Learning Experience Platforms Promise a “Full Sandwich” of Learning

Yet why do most LXP experiences fall short?

What Is an LXP?

Learning Experience Platforms (LXPs) is where the future of workplace learning is headed. It’s easy to see why. LXPs go way beyond traditional and formal learning, in which workers enroll in eLearning courses hosted in a Learning Management System (LMS) and get a certificate of completion. In an LXP, workers can still access all of the courses in an LMS, but they can also:

• Watch a TED Talk
• Listen to a podcast
• Read a Medium article
• Take a Massively Open Online Course (MOOC)
• Download and study a white paper

Doing these things are aligned with the way we naturally learn new things. Using an LXP allows workers to track this type of informal learning. Modern LXPs also provide ways for workers to do even more. They can:

• Track their completion of formal and informal learning
• Identify and track their skills
• Share and comment on things they’ve learned
• Create their own learning journeys and pathways

The Promise of an LXP

Because LXPs offer so much more than traditional LMSs, they promise a “full sandwich” of learning. The assumption is that once workers know what to do, their performance will improve.

Based on that assumption, learning professionals design experiences in an LXP to provide knowledge. They will curate some of the best articles, videos, and more from thought leaders on a particular subject such as empathy or effective communications. They may also create some original content and link to an existing course or two.

I know this because for the past year and a half, I’ve been preparing for and successfully launched an enterprise instance of Degreed. Yet most of the pathways and learning journeys that are created are missing something — something essential.

If You Only Focus on Knowledge, You Wind Up with a Bread Sandwich

What’s missing from this sandwich? When you only focus on knowledge, you’re missing the main ingredients in a sandwich. To learn something, you first need knowledge — but then you need to practice applying that knowledge and sharpening your skills. Only then will the promise of improved performance be achieved.

Think about it. You can watch a video of Gordon Ramsay making an omelet. Does that mean you can cook one just like him by watching a three-minute video? No, it does not. You need to practice applying that skill and repetition with coaching to refine that skill. Only after that, will your performance improve so your omelet could resemble one from Gordon Ramsay.

SAASS: A Design Framework for LXPs

Here is a framework Theresa Hamilton and I have devised to deliver on the promise of an LXP and any self-directed learning. SAASS has the following five parts.

• Seek
• Assess
• Apply
• Sharpen
• Soar

Seek. Workers seek the knowledge that they want to learn and acquire in the LXP. As described earlier in the article, they read, watch, and listen to content from thought leaders on a particular topic. This is typically curated micro-learning content.

Assess. Once workers have explored what is available to learn, they have the opportunity to self-assess and determine what they want to spend time learning. This is vital since there will always be more information out there to explore than workers will have time, energy, and inclination to learn. Assessment can range from the very informal (“Which article looks most interesting to me?”) to informal (“Take a quiz to find out what type of worker you are”) to formal (“Complete this online inventory to determine what path to follow”).

Apply. Workers practice the skills they have just learned. These are micro-challenges and activities. It could be something as simple as writing a response to a reflection prompt. It could be an activity the worker does in real life such as using a particular technique in a conversation. Or it could be an online micro-game. Whatever it is, the intent is to apply and practice a new skill. An LXP can provide multiple Microlearning opportunities and modalities for workers to choose from as they apply their new skills.

Sharpen. Workers refine their new skills they have been practicing. This is where the LXP community comes into play. Workers can find and connect to colleagues that have similar interests and expertise in those particular skills. By leveraging the LXP network connections, they can ask questions and receive/provide micro coaching to help them sharpen their skills. As the old adage goes, “if you really want to learn something, teach it to someone else.”

Soar. Workers’ performance will improve when they have acquired knowledge and then practiced and refined their skills. But it doesn’t just stop there. As lifelong learners who are focused on continuous improvement, workers can track their progress and skill ratings, as well as all of the formal and informal learning they have completed.

Delivering on the Promise of an LXP

This is the full sandwich. This is the promise of an LXP. In a future article, I’ll walk through an example of what this looks like.

The SAASS learning design framework was co-developed by Theresa Hamilton and Johnny Hamilton, 2020.