Every organisation wants to have the best of the best working for them. But how do you find those people? And how do you get them to want to work for your organisation over others? 

You could start the recruitment process, place ads on job websites, and interview candidates — a process that can sometimes take months and cost thousands. 

While it may sound like something you’d hear in a meditation class, to find the talent you seek, it’s much easier to look within. By that we mean: invest in the staff you already have and focus on expanding their skills.

But what exactly makes building talent within your organisation worth the investment versus just hiring someone who already has the skills you need? 

And if you do go down the path of building talent from within your organisation, what steps can you take to ensure that you’re able to maximise your results? 

At first glance, it might seem easier to bring in a superstar that already knows everything there is to know about your particular industry. Nevertheless, this solution neglects the ever-changing nature of the modern workforce and the importance of adaptability.

Someone might be considered a current industry expert, yet, they could quickly become a less sustainable option for your team if they struggle to learn new skills, whether due to ability or motivation. 

In other words, it’s not just about having the skills, it’s about having the ability to adapt and acquire new skills.

When workplace leaders focus on helping their employees grow and acquire new skills, it creates a culture of learning within the workplace. Having an established learning culture opens the door for emerging talent that you may not have known was there.

Creating these opportunities and encouraging employees to pursue them has personal benefits for employees, including an increase in overall confidence at work. As such, employees are often happier too. 

Employee happiness has positive knock-on effects for the business overall too. As Global Industry Analyst Josh Bersin explains: 

“Employees who are the beneficiaries of deep investments of time and resources to stay relevant feel more committed to the organization, retention and engagement goes up, and the company now sees a clear pipeline of digital skills emerging in its own talent.” 

Bersin continues, explaining that while an internal candidate who is freshly minted may appear less capable than an outside candidate with more experience, in reality, “the internal candidate brings with him or her well-honed networks, a good understanding of how the company works, and years of valuable business knowledge.

If you, as a workplace leader, notice an employee has gained a new skill or improved on one they already had, speak up about it. Let them know you’ve noticed the improvement and look forward to seeing what those new skills lead to. 

Another huge factor in encouraging workplace learning is leading by example. It's not just employees who should be learning new skills — workplace leaders should also be upskilling. It's one thing to tell your employees how beneficial learning at work is, but when they can see it in action from someone higher up in the organisation, it’s much easier for employees to get excited. 

Encouraging employees to learn new skills, even if they aren’t directly related to their job, is another way to help encourage a love of learning and build your organisation’s talent from the inside. For example, you may have hired a person to work in administration. However, if a learning module centred around human resources or marketing piques their interest, you may have unknowingly hired your next superstar. At the same time, that employee has been allowed to explore a new passion in the workplace without fear of it negatively impacting their current role. 

Encouraging everyone to build their skills and participate in more workplace learning is fantastic. However, organisations are seriously limiting their talent-building potential if learning materials are not easily accessible to everyone.   

The first thing that likely comes to mind when you think about accessibility at work is making accommodations for those who are affected by disabilities. Some ways to do this include introducing closed captioning for employees who are deaf or hard of hearing, or the ability to increase the text size on a screen for employees with a visual impairment.   

Not sure if anyone in your workplace might require specific accessibility features for learning? It doesn’t hurt to ask.  Not only will that mean more of your organisation can participate and feel included in talent-building, but employees will also know that you genuinely care about them and their experience in the workplace. 

There are also other ways that workplaces can make their learning more accessible. For those that don’t have a lot of time on their hands, introduce them to micro-learning style courses. That way, the time taken from their workday for learning doesn’t feel overwhelming. For those that prefer to learn on the go, show them how they can access the learning materials on multiple devices. 

Making workplace learning more accessible encourages all members of the workplace to grow their talent. When more people can easily use workplace learning tools, organisations are much more likely to uncover hidden gems of talent they may not have known existed. 

