This October saw cities across Scotland play host to the first ever ‘Scottish Games Week’, a nationwide event featuring a conference, an education symposium, and awards show. What lessons from that event can the organisers share with the L&D community? This week on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast , Gemma and Sam are joined by organisers Brian Baglow and Julie Drybrough to discuss: the elements of a good ‘learning’ game; some of the problems that come when we design games with an explicitly ‘learning’...
Nov 29, 2022•43 min•Ep. 322
At Mind Tools, we pride ourselves on our ability to create visually rich learning experiences that drive performance. Often, these experiences will include a mix of video, audio, and illustration. But why do these things matter? And how do they serve the outcomes we define with our clients? This week on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast , Ross D is joined by Tracey, Claire and Alison to discuss the use of multimedia in learning design. We cover: the role of multimedia in effective learning design creat...
Nov 22, 2022•40 min•Ep. 321
In learning science, there are certain ideas that have leapt the fences of academia and seeped into the public consciousness. Often, these ideas gain traction because they feel intuitively true. But what does the data say? And how should we apply these ideas as learning professionals? This week on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast , Ross Garner and Ross Dickie are joined by Jane Bozarth, Director of Research for the Learning Guild, to discuss three research papers that challenge the received wisdom. We...
Nov 15, 2022•42 min•Ep. 320
In the UK, 84% of workers who had to work from home because of the Coronavirus pandemic have said they plan to continue working at home, at least some of the time, in the future. That poses a problem to those of us responsible for workplace learning. This week on The Mind Tools Podcast , Ross G and Ross D are joined by Phill Miller, Managing Director of Open LMS, to explore solutions. We discuss: The impact that a shift to hybrid and remote working has had on L&D professionals The advantages of ...
Nov 08, 2022•43 min•Ep. 319
Here at Mind Tools Towers, we love podcasts. We’ve produced our own for six years! But what role do they have to play in workplace learning? This week on The Mind Tools Podcast , Ross G and Owen are joined by Adam Lacey from podcasts-for-learning-provider Assemble You. We discuss: The evolution of podcasts as a technology and as a market The solutions that now exist to organisational security barriers Workplace learning contexts where podcasts are ideal. In ‘What I Learned This Week’, Owen discu...
Nov 01, 2022•44 min•Ep. 318
Once upon a midnight dreary, Ross G pondered, weak and weary Whether Ross D might consider him a dry and awful bore— If he proposed some gentle chatting, sprinkled with some caveating, A pod with almost no formatting, on an essay he’d adored. “’Tis about unity of effect in learning design,” he muttered, “by Edgar Allan Poe— Only this and nothing more.” We discuss: why we are dedicating our Halloween Special to the application of Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘Philosophy of Composition’ to modern-day learnin...
Oct 25, 2022•40 min•Ep. 317
As learning professionals, we can rely on people always needing support to do their jobs more efficiently and more effectively. We can also rely on the hows, whats, whens, and wheres of that support changing. It's up to us to make sure we have the skills, knowledge and attitude to keep pace with changes in learning science, technology and learner demands. This week on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast , Gemma and her teammates in the learning experience team are joined by digital learning designer and ...
Oct 18, 2022•40 min•Ep. 316
English is the world’s lingua franca, but the 400 million native-English speakers are a minority compared to the 2 billion people who learned English in a classroom. With these numbers, it’s no surprise that most people speak English ‘badly’. The problem is that, when people speak with a strange accent, pronounce words wrong, or use unusual grammar, we form an impression of their intelligence and capability that has nothing to do with their actual abilities. So this week on The Mind Tools L&D Po...
Oct 11, 2022•41 min•Ep. 315
How do you set your projects up for success? Does the SME and learning designer relationship really follow the buddy cop movie trope? In this episode of the Mind Tools L&D Podcast , Claire, Sean, Tracey and Ross G share their experiences of working with SMEs and their insights into what makes a great working relationship. We discussed: How to build a solid learning designer and SME relationship Ways to engage SMEs effectively The power of positive challenge In WILTW, Sean shared some facts linke...
Oct 03, 2022•37 min•Ep. 314
How is it possible to learn faster than external world changes? What do we need to do to purposefully protect ourselves against irrelevance? Mind Tools L&D Podcast , Gemma and Ross G are joined by author of Learning at Speed , Nelson Sivalingam, to discuss how organisations, L&D teams and individuals can upskill and reskill efficiently. We discussed: What learning at speed means The barriers to learning at speed How we can overcome those challenges Nelson’s book, Learning at Speed, is available ...
