My work

Many trainers and instructional designers focus on what a student will learn (learning objectives) and how they will learn it (instructional steps), but I see more value in addressing WHY they will learn it. For instance, a group of business consultants were tasked to learn a new software that would help them to "sell better." The easy part was to demonstrate the new tool's bells and whistles (WHAT) and place them in scenarios that would make them rehearse their new acquired skills (HOW). Without the emphasis of WHY the tool would help them "sell better," the training would not have been completely successful. Although WHY is the most important piece of the training, it is also the most difficult to develop.

It is the quintessence of WHY that I always aspire to capture in my training developments so learners can achieve best-in-class practices. It is only when you elevate knowledge to WHY that learners can utilize higher cognitive skills to analyze, hypothesize, or create new ideas.

WHAT • HOW • WHY