By Sue Iannone

You’ve heard about the “Modern Learner” before.  It’s a hot topic in the learning and development (L&D) space today.  Who exactly is this Modern Learner, and what should be keep in mind as we think about creating training solutions?  In this article, we’ll take a brief look at the ten characteristics of Modern Learners and see whether the stereotypes hold up.  Then, we’ll outline six tips for reaching them from a training standpoint.  Throughout, we’ll draw examples from the world of biopharma L&D.

Ten Traits of the Modern Learner

As we outlined in our previous article, so-called Modern Learners are biologically no different from 18^th century learners, 10^th century learners, 1^st century learners, or any other human learner since Homo sapiens were…well…Homo sapiens.  However, our modern world has conditioned many of us to process information and learn in different ways.  Based on our experience, the “typical” Modern Learner:

1. Processes data quickly, but not deeply
2. Has a short attention span and distributes attention thinly
3. Is highly visual
4. Is easily distracted
5. Is found in all age brackets (it’s not just Millennials!)
6. Uses more systems and devices than ever and can rapidly switch from device to device
7. Is overloaded with information
8. Forgets things more easily
9. Seeks instant gratification
10. Expects frequent rewards

It’s important to note that not every Modern Learner exhibits all of these traits.  However, these 10 traits are far more prevalent among learners today than they were even 25 years ago.  Our web-enabled, instant-response world has brought huge benefits and increased our productivity greatly, but it has also conditioned us to learn differently than we did in the past.

Reaching the Modern Learner

So, how can L&D tailor its learning programs to best reach Modern Learners?  Below are six tips that we’ve found to be very helpful.

1. Make it Useful – Learners must be able to apply learning to their jobs. A learning program that isn’t truly useful to the learner—and that only exists to impart less-than-practical knowledge—will not capture a Modern Learner’s time and attention.  Examples of useful training topics might include techniques for handling new objections, a new selling tool that will really help increase effectiveness, or interesting new data that reps can present to their customers.
2. Keep it Brief – If you can accomplish your training goal in 5 minutes, then don’t take 50. No one ever said, “Hey…Please give me a longer program to sit through!”  It’s always best to focus on the core thing(s) the learners need to know and minimize extraneous or “nice-to-know-but-not-vital” information.  Deploying a series of mini-modules that leverage microlearning principles might be more effective than a full-day workshop, for example.  The learning must be able to be consumed quickly, whether it’s to be used before a learning event, after a learning event, or as a stand-alone module.
3. Go Visual – Avoid a lot of text-heavy information in your materials. Where possible, incorporate images, icons, photographs, video, diagrams, and so on.  It’s also important to make sure that visuals are attractive and well-organized.  Messy visuals and ugly color combinations will drive learners away, but visually appealing design will suck them in.
4. Keep Learners Active – Involve the learners, making them active participants rather than passive consumers. From a digital standpoint, this can be done with drag-and-drop activities, interactive rollover / mouseover elements, quizzes, scenario-based questions, and more.  In live workshops, you can use role-playing exercises, flip-chart activities, worksheets / work mats, and the like.  While interactivity is important, you should also be careful not to overdo it.
5. Make Learning Available Everywhere – Modern Learners should be able to access their learning materials in a variety of ways. This includes laptop computers, tablets, and mobile devices.  Consider a field-based rep who might have a few minutes here and there to access his learning materials:  in the car, while sitting in a waiting room, on a laptop over lunch, or at home.  This requires flexible availability at any time.
6. “Sell” It – Learners need to know why a training program is needed. L&D must be able to answer—from the learner’s view point—some key questions.  Why do I need this?  What’s in it for me?  How will this help me?  It’s also important to “sell” learners’ managers on a program because they can also help sell it to the learners.

Bringing It All Together

A quick example can show how many of these tips can be deployed at once.  A customer of ours asked us to update and revamp their disease state training materials for a portfolio of products within a therapeutic area.

The materials they gave us basically consisted of a 90-page PDF document that was very text-heavy and provided extremely in-depth information on the disease state, it’s mechanism of action, and the related anatomy and physiology.  It certainly was thorough, but it wasn’t exactly exciting—or quick—to get through.

We took those materials and did the following, all while using the tips above to make the material much more accessible and engaging.  We:

1. Reduced the volume of content to focus on the important stuff while cutting the extraneous information.
2. Broke the content into “bite-sized” chunks.
3. Created a series of microlearning digital “mini-modules” that were each brief, highly focused on a core concept, used interactive components to create engagement, and made heavy use of attractive visual elements.
4. Made the mini-modules accessible on a variety of devices.
5. Structured the mini-modules so that experienced field reps could use them in any order they chose, while suggesting a specific order for new hires.

Needless to say, the revamped training was a big hit.  The fact is, the Modern Learner is here to stay, so it makes sense to take that reality into account when developing training.  That doesn’t mean L&D needs to cater to “laziness,” but it does mean that L&D needs to be mindful of their audience and develop training that matches how many of us process information these days.  Why?  Because business outcomes depend on it!

