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12: BS Breakthrough: Stop creating new stuff, start using what you already have
If your course has a completion problem, the fix probably isn't the completion. In this BS Breakthroughs episode, Dr. Catrina Mitchum unpacks what she learned working through Luna Muñoz's CV course for academics leaving higher ed, and lands on a diagnosis that catches a lot of course creators off guard: you might not have a completion problem. You might have half a course.
What We Dig Into
The "half course" trap. People weren't finishing Luna's course because it started at execution and skipped the discovery work that has to come first. If your learners are dropping off, the real question isn't how to boost completion, it's what they need to figure out before they can do the thing you're teaching.
Why the messy figuring-out phase is the part you can't skip. Discovery is where people waffle, second-guess, and get overwhelmed by their own options. It's hard to teach, which is exactly why so many courses leave it out and quietly break.
Stop creating, start integrating. Luna already had a quiz, an assessment, and a skills-translation freebie sitting unused. Before you build something new to fill a gap, audit what you've already got. Repurposing is less creative work, and it frees you up to actually design the experience.
Coaching calls are a feature, not a failure. Adding live support at the stickiest point in a course doesn't mean the course is broken. It means you know where people get stuck and you built help right into the design instead of scrambling to react later.
Your homework. Map the learning journey your course actually needs, back up to the discovery work that comes before execution, and pull in the assets you already have before making anything new.
This one is for anyone sitting on a course people aren't finishing, whether that's half a course, a third, or two thirds. The completion number is a symptom. This episode is about finding the actual problem so you can fix the right thing.
About Luna Muñoz
Luna Muñoz helps early and mid-career academics transform and translate their skills for audiences outside academia through her business, Luna Leadership. Her work spans translating academic expertise into language the job market understands, helping people figure out where they actually want to go next, and building the kind of self-awareness work (strengths, values, and skills mapping) that has to happen before a CV ever gets written. She supports PhD students, postdocs, and researchers navigating the move beyond higher education.
Find Luna:
Course creation is complex, but you do not have to figure it out alone, and you definitely do not have to do it someone else's way.
If your course exists but something feels off, nobody's finishing or it just isn't landing the way you know it could, grab the free Course Fixer Checklist at www.cmlearningdesign.com/free-stuff and start figuring out what to fix first.
Not sure where you fit? Book a free 15-minute Clarity Call at tidycal.com/cmitchum/15-minute-consult.
Apply to be a guest: https://forms.gle/RDHPskg81r3GhSd59
Connect with Catrina:
www.cmlearningdesign.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/catrina-mitchum-learning-design
Subscribe to my Cut the Course Creation Crap Newsletter
Music credit: Alex Mitchum
Alex, Catrina's youngest brother, was a jazz guitarist and his family established a scholarship in his name at his alma mater. Please consider donating: https://www.alexmitchum.com/scholarship
View all episodes
By Dr. Catrina MitchumIf your course has a completion problem, the fix probably isn't the completion. In this BS Breakthroughs episode, Dr. Catrina Mitchum unpacks what she learned working through Luna Muñoz's CV course for academics leaving higher ed, and lands on a diagnosis that catches a lot of course creators off guard: you might not have a completion problem. You might have half a course.
What We Dig Into
The "half course" trap. People weren't finishing Luna's course because it started at execution and skipped the discovery work that has to come first. If your learners are dropping off, the real question isn't how to boost completion, it's what they need to figure out before they can do the thing you're teaching.
Why the messy figuring-out phase is the part you can't skip. Discovery is where people waffle, second-guess, and get overwhelmed by their own options. It's hard to teach, which is exactly why so many courses leave it out and quietly break.
Stop creating, start integrating. Luna already had a quiz, an assessment, and a skills-translation freebie sitting unused. Before you build something new to fill a gap, audit what you've already got. Repurposing is less creative work, and it frees you up to actually design the experience.
Coaching calls are a feature, not a failure. Adding live support at the stickiest point in a course doesn't mean the course is broken. It means you know where people get stuck and you built help right into the design instead of scrambling to react later.
Your homework. Map the learning journey your course actually needs, back up to the discovery work that comes before execution, and pull in the assets you already have before making anything new.
This one is for anyone sitting on a course people aren't finishing, whether that's half a course, a third, or two thirds. The completion number is a symptom. This episode is about finding the actual problem so you can fix the right thing.
About Luna Muñoz
Luna Muñoz helps early and mid-career academics transform and translate their skills for audiences outside academia through her business, Luna Leadership. Her work spans translating academic expertise into language the job market understands, helping people figure out where they actually want to go next, and building the kind of self-awareness work (strengths, values, and skills mapping) that has to happen before a CV ever gets written. She supports PhD students, postdocs, and researchers navigating the move beyond higher education.
Find Luna:
Course creation is complex, but you do not have to figure it out alone, and you definitely do not have to do it someone else's way.
If your course exists but something feels off, nobody's finishing or it just isn't landing the way you know it could, grab the free Course Fixer Checklist at www.cmlearningdesign.com/free-stuff and start figuring out what to fix first.
Not sure where you fit? Book a free 15-minute Clarity Call at tidycal.com/cmitchum/15-minute-consult.
Apply to be a guest: https://forms.gle/RDHPskg81r3GhSd59
Connect with Catrina:
www.cmlearningdesign.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/catrina-mitchum-learning-design
Subscribe to my Cut the Course Creation Crap Newsletter
Music credit: Alex Mitchum
Alex, Catrina's youngest brother, was a jazz guitarist and his family established a scholarship in his name at his alma mater. Please consider donating: https://www.alexmitchum.com/scholarship