Offer on-the-job development opportunities

Offering on-the-job development opportunities is a slightly different approach to what we'd typically describe as formal learning at work. However, by encouraging different methods of learning, we’re more likely to reach a broader audience and increase the number of engaged learners. Some ways to do this include offering involvement in on-the-job projects and task forces, or encouraging participation as presenters for training programs.

On-the-job development doesn’t mean you have to forget about the online courses we know and love. It just means you can now approach them with a more collaborative mindset. Think about how what you learned might impact the task force you’ve been part of. Then, discuss what sort of courses you might want to participate in that could help any future team projects. 

As appealing as it may seem to hire someone that already has the skills your organisation is looking for, by taking the opportunity to build talent from within the organisation, workplace leaders are eliminating the need to train a brand new employee on internal workplace policies.

Not only that, but it also provides peace of mind to current employees who can see there’s room for growth within the organisation. Of course, this also does wonders for retention. In other words, much like fruit and vegetables, there’s nothing quite like homegrown talent. 

For more insights, be sure to subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs. 

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While it may sound like something you’d be told in a meditation class, in order to find the talent you seek, it’s much easier to look within.

How organisations can build talent rather than buy it

While it may sound like something you’d hear in a meditation class, to find the talent you seek, it’s much easier to look within. 

Written by guest blogger Shannon Tipton. Chief Learning Officer of Learning Rebels LLC and co-founder of Emerging Stronger, Shannon's mission is to modernize, upgrade and reimagine workplace learning problems. She believes that by making complex training more interesting, engaging and impactful, training is transformed from being just another organizational event to becoming part of real business solutions.

Over the past year, the Emerging Stronger team has developed a series of tools to make it simple for L&D professionals to embrace evidence-informed tactics to improve business impact. In the second of this series of “Making it Simple to Do the Right Thing”, Shannon Tipton introduces you to the Curation Decision framework.

Curation: Moving beyond aggregation to quality information gathering and sharing

Learning and development professionals have more content available to us than ever before  - but can we put our fingers on the information we need, when and where we need it? And, then when and where our businesses need to have it? 

Today’s businesses are rapidly requiring that their learning and development teams have relevant, well-organized, and well-displayed digital collections of resources. Resources such as articles, links, videos, graphics, and research so that they can allocate these precious resources to the people who need them the most when they most need to have them.

E. O. Wilson is quoted to have said, “We are drowning in information while starving for wisdom. The world henceforth will be run by synthesizers, people able to put together the right information at the right time, think critically about it, and make important choices wisely.”

Continuing information overload can be cured with thoughtful and deliberate curation. Today’s workplace needs curators who collect, disseminate, and invite others to view "collections" of digital assets.

This post, when worked in conjunction with the Emerging Stronger “Power Hour Tool”, will make it easier for you to help managers share and empower their teams to take ownership of their professional development. 

Here we will guide you through using the Curation Decision Framework by supplying you with helpful suggestions as to how best to use the tool.  

Here the Emerging Stronger team shares the impact of this tool:

Curation Decision tool

Thoughtful curation, the answer to information silos 

An information silo is information held by one group that is not easily or fully accessible by other groups in the same organization. Does this sound familiar? Whether it is your LMS hoarding your vast content library or a team holding onto some breakthrough thinking - information silos suck!

 What is the cost of continuing information silos? 

The current view of information becomes limited: Information silos prevent relevant information from being shared. Organizational analysis is limited because secrets are hidden away. There’s no hope of discovering operational inefficiencies or redundancies.

It’s a waste of resources: When the same information is stored in different places, by different departments and people, there’s a business cost of productivity and separate hard costs of IT data storage.

Discourages collaborative work: Information silos reinforce silo-driven cultures. Information-driven organizations embrace collaboration to find and leverage new insights. When information is difficult or impossible to share, the ability to collaborate across departments and businesses suffer.

Then there are the hard costs, according to Forbes: “Fortune 500 companies lose at least $31.5 billion a year by failing to share knowledge, according to International Data Corp. (IDC)” (Babcock, 2004, p. 46)

For businesses to thrive in this ever-changing business climate, a culture of curation and knowledge sharing is non-optional.

