You've got college students who can scroll TikTok in their sleep but cannot attach a file to an email. You've got semi-retired folks who want to pay their gas bill online without bugging the grandkids. The gut reaction when your students look this different from each other is to build different tracks for different levels. This BS Breakthrough makes the case for a very different read on the situation, and a much simpler course structure on the other side of it.

What We Work Through

If you have been trying to design a course for students who feel like they are all over the map, the takeaway is not always more tracks, more pathways, or more content. Sometimes it is one course, one skill, and a structure that lets each person plug in their own context. Press play, see if Tim's situation sounds like yours, and steal what works. Go back and listen to the full episode with Tim Maile, the live course design consultation this BS Breakthrough is pulled from. Listen there for Tim's links and the original troubleshoot.

About Tim Maile

Tim Maile is the owner and operator of TKM PM and IT Solutions, where he makes IT work for people, not the other way around. With over 20 years of on-the-ground experience as the unofficial IT person in the room, Tim specializes in solving tech problems and building genuine confidence in the people who use technology every day.

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

If your course students keep coming back to you every time they hit a wall, the problem probably isn't them. In this episode, Dr. Catrina Mitchum works through a live course design consultation with Tim Maile, an IT solutions specialist building a course to help people stop fearing technology and start actually using it. What unfolds is a masterclass in the difference between teaching a tool and teaching someone how to learn.

What We Work Through

If you've been trying to figure out how to design a course that works for learners at wildly different starting points, this episode gives you a real working example of how to think through that problem without just building more content.

About Tim Maile

Tim Maile is the owner and operator of TKM PM and IT Solutions, where he makes IT work for people, not the other way around. With over 20 years of on-the-ground experience as the unofficial IT person in the room, Tim specializes in solving tech problems and building genuine confidence in the people who use technology every day.

Website: www.tkmitpm.uk

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

If you've ever looked at your course or membership and thought, "I should probably add more," this one's for you. Dr. Catrina Mitchum breaks down a real design conversation with Amber Cherelle, founder of the Everevolution™ collective, and the counterintuitive lesson that came out of it: more options don't create more engagement. They create more ways to avoid the work.

What We Work Through

If your course or program is starting to feel like a pile of good ideas that somehow isn't working, this episode gets at why that happens and what to actually do about it. Go back and listen to the full episode with Amber Cherelle if you haven't, especially if you're building something live and experiential.

About Amber Cherelle

Amber is a serial business owner, founder of Everevolution™, and someone who's asking big questions about how we grow, lead, and show up in life. Amber's work sits at the intersection of personal development, leadership, and real-world application, and this work isn't about learning more stuff, it's about becoming different. She creates Living Experiments: immersive, real-life growth experiences designed to move people from insight into embodied change. Her mission? Help people become the change they wish to see — and experience the richness of life that follows.

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

What does it actually look like to design a learning experience around lifelong growth instead of a single outcome? Amber Cherelle, founder of Everevolution™, brings Dr. Catrina Mitchum a real design challenge: how to structure the EverEvolution Collective, an ongoing membership built around immersive Living Experiments. This one gets into the weeds on live vs. async, cognitive load, and what learners actually need to make change stick.

What We Work Through

Amber came in with a big vision and some real design questions. She leaves with a clearer structure, a concrete plan for the impact mission piece, and a much better sense of where live interaction is non-negotiable and where async can actually serve her learners better. If you're building something that's meant to create lasting change rather than just deliver content, this episode is worth your time.

About Amber Cherelle

Amber is a serial business owner, founder of Everevolution™, and someone who's asking big questions about how we grow, lead, and show up in life. Amber's work sits at the intersection of personal development, leadership, and real-world application, and this work isn't about learning more stuff, it's about becoming different. She creates Living Experiments: immersive, real-life growth experiences designed to move people from insight into embodied change. Her mission? Help people become the change they wish to see — and experience the richness of life that follows.

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

Sometimes the question you've been stuck on isn't actually the problem. In this BS Breakthroughs episode, Dr. Catrina Mitchum unpacks her recent conversation with speaking coach Mike McQuillan, who came in asking about video production quality and walked out building an entirely different course for a brand new audience. If your course isn't doing what you hoped it would, this one is worth your time.

What We Work Through

If you've ever felt like your course isn't working but couldn't quite put your finger on why, Dr. Catrina's breakdown of Mike's situation is probably going to feel familiar. Go back and listen to the full episode with Mike first if you haven't yet, then come back here. The link is in the show notes.

