1. forum.com http://www.forum.com/blog/trends-in-learning-development/?pfstyle=wp
Trends in Learning & Development
“The future of organizations today is primarily related to their capacity to learn.” —
George Siemens
Does L&D in your organization develop the “capacity to learn?” Organizations have always
needed to learn, and Learning & Development has traditionally been the owner and provider
of learning. But George Siemens is saying more than that: The capacity to learn, not the
subjects of learning, will define organizations of the future. So what does this imply for L&D?
Shifting Focus of L&D
Learning is still fundamental. And it is still most efficiently
designed and delivered by Learning & Development, if it
is to enable consistent and differentiated high
performance across an entire organization.
The exciting future for L&D lies in applying its expertise in
adult learning and instructional design to the worker and
the workforce, in addition to the program and the
classroom.
Applying the Principles of Learning, From 1978 to
Today
Forum’s first research paper on the six principles of adult
learning appeared in 1978. Several times since then
we’ve revisited, revalidated, and reapplied the principles.
Though they have been refined slightly, the fundamentals
remain constant. The principles were recently explained and applied to take account of developments in
business context, neuroscience, and technology:
1. Link learning to value for the individual and the organization
2. Connect action and reflection in a continuous cycle
3. Address learners’ attitudes and beliefs in addition to their behaviors
4. Provide learners with a balance of challenge and support
5. Create opportunities for participants to teach as well as learn
6. Design and cultivate learning communities as well as learning media
In the past, any good classroom program design needed to apply all of these principles if it was to ensure
real learning and performance outcomes. For example: an experience in which a salesperson tried out a new
handling-objections skill with a learning colleague while another colleague provided input, after which the
exercise was debriefed in a facilitated, supportive discussion and then repeated with learners switching roles.
Almost all the principles came in to play in such an effective learning experience.
In today’s workplace, the principles can be applied to a cohort of workers. A series of designed activities
might now include: skill practice in small experiments interspersed with regular coaching conversations with
managers and peers that aim to reflect on and improve the experiments, social networks in which learners
share and teach their experience and learning with and to others, and face-to-face meetings that seek to
obtain alignment, voice concerns or opportunities, and galvanize collaboration. While these activities not
necessarily “new,” the role that L&D play now ensures conscious learning as the principles of adult learning
are applied in deliberate, tactical ways.
L&D for the 21st Century
L&D has an opportunity to make a significant impact on the organization of the future. Its emerging focus on
adult learning and its application of learning design to the actual workplace will enable organizations to grow
and to thrive.

2. Join our webinar on Sept 1st to learn more about:
1. Trends driving the changes required of L&D
2. The principles of adult learning
3. How the principles have been applied in Forum client situations