Learning Nerd’s Diary #66
Welcome back Learning Nerds!
I recently moved houses and I’ve been thinking a lot about beginnings. This week’s newsletter explores the starting line…
👀 Sneak peak
Here is what I have in store for you this week -
💭 Learning About Learning: Starting your Learning Journey Strong
🥜 Learning Nugget: Tabularasa
💥 Coolest Thing I Learnt This Week:
Why We Wait
How to overcome the fear of getting started
The Golden Circle of Learning
🔦 Spotlight: Building Community from Within
Let's jump right in!
💭 Learning About Learning
Well started is half done!
The same saying applies for learning experiences as well. While designing learning experiences, how you start lays an important foundation for the rest of the learning journey. Here are 5 ways in which you can start your learning journey:
1/ Start with a Question
Asking a question is a great way to create a sense of curiosity and engagement. It encourages learners to think critically and actively participate in the learning process.
2/ Use a Case
Using a case is an effective way to help learners understand and apply concepts to real-world situations. By putting knowledge into practice, learners can see how it applies in a real-world setting.
3/ Present a Problem
Presenting a problem challenges learners to think creatively and come up with a solution. This improves problem-solving skills and encourages learners to think outside the box.
4/ Tell a Story
Telling a story creates an emotional connection that helps learners remember the material more effectively. It's a powerful tool for creating engagement and building deeper understanding.
5/ Do a Demonstration
Conducting a demonstration allows learners to see how something works in action and can help to spark their interest and curiosity.
Demonstrations can be used to introduce a new tool, process, or concept, and can help learners understand how to apply that knowledge in real-world situations.
With lower attention spans, engaging learners at the beginning of the a learning experience is critical. When learners are engaged and motivated, they are more likely to retain information and apply it in real-world situations. On the other hand, if learners are not engaged or motivated, they may become disinterested and disengaged, which can lead to poor retention and application of knowledge.
Starting a learning experience on the right note is crucial for its success. It sets the tone for the entire session and can greatly impact learners' motivation and engagement.
🥜 Learning Nuggets
The best way to start designing a learning experience?
Tabularasa - a clean slate
💥 Coolest Thing I Learnt this Week
Why We Wait
You can’t talk about beginnings without talking about procrastination. This article explores the emotions behind procrastination and offers strategies for ‘making friends with procrastination’.
A note for all the learning experience designers reading this. Like all people, our learners procrastinate as well - it’s only natural. And all the LxDs in the world need to make friends with it as well.
How to overcome the fear of getting started
A lot of people reach out to me to ask how I started writing online. I was a ‘closet writer’ for many years before I started publishing online. I resonated a lot with this video that came in Offbeat #142. Besides explaining why we feat starting something new, it also explains easy strategies on what can be done to make it stick.
The Golden Circle of Learning
I had written this article 2 years ago inspired from Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle. More often than not, we start our learning experiences by jumping into the what or the how, instead - we should start with the why!
🔦 Spotlight
My dear friend Anamaria has put together all her knowledge on community building into a NoCourse called Building Community From Within.
It’s a learning experience that gathers five other professionals that plan, build, or nurture an internal community of learning and practice within their company. If community building is on your mind - sign-up!
Love & Learning
Until we meet next week!
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