Table of Contents

Instructional Designers Should Take A Cue From Pittsburgh Steelers’ LB James Harrison

Over the weekend, I read this article about American football player James Harrison, and how he returned two trophies that his sons had received because they had not really done anything to earn those trophies.

It made me think of the certificates that are given after people attend a training workshop or a conference or completing an elearning module. What do those certificates even mean?  

Certificate

Several years ago I attended a webinar in which the presenter suggested that instructional designers hold certificates until the learners have demonstrated proficiency in the topic at hand. This could mean that instead of simply designing a 1-day workshop, a learning experience could be marketed as a 1-month experience. Maybe there’s a webinar or a short elearning module or some other pre-work to start. Then the learning is reinforced and practiced during the 1-day workshop. Then the learners are challenged to apply the learning to their jobs and submit some sort of evidence of mastery within a month. Then, and only then, should a certificate be awarded to learners.

Announcing  a learning experience as a 1-month (or 3-month or 6-month) learning experience as opposed to a 1-day or 3-day workshop immediately shifts the mental model with which a learner will approach the situation. By spacing the learning over the course of  a month (or longer) and insisting learners do something upon their return to their office, it can also lead to better retention, not to mention the possibility for level 3 (transfer) and level 4 (impact) evaluation.

Instructional designers can indeed take a lesson from James Harrison and insist that their learners earn their certificates.

Have you found a way to make certificates more meaningful? Let’s hear about it in the comment section.

Articles Similar to Instructional Designers Should Take A Cue From Pittsburgh Steelers’ LB James Harrison

L&D Team Book Club: “Map It” by Cathy Moore

L&D professionals may be responsible for always helping others to learn, but we don’t have tons of time for our own development. Over the past month, my entire team made time to read and discuss Cathy Moore’s “Map It”. These were our takeaways.

Does training actually change behavior?

Does training actually change behavior? It’s a question we should be able to answer honestly. (And the answer is: No, not 100%… and yes, but seriously, not 100%)

Hybrid Learning: When to use it

Recently I had an opportunity to talk with the folks at Mimeo about hybrid learning and when to use it. In today’s post, I share a link to that podcast, which is one in a series of podcasts they did with industry leaders on hybrid learning strategies.

How to create a training plan in under 10 minutes

Using a lesson plan template (which is the most downloaded resource from this blog) can help give you structure. Using Soapbox can save you all sorts of time (and still give your presentation some structure)!

Subscribe to Get Updates from Endurance Learning

Brian Washburn, Author

Brian Washburn
CEO & Chief Ideas Guy

Enter your information below and we’ll send you the latest updates from our blog. Thanks for following!

activities cookbook

Download the Training Activity Cookbook

Enter your email below and we’ll send you the PDF of the Endurance Learning Activity Cookbook.

Let's Talk Training!

Brian Washburn

Brian Washburn
CEO & Chief Ideas Guy

Enter your information below and we’ll get back to you soon.

Download the Feedback Lesson Plan

Enter your email below and we’ll send you the lesson plan as a PDF.

feedback lesson plan
MS Word Job Aid Template

Download the Microsoft Word Job Aid Template

Enter your email below and we’ll send you the Word version of this template.

Download the Free Lesson Plan Template!

Enter your email below and we’ll send you a Word document that you can start using today!

training materials checklist

Download the Training Materials Checklist

Enter your email below and we’ll send you the PDF of the Training Materials Checklist.

Subscribe to Endurance Learning for updates

Get regular updates from the Endurance Learning team.