Thinking Tools: Cognitive Load Theory

Callum Goodwilliam is a learning consultant who has held senior learning roles in businesses including Shopify and General Assembly . Phil and I wanted to ask Callum how he found himself in the position of being a learning leader. In this episode, Callum talks about the importance of leadership as ‘action’, the value of maintaining a beginner’s mind, and the skills that have enabled him to navigate the complex world of corporate learning.

Freelancing is increasingly a career option for young professionals. This is partly as a result of the gig economy, but also because it is a natural fit for particular professional disciplines.   In this episode, our guest is Matt Dowling, founder of Freelancer Club. We'll be exploring what skills a freelancer needs, and how we might design learning experiences that prepare students to become confident freelancers.

Dyslexia is a learning difficulty our ability to read and spell. If you don’t have dyslexia, it can be difficult to imagine what it’s like. Our guest in this episode is Rob Roach, an author, researcher and educator who has dyslexia. Rob recently wrote a book to help people experience the effects of dyslexia on reading and comprehension. In this episode, Rob provides valuable insights to help learning designers produce more inclusive and accessible learning materials. Music credit: "The Builder" by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0.

Getting your first job has never been trickier. Businesses are increasingly concerned they don't understand Gen Z and Gen Alpha, and school leavers are increasingly mistrustful of the traditional value propositions that businesses offer Fortunately, people like Derek Plewes from Youthfully are on hand to help. In this episode, Derek explains how he has designed the Youthfully coaching experience to help graduates find their intrinsic motivation, while also preparing them effectively for the workplace. Music credit: "The Builder" by Kevin Macleod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0.

Duration plays a key role in learning design. If a learning experience is too long, learners will get bored. But if it’s too short, it can produce anxiety and strategic learning. In this episode, Phil and I examine how designing short, purposeful learning ‘sprints’ can help learners overcome procrastination by making something quickly. We'll also discuss the Kick About, a fortnightly sprint-based creative challenge that has been running for nearly four years.

January is the season for trends. In this episode Phil and Tony confront the issue of trends head on and question the extent to which learning design should be influenced by trends. We’ll be looking at how the trend of personalised learning paths might actually be working against the need to professionalise learners. We’ll also be talking about microlearning, slow learning, and the value of detoxing from technology altogether.

In corporate training, a learning experience is much more likely to work if it aligns with the existing culture of the business. But how do you do this? Marisa Knowles from the People Untapped agency has done this a lot, and in this episode she shares her top tips and advice for designing into a company's culture and values.

We're proud to introduce our new Thinking Tools series - a collection of bite-sized deep dives into learning theories. In this episode, we're looking at Cognitive Load Theory and why it's such a useful tool for learning designers.

The strategic value of learning design is not yet widely recognised. In this episode, data specialist Penelope Bellegarde explains how learning design can help businesses make better use of their data. We examine what good looks like in terms of data-driven learning, and what kind of training programmes can help businesses use their data more effectively to learn and adapt.

It's easy to overlook what happens before learners embark on a learning experience. But failing to 'onboard' learners effectively can have a significant impact on their success. In this episode, Ellie Soccorsy explains how she onboards new hires into the company culture at Edyn, a hotel and hospitality business, and discusses the implications of onboarding for learning design.