L&D’s unique position of being the eyes and ears of an organization allows us to get in front of thoughtful curation practices that can propel knowledge sharing forward. To help you with your curation efforts, Emerging Stronger has a framework that can make your curation decisions easier.  

Ideally, this tool would be used before you start resourcing content to share. Your curation decision will consist of three steps:

Part 1 - Accessing “the Right” Content

The need: What business problem are you trying to solve?

The audience: Who is the person using the content?

The application: What should people be able to do with the content?

The access: How will you share what you find?

The potential impact: How will you know the content will be useful?       

Reduce confusion and frustration around curation efforts

This tool provides guidance notes for each part of your curation journey.

What makes this template useful is that it provides a worked example to show you what a completed template might look like. 

All to help make it simple to do the right thing, to help you connect people to resources. 

Realizing that not everyone is facing the same situations, even within the same organization, how can you use this tool to gain impact?

All of this is to help you be the content tour guide in your organization. Connecting people with resources helps them be smarter, better, and faster than they were the day before. 

When considering content curation where would you rather find yourself: Ideating, writing, and recreating the wheel? Or, Gathering, disseminating, and clicking “share” on something valuable you recently read?

The road to a winning curation strategy takes a bit of thought and consideration, but overall curating content saves you time and team effort. Curated content helps you remain visible and keeps you adding value to the business and creating impact without additional content creation expenses. 

Some L&D tools work just fine on their own, however, others work at their best when combined with other complementary tools. Fertilizer alone works just fine to nourish plants, but when coupled with good soil and mulch the results are ten-fold. 

Using this Curation Decision Framework tool alone will help you see the results discussed. Coupled with the Power Hour Tool (See below), it becomes even simpler to do the right thing and see results that increase business impact. 

 Ready to scale your curation efforts? Download your Curation Decision Tool now!

Needs Analysis Tool: It's always good to clarify what’s actually needed to improve performance before jumping into curation & this tool helps. 

Curation Decision Tool: Once your needs assessment points you in a specific direction, how can you better curate and disseminate resources and tools?

Communication Launch Tool: Your learning intervention is on its way, how will you communicate and implement its purpose? Just because you build it, doesn’t guarantee success.

Power Hour Tool: Sometimes the biggest barrier to training success is “INSIDE.THE.HOUSE”. The Power Hour tool can help you bring managers into the discussion sooner and enable them to be part of the learning process.

Workplace Communities Tool: Perhaps your analysis tells you it’s not more learning required but a connection to the community. This tool helps identify workplace communities with fertile ground and how to take action to help learning thrive.

Improving Impact Tool: Your needs analysis sets you up for success, the improving impact took keeps you on track to deliver.

You may also be interested in the other blogs in this series:
Making it simple to conduct a needs analysis conversation, where Shannon Tipton covers delivering valuable content with the Needs Analysis Tool.
Making it simple to engage with managers, Laura Overton talks through improving engagement with managers with The Power Hour Tool.
Making it simple to market learning and increase engagementMaking it simple to market learning and increase engagement, with Laura Overton exploring how to best spread the word on your learning solution with the Communication Plan Launch Tool.
Making it simple to improve impact, Laura Overton walks through a powerful and adaptive resource, the Improving Impact Tool.
Making it simple to cultivate learning in workplace communities, where Shannon Tipton presents ways to empower the communities at play with the Cultivating Learning Tool. 

For more insights, subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs

Ready to embrace evidence-informed tactics to improve business impact? Introducing the Curation Decision Tool.

Making it simple to curate with impact

Consider two divergent L&D strategies. Option one: learners are assigned generic training. They have no say in when or where they complete the training and weren’t consulted on the subject matter or the training's broader objectives.

Option two: learners are a central part of the training process, consulted throughout. Their goals and needs are considered, and they are given bespoke training to help meet these goals. Which approach is more likely to lead to engaged, happy learners?

