The Training Design Podcast

Today Sheridan chats with Natalie Houlton of Yellow Duck Development about designing and delivering graduate training programmes.

Natalie amongst other training roles works with graduates providing them with foundational skills and helping them to develop those skills, in a variety of different companies from SME’s to global companies in multiple industries.

Within her graduate training programme brings together the key aspects of training that other managers in businesses are already successful in doing such as networking and building relationships with their peers.

Natalie is currently working with one company and explains during the 18 month programme that it is being endorsed by The President of the company and this level of endorsement from senior management is a very important part in showing graduates how a company takes a programme.

Natalie is passionate about getting the right elements of a graduate programme together, making sure that all the parts are joined up and have the right management and infrastructure to allow this to happen. This includes having a programme sponsor, programme coordinator, programme administrator and a programme facilitator.

This is a fascinating conversation between Sheridan and Natalie, where Sheridan shares her own experience of being on a graduate programme and how things have changed with the new generation of graduates.

And if you have been on a graduate programme recently or a while ago, we’d love to hear your thoughts on this episode.

Today Sheridan chats with Annette Cairns of Green Shed Talent Development, a VIP Member of Training Designers Club.

In this conversation they discuss how the middle management and more importantly the training of the middle management is sometimes forgotten or not seen as important as other training, despite being an integral part of the company.

Annette explains the options of having a pick and mix style middle management programme, as it is crucial to understand and deliver the correct training. 

An example of this that Annette chats to Sheridan about is open questions. The majority of middle managers will understand what an open question is but when they are put in a situation where they are asked to use them, it sometimes becomes clear that although they know what they are, they may not use them as often as they should. 

This is a very thought provoking conversation on the training that middle managers have before they become managers and then the training that they do or don’t get at middle management and how this translates into how well they do their job.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on this if you’re a middle manager and if you agree or not?

Sheridan chats with Jackie Clifford from Clarity in the episode on Learning Journeys

Jackie has been in and out of organisations, all my all her career. She has had a variety of roles, working in the public, private and not for profit sectors

One of her focuses is with new managers. And helping managers who have suddenly been told that they have to manage a team - and that can range from an accountancy practice to a group of scientists. 

And another part is on coaching and mentoring. Having co-authored three books, the second was written on the topic of mentoring.

The programmes that Jackie designed, where she has been able to include one to one coaching, group coaching have more significant real world results than those that don’t. These are the results that show that life long learning is long term and not just something that is done for 6 weeks and then forgotten.

Jackie believes in the idea that a learning journey is something that is continuous and the journey should not stop until everything has been finished - that there is no where to go and that person has left the organisation.

This chat between JAckie and Sheridan is one that throws up more questions that answers during the chat but ultimately creates a great conversation between two people who embrace the idea of lifelong learning and have applied it to many situations throughout their career.

This is a great episode and I am sure that you are going to really enjoy it.

Have a listen and we’d love to hear your thoughts on this subject.

Sheridan chats with Susanna Simmons of productive IT in this episode.

They discuss the topic of Systems Training and the many different ways that it can be approached and how they feel it is not always the correct way.

Susanna started her career in IT but is now more specialised in people and human behavior and how she can help companies to adopt systems and the context of what that means in their world.

Susanna is very focused on not just solving the pain points of a company but also the users, how much of a pain point is it to them or are they happier in their comfort zone. And how can that be changed?

Sheridan and Susanna talk about how a blended approach can work well with systems, allowing you to start to get buy-in and reduce the threat that people may be feeling.

They are both passionate about learning being more effective if it is active and they are allowed to self-discover but they both understand the  need to discover safely and with a little bit of guidance.

This is a great conversion with two people who are passionate about the subject of Systems Training and how it can be used and applied in a well and throughout way.

Have a listen and we’d love to hear your thoughts on this subject.

In this episode, Sheridan chats with Liz Needham about Peer Learning.

Liz has been a coach, and a training facilitator and worked 1-2-1 with businesses, she brings all her skills together to help others to learn together. 

Liz is passionate about helping businesses deal with the unknowns that can come, by creating a mechanism where people can continuously learn, where they can support each other and during that learning it will bring the best heads together, not leaving someone to look at it in isolation.

Appreciative of the fact you don’t need to know everything yourself, but that you do need to have a network around you that can give you what you need when you need it. 

At the moment, leadership is a tough place to be and can also be quite lonely. Peer learning is a great way to form a sense of community and belonging.

Liz is also a great believer that peer learning doesn’t have to take a great deal of time, it can be part of your meetings, and there are no set objectives, making it very easy to incorporate into your teams day.

