L&D After Dark

The conference is over, the lanyards are off, and it's time for an honest conversation about Bloom's bloody taxonomy.

In the first episode of L&D Afterdark, Kyla Campbell confesses to arguing with herself over action verbs (use became apply, apply became demonstrate, and somewhere around draft 14 learners were "synergising their safety mindset"). Then she asks the question underneath the joke: if we spend this much time getting the language of learning right, are we spending enough time getting the actual learning right?

In this episode:

- The LinkedIn post that questioned the sacred pyramid, and the 100+ comments that followed

- Why rewriting the verbs doesn't change the course

- Alignment, transfer, and the problems training was never going to fix

- A quick history of Bloom's: the 1956 original, the 2001 revision, and why it was never a pyramid

- Same verb, very different thinking: the cognitive demand lives in the task, not the verb

- Meet Dave, who just wants to know where the fire extinguisher is

- Using frameworks to support our judgement, not replace it

Thanks to Shannon Tipton (Learning Rebels) and Rick Jacobs, whose comments shaped this conversation.

So tell me: what's the most ridiculous thing you've obsessed over in the name of good learning design? And which sacred L&D cow should we put on the barbecue next?

Chapters

00:00 Intro

00:21 The great action verb crisis

05:29 Thou shalt not question the pyramid

07:46 Just change the verbs

09:32 A tool, or a substitute for thinking?

12:56 A quick history of Bloom's

15:11 That bloody pyramid

17:11 Same verb, very different thinking

19:15 We love a framework

21:31 Meet Dave

24:11 Our own worst enemies

24:54 Burn the posters?

25:31 Sound smart, or be smart

26:29 Outro

Music: "Verbs Ain't Nothin' But Words (A Heartbreak Anthem)" by Kyla Campbell

Contains strong language.