning, this means that we are always looking from a performance perspective and figuring out what works best and what detracts (drags) from a learner’s ability to apply what they are learning.  

Often time drag is created by simply having content that does not align with the learning objectives. Let’s start at the basics. Content has to align to a learning objective. If it does not align, it simply adds to the cognitive load and gives no value. Have you sat through a class that started with something like the history of fall safety? And you need to know how to use a harness so you don’t die. That is serious drag.

Boring also adds to the drag. It is literally a drag to participate in a boring class. Learning is a gift that should be opened like it is Christmas morning. Design and deliver your classes to be engaging, meaningful, and fun. One of the biggest drags is to create a boring data dump type of class. Students have high expectations of what and how they should be learning. Meet the students where they are.  

Speaking of meeting students where they are. If you don’t build from a mobile-first perspective, you miss the target because that is where they are. Traditional and non-traditional university students are on their phones and expect not just responsive content but content built for them to consume on their devices. This requires you to think differently about how students consume content. In the mobile environment, they want to be a part of it.  

At LAPU, we like to remove the drag by using the Know/Feel/Do framework. Clearly define what the student needs to KNOW. How you want them to FEEL as they are consuming the content. What they should be able to DO with their new knowledge. We call it putting humanity back into learning. An example of the “feel” part is that a student may want to feel supported, navigate easily, and confidently discuss the topic. The Know/Feel/Do framework then feeds into the decisions on how to design the learning objectives or outcomes and the learning experience.  

Here is what we use. Feel free to use it. Let us know what you think. Post on your socials #lapux