Sep 27, 2022•42 min•Ep. 313
Our brain is a ‘prediction machine’ that responds to and interprets reality based on what we expect. This is the claim of science writer David Robson and, this week on The Mind Tools Podcast , Ross G, Owen and Nahdia plan to exceed your expectations by discussing it in our book club. We discuss: examples of the ‘expectation effect’ in action the strengths and weaknesses of Robson’s argument how we can experiment, personally, with managing our expectations. During the discussion, Ross referenced ...
Sep 20, 2022•38 min•Ep. 312
This week The Mind Tools Podcast team are travelling through another dimension. A dimension not only of sight and sound, but of mind. That's the signpost up ahead - your next stop: Extended Reality. In this episode, Ross G and Nahdia speak to technologist, TEDx speaker, author and designer Myra Roldan about how new technologies are shaping the way we interact with the world, and with each other. We discuss: VR, AR, XR and mixed realities Applications of XR for learning The impact of XR on empath...
Sep 13, 2022•38 min•Ep. 311
What’s the evidence telling us about effective questions for learning? How can we apply it? In this week's episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast , Gemma is joined by fellow Custom team members Ross Garner, Sam and Alison to discuss key takeaways from Patti Shanks’ book, Write better multiple-choice questions to assess learning . We discussed: The role of questions in learning What makes an effective question How to overcome challenges in writing them. We talked about how we used open questions a...
Sep 06, 2022•37 min•Ep. 310
Will avatar-based training replace virtual classrooms? Would it make any difference if L&D didn’t even exist? In this week's episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast , Ross D, Owen and Nahdia tackle these questions from listeners Ian Younger ( @ian5611 ) and Craig Taylor ( @CraigTaylor74 ). In WILTW, Owen mentioned the article ‘Good’ posture doesn’t prevent back pain, and ‘bad’ posture doesn’t cause it by Peter O’Sullivan, Leon Straker and Nic Saraceni. The episode of the Ezra Klein Show which feat...
Aug 30, 2022•37 min•Ep. 309
Here at Mind Tools Towers, we’ve been supporting L&D teams for years – and that’s given us plenty of time to reflect on things we could have done better! So this week on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast , Ross G, Owen, Sean and Ross D are sharing the advice that they wish they’d had when they started out in their careers. We discuss: The importance of gathering diverse work experiences How to define a problem How to speak to others about what you do for a living. Additionally, we share insights from o...
Aug 23, 2022•39 min•Ep. 308
Many organizations responded to the global pandemic by adopting digital technologies that enabled different ways of working. This sudden, unanticipated change has created opportunities for L&D, but it's also posed challenges. This week on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast , Ross D is joined by Owen and Anna to dive into this year's L&D Benchmark Report: 'Is your learning culture keeping pace with rapid digitalization?' They discuss: the history of the Annual L&D Benchmark Report, and its relationship t...
Aug 16, 2022•37 min•Ep. 307
Have learners engaged? Learnt what we set out for them to learn? More importantly, have they bought that learning into how they perform? Is this having the wider impact we wanted? All the questions. So, how do we, as learning professionals, measure the impact our learning experiences have? This week on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast , Gemma discusses with teammates Claire, Sean and Tracey, about measuring impact. We discuss: what measuring impact means tools and methods we use some of the challenges...
Aug 09, 2022•40 min•Ep. 306
Rather than defaulting to pre-pandemic habits, or continuing with pandemic arrangements, we now have an ideal opportunity to rethink how and where we work. This week on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast , Nahdia and Gemma talk to Gem Dale, author of How to work remotely , about working well, in and out of the office. We discuss: why we need to be strategic and purposeful in how and where we work challenges for organisations and managers in balancing organisational and individual needs skills for effect...
Aug 02, 2022•31 min•Ep. 305
People are more satisfied by explanations that contain neuroscientific jargon and images. Why? Because dopamine fires up the hippocampus, and that’s a fact! (Warning: It’s not.) This week on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast , Owen and Ross G are separating fact from fiction as we discuss neuroscience with Amy Brann, author of Make Your Brain Work . We discuss: The meaning of neuroscience (as a discipline vs in popular media) The relevance of neuroscience for HR and L&D Practical insights from neurosci...
Jul 26, 2022•38 min•Ep. 304
Who knows why anyone does anything? Well… people who craft psychometrics claim that they can answer this question. And this week on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast , Owen and Ross G are going to find out how! We’re joined by Lucie Ilbury, a Chartered Occupational Psychologist and Head of Client Enablement at Sova Assessment. We discuss: What psychometric assessments are for The characteristics of an effective assessment How psychometric assessments can be linked to an organization’s competency framew...