This is a really great conversation with two people who are very passionate about the subject of Peer Learning. Have a listen and we’d love to hear your thoughts on this subject.

In this episode Sheridan chats with Michelle Potthurst about Training Needs Analysis.

Michelle supports small businesses with L&D functions and has a real interest in Training Needs Analysis. 

A strong believer in giving people a skill and framework to use that suits their way of working. Michelle also wants businesses to find better ways to do things within the working environment such as using branching scenarios which show the real life scenario of what happens when you don’t do it. 

To carry out any Training Needs Analysis and come up with the appropriate training solution, Michelle and Sheridan discuss the following questions:

1. What is it we want people to do as a result of this training

2. What do people need in order to achieve it?

3. Why aren’t people doing it? What challenges are they facing?

This is a really interesting episode with so much insight from Michelle. Have a listen and we’d love to hear your thoughts on this subject.

In this episode Sheridan chats with Jennifer about eLearning and how it can be incorporated into blended learning.

Jennifer started using eLearning well before the rest of the L&D Community and before the pandemic forced the hand of many other trainers.

A firm believer of trying out new technology and chasing shiny objects Jennifer has signed up and kept up to date with all the different platforms that can be used to implement eLearning.

eLearning can really benefit the user as it brings about a journey of self discovery and people tend to learn more when discover things for themselves.

Listen to this episode to find out if you can incorporate eLearning into your training.

Whilst Terry has been busy creating games-based learning, Sheridan has been building a learning community for L&D professionals. In this episode, she discusses her learning from this journey, how a community can enhance any learning system and shares some practical tips for anyone wanting to create a community of their own.

00.52  The origins of the Training Designers Club

05.19  The value of community for Training Designers

07.56  Book recommendations: empowering people

09.53  User-led needs analysis

10.52  Communities and informal learning

12.18  Peer-based learning

14.29  What makes a learning community tick?

17.22  Traps to avoid in setting up a learning community

21.02  They're there anyway!

22.12  Difficulties with platforms and change

24.04  Tactics to engage communities

29.43  Gamification and learning communities

30.54  The value of a round-up

32.04  The group is more than the sum of its parts

34.10  More tips for better learning communities

40.25  Learning communities are agile

42.28  Learning communities can be rewarding

44.43  Terry's mini-topic: Fogg's Behavioural Model

50.15  The future of the Training Design Podcast

52.29  Bye for now

Resource Links:

In this episode, Terry lifts the lid on taking a games-based approach to learning design, sharing tips from his own development journey as he moves away from traditional training design and into creating games for learning. Even if you're not a 'games designer' - there are lots of transferrable ideas that can be included in workshops and courses.

00:46  Terry's games-based journey

03:34  Games-based learning and gamification

05:33  What makes games-based learning successful?

07:52  The Transform Deck

12:54  Creating a learning Escape Room

14:13  Playtesting games

17:45  Games-based learning help from communities and reading

20:00  The six levers of games-based learning

20:47  Lever 1: Put the learner at the centre

22:50  Lever 2: Set the learner an open challenge

26:35  Lever 3: Let the learner explore

30:48  Lever 4: Let them fail

35:47  Lever 5: Give the learner meaningful choices

38:36  Lever 6: Give them a nudge

42:40  Why there's no 'make it fun' lever

44:21  Making a start with games-based learning

45:48  Three ways to use games in your learning design

50:37  Sheridan's mini-topic -- the curse of knowledge

Resource links

Everybody in L&D knows that evaluation is important. But not enough of it gets done, and what does get done isn't always as effective as it could be. What can we as training designers do about that? In the final episode of our second season, we have practical suggestions and lots of ideas on ways to make evaluation count.

00:22  Not enough evaluation in L&D?

01:05  Why don't we do it more?

06:00  Measure learning or measure impact?

09:05  The topic makes a difference

12:05  Qualitative measures and evaluation

14:39  Who shoulders the risk?

16:32  Using stories for evaluation

17:31  Return on investment

20:13  Models: LTEM

21:57  Models: Brinkerhoff

25:01  Models: Kaufman

26:00  Meet the new model, sam as the old model

26:52  Level 1 in practice

30:14  Level 2 in practice

31:55  Level 3 in practice

35:37  Level 4 in practice

36:47  Case study: Evaluation at all four levels

39:49  Case study: Pilot study

41:12  Case study: Learner projects

42:12  Remember why we're doing it

42:56  Summary

44:40  Terry's mini-topic: PowerPoint witchcraft

Resource Links

Design Thinking is a concept that's gained a lot of currency, but much of it outside L&D. How does it compare to design models often used in training design? What can it teach us for designing training? Why isn't it used more in L&D circles? We have answers to these questions and more, and as always, plenty of pratical tips.