Obviously, option two is the winner. As such, a learner-centric approach to L&D is vital. Yet, many L&D teams still trip at this hurdle. It makes intuitive sense that learners will be happier and more engaged when their needs are centred, and they are consulted throughout the training process.

And this is only the tip of the iceberg. A learner-centred approach is essential for high-performing L&D teams, with wide-ranging benefits from improved retention to increased profitability.

With this in mind, we’ll answer the question on everyone’s lips: why is a learner-centred approach important? We’ll start by defining learner-centred approaches, before analysing how to adopt a learner-centred approach, and concluding with four benefits of learner-centred approaches.

Ready to put your learners first? Start here.

A learner-centred approach is a style of teaching that puts a student’s needs, goals, and objectives front and centre. As the name suggests, taking a learner-centred approach means centring your learners as the key pieces in your instructional puzzle. 

A learner-centred approach (also known as student-centred learning) focuses on making the student the focal point of the learning process. It involves making the student responsible for their learning and development which is facilitated by a trainer, tutor, or teacher.

LearnUpon expands on this, explaining that a learner-centred approach “views learners as active agents. They bring their own knowledge, past experiences, education, and ideas – and this impacts how they take on board new information and learn.”

They elaborate, contrasting this approach with traditional behaviourist views of learning: “it differs significantly from a traditional instructor-centred approach. Traditional learning approaches were informed by behaviourism, which sees learners as ‘blank slates’ and instructors as experts who must impart all the relevant information. This approach sees learners as respondents to external stimuli.” 

For a more detailed explanation of behaviourism in L&D, see our recent blog series on Cognitive learning theory and the strategies that L&D teams should use to apply cognitive learning theory. 

Thus, rather than designing generic, one-size-fits-all training and pushing it out to your learners, a learner-centred approach means taking a more active, considered, and bespoke view of learning. Learners are not blank slates waiting patiently to be filled with knowledge, but rather active participants with ideas and preferences about their learning journey.

Finally, eLearning Industry adds that “a learner-centric design approach focuses on customising the learning experience to the learner rather than customising the learner to the Instructional Design. Furthermore, it seeks to understand all about the learners first before designing an experience for them.” 

Utilising a learner-centred approach and placing students at the centre of the learning process means the student is the focus. Having a tutor act as a facilitator means students guide their learning so they can put their interests first.

The advantages of a learner-centred approach become apparent when used in an adult learning environment, such as the workplace. This is because adults are more independent than younger students and are also more accountable. It also encourages students to become more confident problem-solvers and promotes a learning mentality.

How to adopt a learner-centred approach 

Now that we understand what a learner-centred approach is, the question becomes, how can my L&D team adopt a learner-centred approach?

The best starting point to adopt a learner-centred approach is conducting a learner needs analysis. To centre your learners and put their needs first, you need to understand what they want, including:

What do they already know? What is their learning background and history? 

What are the current gaps in their knowledge? 

What are their short-term learning goals?

What are their long-term learning goals? 

What subject matter would they like to focus on? 

Do they prefer digital learning, in-person instruction, or blended learning? 

Once you comprehensively understand your learners' needs, wants, and goals, you can implement an L&D plan that centres your learners.

Accordingly, to take a learner-centred approach, it is vital to actively consult your learners about what’s working, what isn’t, and what they’d like more of in the future. Most importantly, check in with learners throughout every step of the process.

For more in-depth details on conducting a learner needs analysis, see our article on how to carry out a training needs assessment, as well as our articles on what the modern learner needs and making it simple to conduct a needs analysis conversation. 

Once you have conducted a learner needs analysis and have a thorough understanding of what your learners need, there are several other strategies to take a learner-centred approach. Remember, these strategies will largely depend on what you discover in your learner needs analysis, as every learning culture is unique. Therefore, there is no one-size-fits-all solution to creating a learner-centred strategy.

