The ”Research-Informed” Episode

PLEASE NOTE: This episode was the last recorded episode before COVID-19 really exploded in the US. We were quite aware of, and sensitive to, the dangers world-wide, but weren’t aware yet of how the virus manifested, nor how badly the US, particularly the Northeast, would be hit. The magnitude of the crisis wasn’t fully felt at this point. __________________________________ For this single-topic episode, we are thrilled to have the great Mirjam Neelen join us to discuss her new book, Evidence-Informed Learning Design: Creating Training to Improve Performance, co-authored with the also great Paul Kirschner.

Throughout the episode we talk with Mirjam about many learning issues she and Paul raise in the book, including the following:

1. The difference between evidence-based and evidence-informed
2. Why learning professionals sometimes default to poorly supported models
3. Three-Star Learning Experiences
4. Whether learning should be fun
5. The difference between learning problems and performance problems
6. Using authentic learning tasks
7. Directed instruction versus discovery learning
8. The Top Five Effective Learning Strategies
9. And, the Flop Five Learning Strategies (well just a taste of these)
10. Nuance and complexity in learning
11. And, so much more!

After the conversation, Will and Matt debrief and discuss many of the ramifications and applications from or chat with Mirjam. We go deeper into many of the issues raised, especially on the topics of fun, nuance, and complexity. We probably shouldn’t have, but we use President Trump’s reliance on his hunches with regard to the brewing (at the time of recording) COVID-19 crisis rather than a reliance on the scientific institutions he should rely on throughout all of this. We talk about Mirjam and Paul’s discussion in the book about the improper reliance on neuroscience. And, more…

Finally, we bring Mirjam back for the Best and the Worst.

Mirjam references Michelle Oker’s reading group on research. Click to go to the group.

Will mentioned Truth in Learning friend, Emma Weber. Her company is LEVER: Transfer of Learning.

Mirjam is a Learning Experience Design Lead with over 10 years of industry experience, working at companies such as Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Google, the Learnovate Centre, and now Accenture. In her current role, she leads the learning experience design processes across Accenture’s various business entities globally. Mirjam is a proud advocate for evidence-informed approaches to learning design. She’s had a collaborative blog with Paul over 4 years on https://3starlearningexperiences.wordpress.com/.

You can find Mirjam and Paul’s book wherever great books are sold. Click here to get it on Amazon.