00:22  Design Thinking: Science or Art?

02:49  Terry's three principles of Design Thinking

05:36  Design Thinking's relationship to process

08:12  The Design Council's Double Diamond

10:34  The five parts ('not steps!') of Design Thinking

12:49  Design Thinking as applied to bouldering problems

16:39  Feedback loops and evolution through Design Thinking

20:19  Case study: A long-running interview skills course

23:32  Case study: Creating a deck of cards as a design aid

24:48  Case Study: Designing for Digital Delivery course

25:40  A set of linked concepts

26:35  A conscious approach

27:14  Practical tips for empathising with your user

32:36  Problem definition and the 'How might we...?' question

34:20  Ideation using collaboration tools

35:37  Prototyping: better than a pilot

39:00 Testing your prototype

40:58  Design Thinking Resources

44:04  Summary

47:13  Sheridan's mini-topic: Using the right tools

Resource Links

You've got your content together. But how do you structure it so that there's flow, and to maximise engagement and learning? It can be difficult to wrestle everything into place and decide how to cover each element. In this episode, we have a host of practical tips for you, based around Colin Rose's MASTER structure for training design.

This episode was recorded before the pandemic, so some of the references (e.g. recent face to face training!) may sound strange now, but we're confident all of the insights are still relevant to the world training designers find themselves in today.

00:42  This episode: at your request!

01:03  The big mistakes people make with structure

05:41  ADDIE is not structure

06:53  Colin Rose and the MASTER structure

07:39  An overview of MASTER

09:26  M is for Mindset

12:44  A is for Acquire the information

14:25  S is for Sift or Search for meaning

15:39  Going beyond Bloom to what it means to the individual

17:10  T is for Trigger the Memory

20:48  Story as a memory trigger

21:51  E is for Exhibit the learning

24:42  R is for Reflect

25:03  Sheridan's online course on MASTER

25:17  MASTER at Micro and Macro levels, and playing with the order of steps

27:33  Case study: A styles session

32:53  Mapping MASTER to Why, What and How

34:47  Following versus flexing the model

39:07  Terry's mini-topic: Book review - Actionable Gamification by Yu-Kai Chou

46:41  Summary

Resource Links

Trainers and Training Designers can be forgiven for the temptation to use tried-and-trusted activities and types of activity. But if the aim is to maximise engagement and learning, and meet the learning objectives, having a variety of activities and keeping them fresh and original is vital. In this episode, we have a host of practical tips for you on how to mix up your palette of activities, and get inspiration for new ones.

This episode was recorded before the pandemic, so some of the references (e.g. snowboarding trips!) may sound strange now, but we're confident all of the insights are still relevant to the world training designers find themselves in today.

00:21  In this episode

00:47  The importance of a variety of activities

03:02  Case study: an Innovation and Creativity session

06:07  Getting inspiration from The Crystal Maze

07:01  Learning Styles: useful or not?

09:07  Activities as a way for learners to spend more time with a topic

09:40  Bloom's Taxonomy as a source of inspiration

11:58  The Five Types of Activity

13:50  Examples of the 'Structure' category of activity

15:01  Using technology to support different activities

16:20  More 'Structure' examples

16:42  An unusual activity: 'Break the Model'

18:08  Combining basic activities to create something deeper

18:59  The 'Solve' category of activities

20:51  the power of combos

21:44  Case study: The Origami Factory

23.21  Storytelling case study: Customer Service and Mental Health

24:40  Creating activities using core 'kernels'

30:26  Terry's 'Transform' card deck for inspiring activity design

33:03  Sheridan's mini-topic: The importance of practice (especially for snowboarding!)

41:46  Summary

Resource Links

After our season-opening double-header on Virtual Training, we wanted to take a look at another hot topic: Online, non-live training. With less face-to-face learning, both are receiving a boost. But how do we need to design differently for recorded online training, as opposed to either virtual or face-to-face live training. As ever, we have plenty of practical tips to help you work it out.