One suggestion, via eLearning Industry, is to “dig deep into the data to determine what’s most relevant to learners. Use this data to custom-design individual, high-quality learning experiences. The goal is for each learner to have a custom experience that covers their specific needs.” 

Gamifying your learning to increase engagement 

Offering microlearning opportunities to allow learners to learn on the go at their own pace 

Most importantly, providing learners with enough time to learn (more on that in a second!)

How to measure the effectiveness of a learner-centred approach

Measuring the effectiveness of a learner-centred approach is relatively simple. You should look for changes in the following areas:

Improved time management and meeting of deadlines

Compare this to the impact of training following previous teacher-centred training and you will likely see a marked improvement.

4 benefits of learner-centred approaches 

When organisations prioritise L&D and centre their learners at the heart of everything they do, the results can be astounding.

For example, MindTools’ 2022 L&D Benchmark Report found that 79% of high-impact learning cultures (HILCs) support employee career development through digital learning. In contrast, just 9% of low-performing teams do the same, meaning there’s a correlation between learner-centred approaches and high-performing teams. 

And this is just the beginning. MindTools’ report also found that 79% of HILCs draw on internal data to support learning vs just 9% of low-performing teams. Moreover, a massive 90% of HILCs say their learning strategy encourages collaboration, compared to just 4% of low-performers.

Finally, and perhaps most tellingly, 86% of HILCs say they focus on achieving desired performance outcomes for employees, while 93% include activities that help employees practise for their desired outcomes. The comparative numbers for low-impact teams? 16% and 25% respectively. 

Therefore, teams that centre their learners, support career development, encourage collaborative learning, and focus on achieving employees’ desired goals are far more likely to succeed.

Not only do organisations that put their learners first perform better, but they also retain top talent for longer. 

76% of employees say they are more likely to stay with a company that offers continuous training. Similarly, 94% of employees say they would stay at a company longer if it invested in their professional development.

A learner-centric approach to L&D is vital. Yet, many L&D teams still trip at this hurdle. So, we’ll answer the question on everyone’s lips: why is a learner-centred approach important?

Why is a learner-centred approach important?

A learner-centred approach to L&D is vital. Yet, many L&D teams still trip at this hurdle. So, we’ll answer the question on everyone’s lips: why is a learner-centred approach important?

While most employees are content to complete mandatory compliance training, there is so much more potential for workplace learning beyond the ticking of a box.

But how can workplace leaders help their employees to not only reach that extra learning potential, but to actually want to reach that potential?

The benefits of creating a culture of learning

If you’re a people manager or leader, you might be wondering if it’s worth encouraging your team members to do more than the required amount of workplace learning. After all, you’ve got team targets to reach, meetings to attend, and what seems like an endless stream of emails to catch up on. Why take time away from those things to add yet another thing to your plate? We’ll tell you why. 

Encouraging employees to dig into additional workplace learning beyond what’s required will help to cultivate a culture of learning. Within this positive environment, people are far more likely to improve existing skills, or even acquire brand new ones, making them an even more valuable asset to your team and organisation.  

Acquiring new skills and upgrading old ones is particularly important during times of transformation, helping employees adapt to changing conditions. 

A love of learning in the workplace can also greatly assist with employee retention, particularly with members of Gen Z. In fact, 60% of 16-to-24-year olds admit that they have left a job due to limited growth opportunities. When employees are provided with learning opportunities, as well as the motivation, they’re more likely to stay with the same company. 

Practical steps towards a team-wide love of learning

It’s one thing to tell your team all about how learning at work will help them expand on their workplace skills. And sure, just telling them might work, but there’s a much more effective way to do things - and that’s leading by example.  

When you, as a workplace leader, not only tell but also show your employees your love of learning, you begin to cultivate a culture of learning within your team. To put it even more simply, enthusiasm is contagious. When your team can see that you are excited about learning beyond what’s required as part of compliance, then they’re more likely to get excited as well. 

