The evidence behind the teaching

Too much at once

Cognitive Load Theory: We can only juggle a few new things at once, so cut the clutter and give people one thing at a time

Pictures and words together

Dual Coding Theory: A clear picture and your spoken words work together, while a slide full of text competes with you

Line up the goal, the practice and the check

Constructive Alignment: Decide what people should be able to do, let them practise exactly that, and check for exactly that

If-then plans

Implementation Intentions: A plan that says when, where and what you'll do makes it more likely that people do what they meant to

Testing yourself beats re-reading

Retrieval Practice: Trying to remember something helps it last longer than reading it again does

Spread learning out over time

Spaced Practice: Coming back to something after a gap helps it last longer than doing it all in one go

Mix it up when practising

Interleaving: Mixing different kinds of case or problem in practice feels harder, but usually helps people tell them apart later

Active is a scale, not a switch

ICAP: Interactive, Constructive, Active, Passive: The more people do with an idea, from listening to explaining it to working it through together, the more they tend to learn

Learning from experience

Experiential Learning: People learn more from an experience when they stop to think it through and then try again, so plan time for that rather than leaving it to chance

Did the training work? Four levels

Kirkpatrick Model: Judge training by what people do differently afterwards, not just by whether they liked it or passed a quiz

Knowing it isn't doing it

Miller's Pyramid: Knowing something, knowing how, showing how and actually doing it are different, and each needs different evidence

Debriefing with honest curiosity

Debriefing with Good Judgement: After someone practises, say honestly what you saw and then ask, with real curiosity, what was going through their mind

Feedback people can act on

Feedback and Feedforward: Useful feedback tells people what the goal is, how they did against it, and exactly what to try next

Feeling safe to speak up

Psychological Safety: People learn more when asking a question or admitting a mistake feels safe, and how you react is what makes it safe

How adults tend to learn

Andragogy: Adults tend to learn best when they know why it matters, can use what they already know, and work on real problems

Ideas that change how you see a subject

Threshold Concepts: Some ideas change how people see a whole subject once they get them, and it is normal to be stuck for a while first

Learning with just enough help

Zone of Proximal Development: Teaching does the most good when it is pitched just beyond what someone can do alone, but within what they can do with help

Learning with peers by asking questions

Action Learning: A small group of colleagues helps each person think through a real problem from their own work by asking questions, not giving advice

What adverts can teach us

The Stolen Curriculum: Good adverts are built to change what people do, using many of the same ideas as good teaching, so every ad can be a free lesson in design

When basic needs get in the way

Hierarchy of Needs: Tiredness, worry or feeling left out can crowd out learning, so ask what else is going on before you redesign the session