00:22  Our Special Guest: Ginette Tessier

03:00  The difference between virtual live and online training (and e-learning)

07:39  Bad experiences of online training

08:23  The mistakes people make

09:53  The two cardinal sins: cramming too much in, and not breaking it down

12:32  The benefits of more, shorter videos

13:39  What learners can do between short videos

14:04  Making filming easier

15:57  Structure to keep learners motivated

18:01  Gamifying online programmes

19:24  The drip-feed technique

20:51  A rhythm of learning

22:59  The importance of signposting how they should approach the course

25:35  Giving them a reason to carry on

26:05  Blended learning

27:59  Case Study: The Easy Online Course Builder

30:07  Your starting point = Their pain point

32:17  Leave them wanting more

35:33  The technical skills and equipment you'll need

37:23  Comparing  software platforms

40:58  The best mic and camera

42:58  Summary

46:02  The mini-topic: Good learning forums

Resource Links

Actors can produce powerful learning experiences, live and virtually, and offer something very different to other training methods. But how do we design sessions that make the best possible use of actors and drama? As always, we focus on the practical questions as we have our first ever guest on the show, actor and trainer Clare Samuels of 'No I In Clare'.

00:33  Our special guest

01:27  Acting and the emotional connection

01:59  Case study: moving to a coaching culture using actors

02:49  The power of seeing your own bad behaviours in others

03:29  Bringing in the fun

04:24  Roleplay versus Real Play versus Skills Practice

07:48  Designing a structure for actors

12:21  Clear areas of freedom and responsibility

14:29  Acting is a story in 3-D

15:06  Horror story: no debrief

16:52  Success story: drama by stealth

19:22  Starting with an experience and making it memorable

21:14  Blurring the lines between drama and reality, sessions and pre/post session

22:51  Acting in a virtual environment

27:49  Briefing an actor to play a real person

31:28  Taking inspiration from murder mysteries

32:37  What designers need to give actors

35:04  Selling the value of actors to clients

38:43  Trust between the designer, facilitator and actor

40:49  Learning through the medium of making a cup of tea

45:23  Summary

49:41  The mini-topic: Asynchronous learning and motivation

Contact the Hosts (& Guest!)

With worldwide events since March 2020 causing major changes in the world of L&D, virtual training is receiving a massive boost in usage. Previously face-to-face workshops and topics are being run over Zoom, Microsoft Teams and a host of other platforms. But how do we make sure the learning experiences we design are right for virtual? In part two of our first-ever two-part episode, we have plenty of practical tips for you on taking virtual training to the next level.

02:48  Using other platforms before, after and alongside a Zoom-based or similar session

04:50  Take advantage of the desk-based nature of homeworking

06:52  Conditional joining instructions

07:45  Everything in the same place equals happy learners (GiraffePad is one way)

09:49  Getting creative with pre and post course work

11:24  Gamify the end-to-end experience

13:15  Using apps alongside a virtual session

14:17  Choosing the right apps: minimise the learning curve

15:55  Use the tech they know already

18:32  Different categories of platforms

21:45  Get creative with your existing platform

25:40  Keep talking and nobody explodes!

27:25  Escape rooms

28:47  Taking inspiration from games

33:43  Be brave: step away from the slide deck

35:58  Summary

 40:12  The mini-topic: Community-based learning

Resource Links

With worldwide events since March 2020 causing major changes in the world of L&D, virtual training is receiving a massive boost in usage. Previously face-to-face workshops and topics are being run over Zoom, Microsoft Teams and a host of other platforms. But how do we make sure the learning experiences we design are right for virtual? In part one of our first-ever two-part episode, we have plenty of practical tips for you on creating excellent virtual training.

03:46  What do we mean by virtual training?

05:38  The challenge for virtual facilitators

06:35  Design in detail for virtual

08:03  The two biggest mistakes in virtual design

10:17  Getting the timings right

12:28  The tech challenge

16:23  Best practice: no shortcuts

17:30  The four pillars of good design

18:42  The 'why' of virtual design: what's the transformation?

20:19  The 'who' of virtual design: the target audience and their tech

23:09  The 'what' of virtual design: objectives, coverage and content

25:41  The 'how' of virtual design: structure and methods

26:18  Twelve ways to bring virtual to life

28:58  Top tips for virtual design

31:38  Learning new tools with non-important content

33:02  More instructions for facilitators

34:22  Summary

38:45  The mini-topic: writing for learning

Resource Links

Humans are storytelling animals, and most learners respond better to stories than to theoretical material without a story. But how do we incorporate story in learning design, especially given how personal stories can be? In this episode we have practical tips for you on this and all things story in learning design.

01:18 Storytelling in the learning context

02:14 Spontaneous versus planned stories

04:38 The power of story for learning

06:14 How stories engage emotions

06:44 Your learners will make stories up anyway

08:39 Stories can be better than data

09:56 What’s the difference between stories and anecdotes?

11:04 Case studies as a learning bridge

11:54 Should we always only use our own stories?