Another step that workplace leaders can take to help employees love learning is to encourage curiosity. Is there a gap in the industry you and your team have been thinking about for a while now? Have you ever wondered if your team might do well from working more closely with another team in your company? Has a member of your team read something interesting online that they think might be helpful to know more about? When you and your team begin to ask these questions, it gets the ball rolling about what you can do to help answer these questions. What is learning if not asking and answering questions? 

While deadlines of some description are an expected part of many roles across a variety of industries, that doesn’t mean we should add even more of them to workers who likely already have busy schedules. When workplace leaders take the pressure of deadlines away from learning in the workplace and allow their employees to learn at their own pace, the attitude around learning becomes much more relaxed. Employees will be able to begin a learning module on a topic they’re interested in without having to worry about getting it finished within a certain time frame. Without this, employees may be unlikely to start new learning tasks for fear that the tight deadlines might take away from more highly prioritised work. 

Similarly, the introduction of micro-learning also takes some of the pressure out of workplace learning. Knowing that a learning task may only take 10 minutes out of the day makes the tasks not only feel more manageable to complete, but also makes it easier for employees to fit them in to their busy workday without taking too much away from their other work tasks. Naturally, when something is more relaxing, it becomes much easier to actually enjoy doing it, rather than feeling like it’s a task that ‘has to be done’. 

No one knows everything and that’s okay

Make no mistake, the goal of helping employees to love learning beyond compliance is not to help them know everything. It’s more about the acknowledgment that learning is a continuous process, that there’s always more to learn and that when we enjoy what we’re learning about, we’re going to want to keep doing it.

Keen to learn more about how you can level up your compliance training and make learning fun? Check out this blog.

For more insights, be sure to subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs.

Helping employees to love learning beyond compliance

Too often, L&D teams get caught up in the rapid rush of workplace learning. You have to produce that next learning module yesterday, meaning there’s never time to reflect on the last one, let alone stop and smell the roses. While this fast-paced environment can have its benefits, when L&D teams take a second to stop, breathe, and reflect on how their learners are learning, training programs often go to the next level. 

As discussed in the first article in this series, which analysed the benefits of cognitive learning theory, this idea of learning about learning (metacognition) is a central pillar of cognitive learning theory. 

So, in the second and final article of our cognitive learning theory series, we’ll build on this foundation by asking: what strategies should L&D teams use to apply cognitive learning theory? We’ll examine three strategies to apply cognitive learning theory at work, including implicit and explicit learning, collaborative learning, and meaningful learning. 

But first, if you need a quick refresher on cognitive learning theory before diving into this article, here’s a brief explainer from our previous article: 

“Cognitive learning theory focuses on metacognition. That is, thinking about thinking or learning how to learn. When we engage in cognitive learning, learning becomes an ongoing and engaging lifelong pursuit, rather than a dull, automatic reaction.”  

With that in mind, the question becomes, what steps can my L&D team take to engage in cognitive learning? Here are three strategies to help you and your team apply cognitive learning theory at work.

Implicit and explicit learning are central concepts within cognitive learning theory. In simple terms, implicit learning means learning without conscious effort, whereas explicit learning requires conscious effort. 

Implicit learning, sometimes known as accidental, automatic, or subconscious learning, happens when you are not actively aware that you are learning but later notice you have retained or solidified knowledge. Therefore, implicit learning occurs on a subconscious level. 

As Science Direct puts it, implicit learning is “the non-intentional acquisition of knowledge about structural relations between objects or events.” 

Examples of implicit learning include: walking, talking, eating, riding a bike, dancing, and many more — whenever you're learning without conscious thought, that's implicit learning.

The Brain Based Learning blog elaborates on this point, offering further examples of implicit learning, including: “movements (sports, games and play), trauma (emotional learning), stimulus-response learning (hand on the hot stove),  generalised  learning  (the  nonconscious  extraction  of patterns), procedural learning (riding a bike) and imitation learning (learning by demonstration).” 

