Action Mapping – Course design made easy
I must admit that I am a bit of a groupie of Cathy Moore and her no-nonsense approach to learning design. She calls her approach Action Mapping and using it quickly cuts through all the extraneous information, that is important for a deep understanding of the topic, and confusing noise when trying to learn a new skill.
Teaching someone how to install a widget does not require knowing the history of widgets, how they are manufactured, and all the potential problems that can arise from widget management.
I am a total geek for this stuff.
Often the most difficult part of the designer and SME negotiation is determining what content should be included when teaching the new skill. We have all taken courses, and some of us have embarrassingly designed courses, that are at best an information-dump. It is like trying to drink water from a fire hose.
The information may be super-important to your SME and still have no business being presented to your learner. A SME has a depth of knowledge on the topic that comes from many, many hours of practice and experience solving related problems. They have an expert-level understanding and can see all the connections, interdependence, and potential risks.
As a designer and developer, I use my expertise to be a learner-advocate and focus on only the information needed to complete the task, rather than cater to egos. Ok, there is usually a little catering, don’t antagonize your experts. 🙂 You need them! But they need you too.
Go, check out the Action@Work site for yourself!
Your learners will thank you,
Jenn