The post Six Tips for Reaching the Life Sciences “Modern Learner” appeared first on Bull City Blue.

By Nathan Pienkowski

In recent years, a lot of ink has been spilled regarding the idea of the “Modern Learner.”  In this article, we discuss whether the so-called “Modern Learner” is really that much different from any other learner.  The answer is yes…and no…and that has implications for Learning and Development (L&D) professionals.  Let’s dig a little deeper.

What is the Modern Learner?

Basically, our concept of the Modern Learner is as follows:

In the western world today, people are highly distracted by cell phones, televisions, computers, tablets and a host of other things.  Individual tools—such as the cell phone—contain many distractions within themselves, such as e-mails, texts, social media, web browsers, and more.

As a result, learners today have become conditioned to think differently, interact with the world differently, and have different expectations regarding how they learn.  By extension, it’s hard to get their attention (and even harder to hold it), they want their information delivered in easily digestible “bite-sized” chunks, and they don’t want to immerse themselves in long-form training that requires concentration for extended periods.

That’s the concept, and L&D professionals have taken it to heart, working to develop learning programs that cater to the needs and expectations of the modern learners.  But, is it right?  Does it make sense to apply it in all cases?

The Modern Learner Concept:  It’s true, but…

It is true that, in general, westerners today exhibit the characteristics of the modern learner.  It’s important to remember that these characteristics (shorter attention span, limited desire to concentrate, need for instant gratification and frequent rewards, highly visual approach to learning, etc.) are the result of psychological conditioning and not any physical changes.  Modern learners’ brains are biologically no different from those that were learning things back in the 1850s, for example.

The mechanisms through which people learn are biologically-based and fundamental to humans.  They change at the rate of evolution so, in other words, very slowly.

However, the psychological conditioning evident in modern learners is real, and L&D professionals deal with that in numerous ways.  For example, they might apply microlearning techniques, breaking learning content into small chunks that require very little time on an individual basis.  L&D pros might also use gamification, often enabled by mobile technology, to help make learning more experiential.

A host of techniques like the ones above can be deployed to reach modern learners.  This is good.  But, it is possible to get too much of a good thing, as these techniques are not appropriate in all cases.  In fact, there are times when they can be counter-productive.

Too often, we are asked to apply these techniques because the training leader believes “that’s how training is done these days.”  The idea is that learning always needs to be broken into small, discreet chunks or that mobile technology needs to be leveraged, and so on.  That idea is wrong, so let’s see when it’s appropriate to cater to modern learners vs. when it’s not.

When (and When Not) to Cater to the “Modern Learner”

Generally, training techniques that cater to the Modern Learner concept are best used when the training needs to:

• Explain concepts
• Impart bits of information or easily learned skills that are relatively discreet or independent from one another
• Reinforce more complex learnings that were delivered during other training (i.e. performance support)

For example, we once had a customer that needed to train its sales force to use a range of new functions within its customer relationship management (CRM) system.  Most of these functions were independent of one another and relatively easy to learn by themselves.

So, we created a series of very short modules, one for each “skill.”  In addition, we created a game for each skill that encouraged competition between sales reps and enabled them to practice.  In this case, chunking the information into smaller pieces—and leveraging tech-driven games—was just the ticket.

In other cases, catering to the Modern Learner concept is not appropriate.  For example, it’s not usually appropriate when training learners on complex skills, which themselves are often amalgamations of multiple interrelated sub-skills.

Modern Learner-oriented approaches are useful as reinforcement or for performance support in some of these cases.  But, the fact remains that learning complex skills requires attention, concentration, time, and practice.  One doesn’t typically learn to be a great sales rep by going through a series of short e-modules.  It’s tough to train a manager on how to have difficult conversations with subordinates via these approaches, either.  Effectively having those conversations requires a complex array of interrelated skills that need to be imparted and practiced.  Sorry, Modern Learners, sometimes you just have to put the phone down and concentrate.

Applying the Modern Learner concept in the wrong situations will, at best, provide a sub-optimal result.  In some cases, it can also cost more for less.  Sometimes, training vendors are all-to-willing to create a series of short e-modules because it’s the “cool” thing to do, rather than a more appropriate form of training for a given situation.  The irony is, the “cool” thing to do can cost more money for less total training time and less impact.

Summing Up

So, the key takeaways of all this are as follows:

• Modern westerners typically exhibit “Modern Learner” characteristics.
• These characteristics are the result of psychological conditioning, but learners’ biology has not changed a bit.
• Techniques for reaching Modern Leaners can be effective, but they must be used when appropriate.
• In general, these techniques are appropriate when imparting bits of knowledge (or skills) that are relatively independent of one another.
• They are less appropriate for complex skills training.

Good luck out there!

The post Are “Modern Learners” Really That Different? appeared first on Bull City Blue.