In an L&D context, implicit learning usually takes the form of skill improvements that occur while employees perform their job. In this way, learners consolidate knowledge subconsciously while their brain is actively consumed with other tasks. For example, you may learn to type without looking at your keyboard or improve your analytical skills while working on another task. 

On the other hand, explicit learning occurs consciously, often via assigned training or formal learning at school or university. Any time you actively and deliberately seek knowledge, that is a form of explicit learning.

Examples of explicit learning are manifold, from reading a book, to enrolling in an online learning course, to watching a documentary, and everything in between.

360 Learning outlines the benefits of explicit learning for L&D teams, noting, “through explicit learning tasks, you can specify the exact concepts and skills that you want a team member to understand.” 

Indeed ties explicit learning back to cognitive learning, explaining that “cognitive learning helps you to learn more explicitly by giving you exceptional insight into the subject and how it relates to your work now and later.” 

Now that we understand what implicit learning and explicit learning are, it’s worth analysing the benefits of each. There have been many studies into implicit and explicit learning, intending to understand how people learn and process information. One such study analysed 34 adults, ranging from 21-36 years old. 

During the study, the subjects learned pseudowords. That is, “words that are similar to real words but that have no meaning, such as ‘skoat’ or ‘chote.’” The subjects then learned the definition of these words through both implicit and explicit learning.

Ultimately, all subjects successfully learned the pseudowords. However, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) found that subjects previously identified as excellent readers showed little difference in processing explicit and implicit instruction. In contrast, ‘average’ readers had to work harder to learn through implicit instruction. For these subjects, explicit instruction was the more effective method.

Summarising implicit vs explicit learning 

Of course, this is just one of many studies and not an indication that explicit learning is always superior to implicit learning. Quite the opposite. If anything, implicit learning and explicit learning are complementary; both are necessary for a holistic and fulfilling learning experience.

As 360 Learning summarises: “a learning organisation counts on active (explicit) and continuous (implicit) learning to keep employees engaged. As team members guide their active learning strategies together, they participate in ongoing learning through shared experiences.” 

In the context of cognitive learning theory, it is vital to have a working understanding of both implicit and explicit learning. By understanding these important learning processes, we can deepen our knowledge and approach learning from a more informed and considered place. After all, cognitive learning theory focuses on learning about learning. So — particularly in the case of implicit learning — it’s crucial to understand how we regularly gain knowledge without even realising it! 

Collaborative learning is another core tenet of cognitive learning theory. As the name suggests, collaborative learning occurs when groups of two or more learners work together to learn, solve problems, or share new concepts. 

As Indeed explains: “collaborative learning is a cognitive strategy in which a resource person teaches a group how to develop their ideas on a specific skill or knowledge area. For instance, your company could train a colleague on a new production process so they can pass on the knowledge to team members.” 

Solving problems across teams, evaluating training systems, creating learning content, and even developing new products are all examples of collaborative learning at work.

According to Valamis, one of the critical advantages of collaborative learning is that it “actively engages learners to process and synthesise information and concepts, rather than using rote memorisation of facts and figures.”

And this is just the tip of the iceberg. The benefits of collaborative learning for L&D teams are wide-ranging. For starters, 75% of employees rate teamwork and collaboration as very important, while, on average, employees are 17% more satisfied with their job when they collaborate frequently at work.

Another study found that top-performing workers spend 45% of their time working individually, 45% of their time collaborating, and 10% of their time learning and socialising.

Further, a study by Stanford found that employees who work collaboratively are 64% more likely to stick to their assigned tasks than their peers who work individually. 

Deloitte has even attempted to quantify the value of collaboration, finding that improvements made due to workplace collaboration are worth a massive $2,517 per employee per year.

Many studies have sought to quantify the benefits of collaborative learning compared to solo learning. One of these studies involved 71 Year 7 students learning statistics at school. During the study, students learned via both hands-on, collaborative activities and individual worksheet-based instruction.

