Ep 137 – Michele Wiedemer - The Learner-Centered Design Model - Part 1

CELab: The Customer Education Lab

In business, the need for engaging learning experiences is staggeringly important. Yet the “how” is elusive. Conventional educational approaches don’t work well. You can be tempted to fall back on trusted methodologies only to find them to be too slow, unwieldy, or frustrating.

We’re joined by Michele Wiedemer, Customer Education consultant and expert who’s hard at work to learn more and to expand her already impactful approach to learning in B2B SaaS. Join us as we dive into the Learner-Centered Design approach that she and many of us leverage to build amazing content!

Summary for Part 1

• Dave Derington and Michele Wiedemer discuss their backgrounds in computers, education, and learning technologies.
• The importance of focusing on learning rather than just teaching, citing Malcolm Knowles quote about the need for lifelong learning.
• Michele’s experience and research interests around adult learning in a rapidly changing world, including the diffusion of innovations theory.
• Challenges of creating effective customer education programs in fast-paced business environments,
• The importance of a learner-centered mindset, viewing learning experiences as valuable products, and gathering input from various stakeholders to inform the design.
• Strategies for creating structured content and onboarding programs, including topic-based authoring and repurposing existing materials.
• Tips on improving writing quality through editing, peer feedback, and testing with learners, as well as setting realistic expectations for program development.
• They discuss the use of visual design principles, templates, and AI tools to enhance the creation of engaging e-learning content.

Books Cited in this Episode:

Non-Designers Design - Robin Williams

Michael Allen’s Guide to E-Learning

Geoffrey Moore - crossing the chasm

Malcolm Knowles - Self-Directed Learning