Referenced in This Episode

Apply to be a guest: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://forms.gle/RDHPskg81r3GhSd59⁠⁠⁠⁠

Check out the YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@coursecreatorplaybook

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

In this episode, Dr. Catrina Mitchum works through a live troubleshoot with Mike McQuillan, speaking coach and owner of Fit Presenter. Mike built a course for one audience, but his business has grown in a different direction and the course hasn't caught up. The conversation turns into a practical lesson in one of the most common course creation problems: what to do when the course you built is no longer for the people you thought you were serving.

What We Work Through

Why a course that isn't working might be a content problem, an audience problem, or both... and how to tell the difference

What to do when your course is trying to serve multiple audiences at the same time

How to write feedback questions that actually tell you what you need to know

Why you should design for the time your learners actually have, and then cut that number in half

Why surveying your new audience before you rebuild anything is non-negotiable

Mike came in with a course that had drifted from its original purpose and left with a clearer picture of what to keep, a smarter approach to gathering feedback, and a roadmap for rebuilding around the people who are actually showing up.

About the Guest

Mike McQuillan is a speaking coach and the owner of Fit Presenter, where he helps solopreneurs develop their storytelling and presentation skills.

Connect with Mike:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-mcquillan-fitpresenter/

Website: https://fit-presenter.com

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

Your students think they are telling you what they need. But what if the problem they're naming isn't actually the problem? In this BS Breakthrough episode, Dr. Catrina Mitchum unpacks a real conversation from Episode 1 and pulls out three takeaways you can apply to your course right now, whether you're just starting or stuck somewhere in the middle.

Topics Covered

This episode is bite-sized on purpose. If you've been spinning on the wrong questions, or building something that feels off but you can't name why, this is the reset you need. Go back and listen to the full Episode 1 conversation with Suzanne Pugh if you haven't yet -- this BS Breakthrough hits differently once you do.

Referenced in This Episode

Apply to be a guest: ⁠⁠⁠https://forms.gle/RDHPskg81r3GhSd59⁠⁠⁠

Check out the membership:

⁠https://www.cmlearningdesign.com/course-maker-membership⁠

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

In Episode 1, Dr. Catrina Mitchum works through Suzanne's real course challenge live and the conversation turns into a masterclass in what it actually means to build a learning experience from scratch. Not a content dump. Not a manual. An experience that prepares a student to actually learn.

What We Work Through

Why giving students a 117-page manual is not a preparation strategy, and what to build instead

The three goals Suzanne and Dr. Catrina map out together for that mini-course

Why breaking a practice-based course into smaller chunks might feel ridiculous to the expert, and why that is exactly right

How to use features like self-recorded video, audio, and journaling to let students teach themselves

The before-and-after artifact: why self-paced students cannot see their own incremental change and how to build in moments that show it to them

Why students do not ask for help in online courses and how to build for that

Why explaining the "why" behind each step is not optional if you want students to keep going

Accessibility as a real design consideration - leveraging different modes of participation for each step

Closing

Suzanne came in with a real course problem and left with a three-goal curriculum framework, a clearer picture of her mini-course structure, and homework she is genuinely excited to do.

Suzanne's Homework

Map out the specific exercises to lead students through in phase 2 of the mini-course. Write out how each one connects to the goal of the module and the course overall. First, articulate the connection for yourself. Then figure out how you would explain it to a student.

About the Guest

Suzanne Pugh is a Freediving Hypnotist with over 25 years of teaching experience. She teaches people how to calm their nervous system and their mind so they can have freediving adventures around the world. She is also a yoga teacher, energy healer, and hypnotherapist, and runs Freedive Egypt, where her instructors guide students through in-water training.

Website: www.suzannepugh.com

Freedive Egypt: www.freediveegypt.com

Apply to be a guest: ⁠⁠https://forms.gle/RDHPskg81r3GhSd59⁠⁠

Check out the membership:

https://www.cmlearningdesign.com/course-maker-membership

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

If you've been trying to turn what you know into a course and keep getting stuck, you found the right place.

Every episode, Dr. Catrina Mitchum works through a real course creation problem with a real guest who's genuinely stuck on something. No guru frameworks, no scripted success stories. Just honest troubleshooting using actual learning science from someone who's been designing and teaching online courses since 2009.

The goal: one "oh, THAT'S how I do this" moment you can apply to your course immediately.

First three episodes drop March 5th. New episodes every other week. Real problems, real solutions, no fluff.

Apply to be a guest: ⁠https://forms.gle/RDHPskg81r3GhSd59⁠

Connect with Catrina:

⁠www.cmlearningdesign.com⁠

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