The study found an 11.8% increase in test scores when students worked collaboratively. Moreover, 96% of students said that working collaboratively enhanced their understanding of the subject matter. Most students also thought they gained more knowledge while better understanding specific skills and processes when working collaboratively.

Further research by Josh Bersin found that when studying alone, learners typically remember just 28% of the material two days later. When you re-read the material to consolidate knowledge, this figure rises to 46%.

However, when learners answer questions about the material and collaborate with others, they remember 69% two days later, equating to a 146% increase in retention. According to Josh Bersin, this is because “actually conceptualising, recalling, and using information is what creates the ‘memory pathways’ that stick in your mind.”

Again, understanding and actively engaging in collaborative learning is central to cognitive learning theory, making us more mindful of how we learn.

Last, but certainly not least, L&D teams would be wise to focus on meaningful learning when applying cognitive learning theory. American psychologist David Ausubel popularised the concept of meaningful learning, believing that learning must be meaningful for it to be effective and engaging.

According to Ausubel: “meaningful learning occurs when the learner interprets, relates, and incorporates new information with existing knowledge and applies the new information to solve novel problems.” 

He elaborates on this, adding, “the most important single factor influencing learning is what the learner already knows. Ascertain this and teach him accordingly.”

Accordingly, Ausubel distinguished between meaningful and rote learning (memorising isolated facts with no distinct value or relevance to the learner). Instead, Ausubel emphasised that training must demonstrate how each aspect of the material is relevant to the learner's life and goals, building on previous knowledge like bricks in a pyramid. 

Demonstrating relevance to the learner’s broader goals is the driving concept of meaningful learning. In other words, when learners already have relevant background knowledge, it’s easier for them to ‘slot in’ new information in their minds, like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle. Whereas, with rote learning, learners are left in the dark, attempting to assemble a puzzle with no picture to guide them and no edge pieces to lay the foundation. 

Three steps to implement meaningful learning

Finally, the LearnUpon Blog offers three concrete steps to implement meaningful, cognitive learning in the workplace. These are: 

1. New information should be carefully sequenced so that it builds on what your learner already fully understands.

2. It is vital to preface new material with introductory or background information.

3. Instructors should emphasise how each aspect of the material is meaningful to the job or task for which your learner is preparing.

For more insights on making your learning meaningful, subscribe to the Go1 newsletter today to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs.

In the second and final article of our cognitive learning theory series, we'll ask what strategies should L&D teams use to apply cognitive learning theory?

What strategies should L&D teams use to apply cognitive learning theory?

Written by guest blogger Shannon Tipton. Chief Learning Officer of Learning Rebels LLC and co-founder of Emerging Stronger, Shannon's mission is to modernize, upgrade and reimagine workplace learning problems. She believes that by making complex training more interesting, engaging and impactful, training is transformed from being just another organizational event to becoming part of real business solutions. 

Over the past year, the Emerging Stronger team have developed a series of tools to make it simple for L&D professionals to embrace evidence-informed tactics to improve business impact. In the first of this series of Making It Simple To Do The Right Thing, Shannon Tipton introduces you to the Needs Analysis Tool.

Needs analysis: connecting what matters most 

Let’s face it - as an L&D professional, you want to make sure your courses and content add the most value to your people and make the greatest impact to address the real underlying problem. 

In reality, sometimes they don't. Just because a stakeholder asks for training, it doesn't mean that training is the best thing for the business. What the stakeholder wants and what the stakeholder needs are often two very different things. Your job is to help them see the difference.

This post, when worked in conjunction with the Emerging Stronger Needs Analysis Tool, will make it easier for you to have critical upfront business needs conversations with business leaders and/or business sponsors. Thus gaining the business impact desired.

Here we will guide you through using the Needs Analysis Tool by supplying you with helpful suggestions as to how best to use the tool. 

Needs Analysis Tool

Ready to embrace evidence-informed tactics to improve business impact? Introducing the Needs Analysis Tool.