The Power of Connection: Insights from the Learning Guild Learning & HR Tech Solutions Conference

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Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the Learning & HR Technology Conference in Orlando, FL. Conferences like these brim with opportunities, but I find myself particularly drawn to discovering the "hidden gems"—sessions that not only pique my interest, but stimulate deep thinking and compel action. This year, I discovered such a gem in Katrina Kennedy's session, "The Ripple Effect: How Connection Transforms Learning Journeys."

From the moment I stepped into the room, Katrina's approach to connecting with participants was evident. She greeted each attendee personally, inquiring about our reasons for selecting her session. This immediate engagement wasn't just welcoming; it set the stage for a session built on the principle by Simon Sinek: "Connection before content."

Katrina's session was a masterclass in creating a learning environment where connection precedes and enhances engagement with content. She facilitated activities that transcended typical icebreakers, fostering genuine connections among participants through innovative methods like word stories, reflective photo sharing, and collaborative discussions of past experiences. These weren't just activities; they were bridges, connecting us to the facilitator, the content, and each other.

The effectiveness of Katrina’s approach was undeniable. Engagement was high, the session flew by, and learning was deep and memorable. More remarkably, the connections initiated in her session extended throughout the conference – we sought each other out, we sat together, we shared, we debriefed sessions we had attended. We connected and learned.

As someone deeply fascinated by the science of learning—a sentiment many of us in the L&D community share, Katrina’s workshop got me thinking about Robert Gagné’s nine events of instruction, a foundational theory in instructional design that outlines systematic steps for crafting effective learning experiences.

Among these steps, the third, "stimulate recall of prior learning," resonates deeply with the core of instructional effectiveness. This step is crucial because it involves activating the learner's pre-existing knowledge that pertains to new content. Learners come to each educational encounter with a background that can either enhance or obstruct their understanding of new concepts. By encouraging learners to recall what they already know, we lay a groundwork for connecting new ideas with familiar ones, thereby facilitating a smoother learning transition.

How do we implement this in practice? Techniques can include reviewing prerequisite knowledge, posing targeted questions, engaging learners in reflective activities, and using analogies that link new concepts with known ideas. In my own journey through eLearning and instructor-led training design, I have always endeavored to incorporate all nine of Gagné’s steps. However, I've noticed that in many eLearning environments, the vital step of stimulating prior recall often gets overlooked. This discussion carried through the event, and I found myself engaged with many other like-minded peers about this topic.

Inspired by the session, I have already arranged a meeting with my team of Instructional Designers to reevaluate and reinvigorate this fundamental step in our course designs. We are committed to integrating these principles more thoroughly to enhance the learning experience we deliver.

A heartfelt thank you to Katrina for a session that was not just informative but truly transformative. It not only enriched my conference experience but also reinvigorated our educational strategies, promising lasting benefits for our learners.

 

Related Powered by Learning podcast episode: 
Evolving a Community of Organizational Learning Professionals, with Learning Guild CEO David Kelly