I was in my early 20’s and in my first job doing data entry and photocopying at a large management consulting company. (Everyone starts somewhere!) I still remember my supervisor, Mary. I had such a hard time communicating with her and understanding what she wanted from me when she explained tasks. Partway through my contract, we completed a personality assessment. A light bulb went off! I realized I am a big picture thinker and needed to understand the overall context and goals before processing the steps and detailed information. She was the complete opposite! Because of the course, I learned to be patient while she explained the details. Then, I could ask the big picture questions I needed and clarify the details she had so carefully laid out.
I have drawn on this insight so often throughout my adult life – at work and with my husband and son, who both love the details!
How to sequence learning
In a work context, your training design is impacted by your audience. It’s guaranteed you will have a mix of big-picture thinkers and detail-focused folks in your programs. How can you reach the big-picture and detailed thinkers?
Here are five approaches to consider.
1. Start with why
Be really clear about the benefits of learning the skill or concept. The ‘why’ is the reason behind the adult learning principle, Need to Know.1 Adult need to know the reason for learning. They need to know why they are learning new knowledge before they are willing to participate. Big-picture thinkers will crave knowing the why. You can then quickly move into the details.
1 – Source: Knowles 1987 as cited in Evans, Nicole. “A Cross-Sectional Descriptive Study of Graduate Students’ Perceptions of Learning Effectiveness in Face-to-Face and Online Courses.” Academy of Business Research Journal. 2015, Vol. 1, p104-118. 15p.
2. Consider the type of content
Identify if the content is rules-based or principles-based.2
2 – Source: Clive Shepherd. “More than Blended Learning: Designing world-class learning interventions.” (2015)
If the content is rules-based, consider step-by-step instruction. Principles-based content lends itself well to big picture concepts and a guided discovery approach.
Click here for more information about rules-based and principles-based content.
3. Identify a natural sequence
Determine if the content has a natural sequence. For example:
- Is there a chronological or a logical order?
- Does it make sense to start with concrete concepts and move to the abstract?
- Can you start with a whole and then move to parts?
4. Follow Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning
Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning provides a framework for organizing learning into levels of complexity.3
3 – Source: Armstrong, P. (2010). Bloom’s Taxonomy. Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. Retrieved [September 27, 2021] from https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/blooms-taxonomy/.
There are three domains of learning – cognitive (knowing/head), affective (feeling/heart), and psychomotor (doing/hands). With each of these domains, consider starting with more straightforward concepts first and moving to more complex steps. Here’s an example of baking bread.
- Remember the ingredients.
- Understand the order for mixing the ingredients.
- Apply by following a recipe to make bread.
- Analyze the process and what worked well, and what was challenging.
- Evaluate how the bread tastes.
- Create new recipes by adding different ingredients.
5. Base the sequence on a task analysis
A task analysis is a summary of steps an employee takes to complete a task. The summary starts with the overall task or outcome and then breaks it down into parts. It includes the relationships between tasks and sub-tasks. Here’s a high-level example for an administrator to open a savings account.
- Review the account application form and check for errors or missing information.
- Log in to the company’s software application.
- Navigate to the account opening tab(s).
- Enter the information from the account application.
- Link to any existing accounts for the same applicant.
- Save the new account.
Often the steps in a task analysis can be summarized in a step-by-step job aid.
There are so many ways to organize content so others can learn from it. Keep in mind that your audience will be a mix of folks who prefer starting with the big-picture or starting with details. Consider these five approaches to organizing content so you can cater to different preferences.
What’s your reaction to these approaches? Where’s the opportunity to elevate your design?
In case you missed it
I’ve shared some additional posts online. Here they are in case you missed them.
- Use a stoplight approach to identifying existing training – (vlog post)
- Infographic on Future of work after COVID – (link)
- Three levels of learning need assessments – (video link)
- Mager’s structure for writing learning objectives – (video link)
- Business goals, Performance outcomes, and learning objectives – (video link)
- Value of a learning strategy – (video link)
