Closing the loop for learners
How do we get them to and through the first five minutes of applying what they've learned? Thoughts on how to approach one of the biggest challenges in instructional design.
We’ve all been there, right? We attend a training session, live or on demand, fully intending on taking what we’ve learned and doing something with it. For instance: maybe you’ve just attended training on how to create a video in Camtasia. Or, how to make navigation in your LMS-based course more clear and consistent.
What pushes you over the edge to actually take the first steps to apply what you’ve learned?
The problem
Getting learners to apply what they’ve learned is a common challenge for instructional designers (and instructors of all kinds). We often have some kind of evidence that learners have engaged with the learning (think: something like course completion rates, CSAT or NPS scores), but not evidence that learners actually apply what they’ve learned.
For folks in customer ed, it’s answering questions like: Did your training increase usage of a particular product feature, or increase adoption in a particular account? In internal L&D, it might sound more like: Did your training increase productivity or efficiency?
Demonstrating behavior change is where your value as an instructional designer really shows.
The questions I’ve listed above, though, are peering far out into the future a bit. It’s important to design with end goals in mind, yes: I just addressed how I think learning objectives are still relevant and all.
While most instructional designers I know still map out learning objectives, though, something I don’t see a ton of people talking about is how we get learners to start. To simply cross the threshold, and begin applying what they have learned.
Starting stuff is hard
Getting over the first five minutes
Y’all. Starting stuff is hard. My favorite weightlifting newsletter (you read that right, I have one of those), She’s a Beast, refers to “getting off the couch” as the hardest lift. Because starting stuff is hard!
You might think that someone with a favorite weightlifting newsletter enjoys lifting. I do (I promise this is related). However, starting stuff is hard, so I often don’t want to do it, especially because it involves getting out of bed in the morning when it’s usually still dark out.
Usually, I tell my whiny little brain, “Christie, go work out for five minutes. If you are still hating everything after five minutes, you can go back to bed.” Reader: I have never gone back to bed. Five minutes is always enough to just get started. Actually, that’s how I got myself writing this newsletter after my whiny little brain tried to weasel its way out of that, too.
I’m going to refer to this challenge “the first five minutes.”
Lowering barriers to entry: getting TO the first five minutes
There’s a plethora of advice out there for people who want to become morning exercisers: set out your workout clothes the night before (or maybe even just work out in your pajamas!) Have your water bottle already filled up and ready to go. Set your alarm across the room so you actually get out of bed to turn it off.
All of these suggestions are meant to make it easier for you to get started, or lower the barrier to entry.
Now, these suggestions might be great for someone who already has an exercise routine down and knows what to do after they actually put on their gym clothes and grab their wattle bottle and everything. But: what about if they’re brand new to strength training? Then what?
Starting stuff is even harder for when you’re learning something new.
A missing piece I see in teaching new skills or technology is a failure to close the loop between knowing and doing. How can we help give learners what they need to get to, and then through, the first five minutes?
Closing the loop for learners
Here are some questions I’d consider in order to close the loop and get them to and through the first five minutes:
What are the very first steps that learners need to take to actually get started?
Have I told them what those things are explicitly?
Have I given them all the resources they need to complete those steps?
Have I provided some real-life examples so they can imagine what their first five minutes might look like in a way that is useful for them specifically?
When I was working for Hypothesis, a social annotation edtech tool, instructors often understood how to set up Hypothesis-enabled readings in their courses, but there was still a gap between knowing and doing. In this case: they had the answers to 1 and 2, but not necessarily 3 or 4: once they got to the point where they could set up the reading in their course, they weren’t sure what kind of instructions to input for students or what kind of results to expect.
In order to fill that gap, I created annotation starter assignments, or boilerplate assignment instructions that would help them get through the first five minutes. These instructions gave them a starting point and real-life examples they could tweak to create their first annotation assignment. An assignment they could return to and use—or adjust to use—in their actual courses.
More examples of closing the loop
At the beginning of the post, I mentioned: “maybe you’ve just attended a training on how to create a video in Camtasia. Or, how to make navigation in your LMS-based course more clear and consistent.” How might we tackle closing the loop to/through the first five minutes with these examples?
Creating a video in Camtasia: Can you give your learners a template video file with instructions on how to replace and add elements with their own content?
LMS course navigation redesign: Can you set aside 5-10 minutes in your training (synchronous or not) and provide your learners with a graphic organizer or template of some kind to brainstorm a new menu or module structure for their course based on what they’ve learned?
I’m being kind of specific in these examples for a reason: I don’t want learners to just use templates for practice.1 I want them to start doing something they could see themselves maybe, actually, returning to or using after training.
Then, give learners the first five minutes.
Whether your training is live or on-demand, set aside a few minutes to provide learners with explicit instruction to go and use the resource you just gave them, giving them five minutes to apply what they’ve learned in a way that is practical to their everyday work.
We’re often stuffing our training with content and not providing enough space for learners to practice—even though it’s what leads to for behavior change. Giving them an opportunity to begin practical application is even better.
You’ll lower the barrier for entry to get started later, because now, they already have something.
How can you close the loop?
Anyone else out there struggle with getting to/through first five minutes? Inertia is really something, huh.
What I know I’m missing here: I wanted to include a discussion about providing clear value to learners here, but the idea of “closing the loop” really took over and I think I’ve gone on long enough, so I’m going to save that for another day.
So here’s the question again: how can you help learners start? Cross the threshold, and actually apply what they’ve learned?
What simple, specific instructions can you give them?
What resources can you provide to help them start applying new knowledge skills, and not just practicing?
How can you close the loop?
Good luck tackling the hardest lift (in learning), friends!
If you want to read a cool article about effective (or deliberate) practice and what ineffective practice looks like, though, you should check out this one.