Confirmation bias can be a barrier to efficient knowledge acquisition and delivery method selection, two integral aspects of instructional design. But what is confirmation bias? It refers to our tendency to interpret and remember information in a manner that confirms our preconceived beliefs while giving minimal consideration to other possibilities. In other words, it’s a bias that shows up when you subconsciously sort through information and observation and filter out everything except what supports what you think you already know.  Continue reading →

Over the past several years, I’ve seen more and more program managers recruit line leaders with subject matter expertise to facilitate training. In some cases this trend is about reducing the expense of professional facilitation. More often, it’s about bringing realism to the learning experience.

Subject matter expert-facilitators (SME-facilitators) offer insight into how new tools and models fit in to the workflow. They offer stories that illustrate what it looks like when new skills and knowledge are applied in the right context and executed correctly, and cautionary tales of what can happen when they’re not. Continue reading →