Author: Katrina Kennedy

Improving our work can feel overwhelming. Where do you even begin? Here's a list of 25 ways you can improve your work. Start with one. Do what works for you, skip what doesn't. Let me know what you try or what you'd add to the list! Designing Learning Design training that gets people involved in performing what you want them to do on the job. Interpersonal skills? Talk in small groups. Leadership? Role play. This is the Application (practice) piece of PAFR3 many of you've learned with me. Do less for the learner. Yes, I said it. Do less. Let them do more. Look at your training design. Are you talking too much? (See #8) Are you over explaining? Try less. Get them doing more. (see #1). Embrace effort. Learning is effortful.…

Following a long pause, someone asks, "so, what were we supposed to talk about?" Have you experienced that awkward moment in a virtual breakout room? We've all been there. No one is sure of what we are talking about. No one knows who is going to start. We can fix that. One simple fix! Adding timed arrows to slides shared in breakout rooms can change that moment AND increase engagement. In this video I show you how to quickly and easily add animation and transitions to your slides. Use them to guide discussions, provide multiple step instructions, and increase the interaction and value of your breakout rooms. I'd love to hear how you use them in unique ways. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5J0Qo1V4tdg ATD’s Toolbox Tips series provides hacks on various content authoring and…

I wrote this article before the Covid-19 outbreak. I hesitated to post it today, but decided it is important right now as organizations (and educational institutions) move things online in order to avoid human to human contact. In the short term, online learning will fill a gap; however, it is not a long term solution after the virus is effectively contained. Technology is sexy. It's appealing to design programs employees can access from anywhere. You save travel costs, time, and can verify learning has occurred through online testing.  Information is immediately available, searchable, and learner driven. Technology isn't the only answer for learning. We need to be careful to not so quickly overlook classroom training. Yes, we've all been guilty of too many PowerPoint slides, lectures that drone on too…

To keep things in your head, you've got to get them out. Yes, you read that right. We learn not be simply having things poured into us, but by taking the ideas we are exposed to and expressing them in some form -- writing, talking, reflecting, and even teaching. If your training is information heavy, maybe even resembling a presentation where learners aren't actively performing tasks, you've got to include retrieval practice. Retrieval practice is a strategy in which bringing information to mind enhances and boosts learning. Deliberately recalling information forces us to pull our knowledge “out” and examine what we know.POOJA K. AGARWAL, PH.D. One of the easiest ways to include quick retrieval practice into any training, of any length, is to include the exercise, Two Things. With Two…