Archive - July 1, 2021

  Engaging, effective training programs are a mixture of science and art, requiring the right balance of adult learning theory, available technology, intuitive tools, proven practices, creativity, and risk. How does a trainer find the right combination and proportion of these elements? How does a trainer know what’s possible? To answer these questions, Brian Washburn (Paraguay 1998-2000) offers a simple yet elegant periodic table of learning elements modeled on the original periodic table of chemical properties in What’s Your Formula? Combine Learning Elements for Impactful Training . Washburn’s elements — which are organized into solids, liquids, gases, radioactive, and interactive categories similar to their chemical cousins — are metaphors for the tools and strategies of the field of learning design; when they’re combined, and under certain conditions, they have the potential to create amazing learning experiences for participants. They are that impactful. From critical gas-like elements like the air we breathe, . . .