Jul 19, 2022•41 min•Ep. 303
Since the dawn of history, people have been telling stories. Obviously, because the recorded history we have is in the format of a story. Now Ross Garner, Ross Dickie and David from the Mind Tools L&D Podcast crew are applying that technique to learning. We discuss: The benefits of storytelling for learning Examples of effective storytelling at work How new technologies give us exciting opportunities to craft new tales! During the discussion, Ross Garner discussed an article from The Guardian . ...
Jul 11, 2022•39 min•Ep. 302
Our mental wellbeing can depend in part, on our role at work. How do stress levels of colleagues, managers and directors compare, for instance? What is it about those roles that influences stress levels? In this week's episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast , Emotion at Work’s Phil Willcox shares the findings of his latest research report “Managers feel the pinch”. We discuss: The research findings on roles and stress What “levers” influence poor mental wellbeing What we can do to stay healthy Yo...
Jul 05, 2022•45 min•Ep. 301
In our 300 th episode of The Mind Tools L&D podcast, we are LIVE from London! Owen, Nahdia and Gemma were joined by two special guests, Julie Dirksen and Phil Willcox, and a live studio audience buzzing after Day 1 of the Learning Technologies 2022 conference and exhibition. There was something for everyone! We spoke about: Perspectives on the LT conference and exhibition Designing learning for complex skills The mental health challenges that managers face We also heard what our audience had lea...
Jun 28, 2022•54 min•Ep. 300
We’re all familiar with one-off learning events like e-learning modules, workshops and virtual classrooms. They’re common because they’re logistically easier for everyone, but how we can adapt these to embed learning after the event? To discuss, Ross G and Owen are joined by Paul 'Westy' Westlake, Digital Director at PeopleUnboxed, and host of the PeopleUnplugged Podcast. We discuss: Problems with one-off events Techniques to ensure they have greater impact What it looks like to embed learning m...
Jun 21, 2022•43 min•Ep. 299
Back in episode 279 of this podcast (February 1, 2022: ‘Why work is the ideal place to talk about race’), we spoke with authors Margaret Greenberg and Gina Greenlee about their book The Business of Race. But while we talked extensively about personal experiences and inner work, we didn’t have a chance to dig into what L&D can do to promote an anti-racist workplace. So this week on The Mind Tools L&D Podcast , Margaret and Gina are back with Ross G and Nahdia to discuss: The pre-work required for...
Jun 14, 2022•43 min•Ep. 298
Gamification promises fun activities, increased user engagement and – ultimately – better workplace learning. But do points and badges really make a difference? In this week's episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast , Ross G, Sean, Tracey and podcasting n00b Sam Brown tackle this issue. We discuss: The difference between ‘gamification’ and ‘game-based learning’ Good and bad examples of gamification Common gamification mistakes. Find out more about Twitter Data Dash at: https://twitterdatadash.com/...
Jun 07, 2022•39 min•Ep. 297
There are more and more people working in a hybrid way. What does this mean for how we meet, develop relationships and support learning? In this week's episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast , Gemma T and Owen explore these questions with HR for Hybrid Working author and Director of Epic HR, Gary Cookson. We discuss: What makes for an effective hybrid meeting Experiences that tend to be better 100% remote / 100% in-person The skills we might need to develop as HR and L&D professionals. You can fi...
May 31, 2022•39 min•Ep. 296
Why is chronic stress, or burnout, on the rise? Who suffers the most? Is it an individual or an organisational problem? In this week's episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast , author Jennifer Moss speaks to Gemma and Ross about the problem of burnout. What burnout is What causes such chronic stress What does and doesn't help ease the problem? You can find out more about Jennifer's work, and her book The Burnout Epidemic, at jennifer-moss.com In ‘What I Learnt This Week’, Ross told us about Shakes...
May 24, 2022•43 min•Ep. 295
What is a digital mindset? Why is it important? And can non-technical people really contribute in digital roles? In this week's episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast , Ross D and Ross G explore these questions with researcher, consultant and author of Digital Mindset , Dr Paul Leonardi. We discuss: How anyone can adopt a digital mindset The importance of collaboration, computation and change How much you need to know to ‘sniff test’ statistical claims. The Digital Mindset: What It Really Takes t...
May 17, 2022•43 min•Ep. 294
Why is it so difficult to start something new and stick with it? How do we gain and maintain momentum? And why do we tire of what we're doing? In this week's episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast , Ross D and Ross G explore these questions with Smart Growth author and disruption theorist Whitney Johnson. We discuss: what we mean by 'smart growth' the 'S Curve of Learning' model what L&D teams can do to create an ecosystem where smart growth is possible. Find out more about Whitney at: whitneyjoh...
May 10, 2022•37 min•Ep. 293
