The Periodic Table of Amazing Learning Experiences

Whats Your Formula bookClick on the element names below to explore the Periodic Table of Amazing Learning Experiences, as featured in Brian Washburn’s book,

What’s Your Formula? Combine Learning Experiences for Impactful Training.

Explore the elements of the Periodic Table of Amazing Learning Experiences, as featured in Brian Washburn’s book,

What’s Your Formula? Combine Learning Elements for Impactful Training.

Periodic Table - Home

Without a plan, how will you know exactly what you want to say, how to give clear directions for an activity or whether you’re running on time?

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Did you know that supervisor support is the #1 determining factor in whether or not learners apply what they’ve learned after a training session?

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Handouts, job aids, case studies, articles, checklists… is there anything Word can’t do?

3 of 52

What better way to allow everyone to see how their fellow participants answer a question or respond to a poll in real time?

4 of 52

Is lecturing bad?

5 of 52

PowerPoint is the worst? Or is it the best?

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How do you know your learning program was worthwhile?

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All learning should get a boost, right?

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Who doesn’t like a pop quiz in the middle of the work day?

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Everything you find in Google is true and useful, right?

10 of 52

Watching a video isn’t the same as being trained. But, paired with other elements is a powerful learning tool.

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They’re adults. We want them to learn. What more is there to know?

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Education pioneer Jane Vella argues that we learn best through dialogue. How can one disagree with that?

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Subject Matter Experts can give a training life or grind it to a halt.

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A great handout helps participants focus and reflect.

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Spaced out learning = bad. Spaced learning = good!

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What happens when the training ends?

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Once you’ve defined your learning objectives, are virtual meetings really all that different than in-person?

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Your supplies matter. Especially if they have a built-in icebreaker.

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Paired with element 19, your flipchart can be your best friend in a training room.

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What does it mean to “gamify” your training?

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Should change management be part of your thinking as a learning & development professional?

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You scored 5/5! Your training was successful, right?

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Love ’em or hate ’em, they serve a purpose, but they must be purposeful.

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An assessment doesn’t have to be one-dimensional and shouldn’t be your only form of measurement.

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Do you have a mentor? Are you a mentor to others?

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Rapid authoring tools (like element 36) are becoming more popular for getting your training offering in front of learners more quickly.

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There are a range of tools that allow you to capture images as part of your training effort. In element 29 you get to go a step further.

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Capture the steps in a process and more.

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What types of evaluation do you use to ensure that your training was successful?

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You no longer have to be an expert visual designer to incorporate great visual design into your training.

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Elearning is a big term. What do your stakeholders mean when they say it?

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Are you ready for AR? Is it ready for you?

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Professional athletes at the highest levels still need a coach. Why don’t more professionals outside the world of sports have them?

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It’s just teeny, tiny learning, right?

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It’s not just a thing you stand on to give an impromptu speech. It is a powerful tool to design facilitated training.

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Why reinvent the wheel when someone else in your organization may have already invented it? Why go to a training if the knowledge and answers you need can be found on your company’s intranet?

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Why reinvent the wheel when someone else in your organization may have already invented it? Why go to a training if the knowledge and answers you need can be found on your company’s intranet?

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Who wouldn’t like getting a text message reminding them about what they learned two weeks ago?

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If you don’t know what you want to change, how can you expect it to happen?

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Why does this learning program exist in the first place? And how are you going to give it structure?

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Participants don’t like role plays. Maybe you need to ask yourself why.

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Who doesn’t like to play a game? If it is intentionally designed, it can be a critical part of  a training initiative.

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If 73% of statistics* are made up on the spot, how can you trust the data you’re using?

*statistic made up on the spot

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How can you work goal setting into your next session?

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Is it possible to enhance your professional development 280 characters at a time?

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What value is a professional network in talent development?

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Anyone can publish an article on the web… some of those articles are quite insightful!

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Data, resources, templates and forms are all out there to help you… if you know where to look.

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Why spend a half day in a training session when a 2 minute video can do the trick?

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Want inspiration for your own slides? Want to share your slides with the world? There’s an app for that.

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Email may be the new snail mail, but it’s still an effective way to prime your learner’s pump and to share follow-up information.

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checklist

Download the Element Sanity Check

Even if you haven’t yet purchased the book (what are you waiting for?!) you can get access to worksheets that will help guide you through the use of the elements of amazing learning experiences.