Make the learning speak: Kindling the flame

As someone who’s been in the learning and development (L&D) space for a while, I’ve seen my role grow from a ‘nice-to-have’ to a ‘must-have’ in most forward-thinking industries. Companies are waking up to the reality that if employees have the proper training and information, feel a part of something larger, and spend time immersing themselves in company culture, they are more satisfied with their job. And we all know what greater job satisfaction means. (I would insert a bunch of data here, but you would just skim over it because it’s common sense).

In the past, many companies felt that L&D was something that could be outsourced or was simply a one-and-done product. They’ve finally woken up to the fact that what and how their employees learn, gain new skills, and grow in their careers is ever-evolving and requires a team of learning experts to keep abreast of their industry’s particular learning needs.

As the focus on L&D grows, new and ever evolving tools emerge. I see the masses migrate from one new development or design tool, a new feature release, or new technology like kids at a zoo clamoring to see the polar bears, then the lions, then the gorillas. They stand in clusters at conferences or huddled in meeting rooms oohing and ahhing over the latest AI or content authoring tool. When I step back and shake off the amazement, I realize it’s a lot of smoke and mirrors. The best tools in the world, AI included, aren’t going to change the learners themselves. The slickest, most engaging learning experience isn’t going to achieve lasting change either. Before the keyboard warriors come at me, let me explain.

I stumbled upon a quote during my undergraduate years as a bright-eyed enthusiastic teacher in training. It has remained my North Star throughout my career both as an educator and a learning content creator. It’s simply this:

“Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.” -Socrates.

Just sit with that for a moment.

I think the downfall of a lot of learning content is that it was designed to fill a vessel and not kindle a flame. Let me throw in a little analogy here (sorry, my English instructor roots are showing). Let’s say you have this fabulous new candle, and you want to light it before your husband comes home to complain about the smell of the salmon dish you cooked for dinner. What’s the goal? To light the candle, right? So, how do you get there? Does it matter if it’s a pack of matches? A box of matches? A gas station cigarette lighter? A long handled lighter for your Solo stove? An antique silver lighter from the 1920’s that women with long velvet gloves and beaded gowns used to light their cigarettes attached to those long holders as soft jazz music played in the background? I think you get where I’m headed with this. If the goal is to light the candle, you can do so with something as simple as a match or go completely overboard to a bejeweled lighter – as long as you light the candle.

But, the more important question is why I needed to light the candle in the first place. What needed to change once the candle was lit? Effective learning experiences have to have outcomes (lighting the candle) and objectives (how the candle will be lit), but I think there is something that is often overlooked: space for the learner. I believe the best learning experiences make space for the learner to question why and what they’re learning. They kindle the flame of curiosity that makes the learner want to know more, do more, and be more.

It’s simple. Content dump click paths do nothing to kindle a flame and build learner curiosity.

So, the next time you find yourself exhausted chasing down every subject matter expert (SME) for every morsel of content to include the answer to every question any learner would ever ask, stop yourself and ask what you can do to instead have the learner be curious enough to chase down answers for themselves.