14:16 Stories can be true without having happened

17:27 Creating great case studies

18:54 Using storytelling consciously in learning design

22:12 Designing stories into materials for others to deliver

24:53 The magpie approach to gathering stories

26:09 Using stories in specific activities

28:20 Getting learners to bring their stories into play

30:57 Lead with the story

32:07 Learning about story structure

38:51 Storytelling as part of your topic

40:19 Stories and evaluation

41:10 Sheridan’s takeaways from Storytelling

44:58 What is Training Design anyway?

53:44  The end of the season

54:19 Who we are and getting in touch

Resource Links

Designing for remote and mobile workers presents a whole new set of challenges to learning designers. In this episode we take on those challenges and come up with some practical ways to optimise learning design for them, and some questions too, for you as the audience.

01:16 Remote working on the rise

03:06 It’s not just about online learning

05:51 Designing solely for remote workers

07:17 The challenges for the whole business

08:06 Formal learning is tougher for remote workers

09:28 Different kinds of remote workers need different answers

11:09 Inclusivity and different needs

12:04 Learning journeys

12:51 Remote workers as our default learners

14:11 Blank slates beat inertia in learning design

15:09 Dial-in delegates in face to face workshops

17:47 Super-size classrooms

18:53 As many different ways as we can

19:15 Structure and support: Sheridan’s retail case study

23:23 Social engagement is part of the puzzle

24:25 What activities are best?

26:46 Putting things in place between face to face sessions

28:13 Keeping people on track with their objectives

29:28 Gamification for remote workers

29:50 Using technology with remote workers

30:49 It’s okay to not have all the answers

32:38 Remote workers shouldn’t feel like second-class citizens

33:33 Curation and remote workers

34:39 Sheridan’s summary of the key concerns

36:55 A topic that makes us think

38:08 Designing for introverts

44:37 Do you have the answers?

45:10 Who we are and getting in touch

Resource Links

Gamification is not about turning everything into a points contest, and it's not just for e-learning. So what is it for? We take a close look at some practical ways learning designers can use the principles of gamification to level up their learning design.

01:07  Exploding misconceptions about gamification

02:17 Gamification: not just for e-learning

02:45 It’s about learning from how games motivate people

04:09  Games and learning

04:44 What exactly is gamification, then?

05:34 Game elements and a game design approach

07:32  Games versus gamification

08:11 How Duolingo uses gamification to aid learning

10:32 Gamification case study: ‘Speed Influencing’

13:06 Gamification case study: ‘Creating leadership models’

17:12 Looking around for inspiration from games

18:21 Sheridan’s missed opportunities

19:33 Games made of different tasks to suit different strengths

20:39 Elements that come up again and again

21:22 How can we embrace gamification?

22:28 Game design approach: balance

24:18  Game design approach: the players’ experience

25:26 A question about teams

27:15 Game design approach: playtesting and iterations

29:15 Different types of player or learner

30:47 Matching player types to game elements

32:53 Variety!

33:25 Using gamification outside the classroom

36:17 Gamifying certification

38:21 Sheridan’s takeaways from Gamification

40:28 What about people who don’t like games?

41:48 A list of game elements

46:48 Bite-size design

55:17  Who we are and getting in touch

Resource Links

Duolingo: www.duolingo.com

Coursera Gamification Course: www.coursera.org/learn/gamification/home/welcome

Karl Kapp blog and books: karlkapp.com/

PowerPoint. It gets a lot of hate; it gets a lot of use. In this episode, we discuss when we should stop using it or use it less, and what to replace it with, and how to get the best out of it when we do use it. As always, it's packed with practical suggestions for your training design practice.

00:54 What’s wrong with PowerPoint

01:58 Where are we going wrong?

03:09 Presentations and subject matter experts

03:50 How can we avoid ‘Death by PowerPoint’?

05:04 Start with the session plan

06:14 A document for people who commission training

06:44 Terry’s zero-PowerPoint programme

09:44 Is PowerPoint lazy?

10:49 Lessons from a zero-PowerPoint programme

12:50 How do delegates respond to zero PowerPoint?

13:41 Using the physical space of the room

16:24 How do we make sure the delegates take the right info away?

19:39 Making the learning personal

21:55 When might you need to use slides?

22:50 What to stop doing if you do use PowerPoint

23:57 Too many slides is better than too much on each slide

25:07  What we should be doing more of if using PowerPoint

26:37 J P Phillips Ted Talk

27:01 Don’t just put black bullets on white

28:27 To build or not to build?

29:59 Slides without PowerPoint

34:56 Sheridan’s takeaways from PowerPoint

38:03 Sheridan’s mini-topic -- simplifying learning

45:10 Who we are and getting in touch

Resource Links

How to Avoid Death by PowerPoint by J P Philips: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iwpi1Lm6dFo