When Karl Kapp publishes a new book, it’s pretty much instantly added to my “to read” list. I’ve read a bunch of Karl’s books, and I always learn something new from them. His latest book, Action-First Learning: Instructional Design Techniques to Engage and Inspire, is no exception. This book takes a broad look at a variety of ways we can shift from traditional passive learning experiences to focus on action. It pulls together topics he’s previously written about like games and learning in 3D into a practical focus on how to use these approaches.
Creating action-first learning means we:
Start by having participants take action at the beginning of learning experiences to gain attention and make them think.Work on maintaining attention and continue having learners actively think and apply their knowledge through the whole experience.End with active reflection to help learners plan to apply what they learned and make the experience more meaningful.
Action-First instructional techniques
After an introduction and explanation of action-first learning, each chapter explains an instructional technique you can use. This is a book that you definitely don’t need to read straight through; you can jump around to the chapters most relevant to your own work. (You won’t be surprised to learn that I jumped directly to the branching scenario chapter before reading anything else, right?)
Card gamesBoard gamesEscape roomsInstructional comics (by Kevin Thorne)Branching scenariosLive interactive experiencesAugmented realityAvatars and metaverseAI-powered coaching
Amy Pape contributed a chapter about accessibility in both digital and physical experiences. Creating engaging, meaningful, fun learning experiences doesn’t mean you have to disregard accessibility. It is, however, easier if you plan for accessibility from the start. Chapter 11 explains design considerations for accessibility and with relevant examples.
Case studies
Each chapter includes a case study with an example of how an organization used this in practice. It’s often really challenging to find real examples of high-quality learning experiences for inspiration. So much of the best work in our industry is kept behind closed doors within organizations. There’s good reason for that (many of us work with confidential and proprietary content), but it also makes it harder for us all to improve our practices. Having those real examples with concrete details is so helpful.
I really appreciated the “Lessons Learned” at the end of each case study. The reflections on what worked well and what didn’t work made each case study feel authentic.
For example, one of the lessons learned in the branching scenario case study was “Negative feedback doesn’t mean the design is bad.”
“Learners didn’t have to be happy to learn; sometimes, difficulty and struggle leads to better learning outcomes than getting everything right on the first try.”
—Karl Kapp
I have run into that with branching scenarios too. If learners are used to training that’s so easy that it’s almost patronizing, then it can be a real shock when they have to put effort and critical thinking into a learning experience. They will complain! This is one of those situations many of us have run into, but we don’t necessarily talk about. Those kinds of insights make these case studies valuable.
Buy the book
If you’re looking for inspiration to level up your instructional design techniques, I recommend this book. There’s so many valuable ideas and tips, even if you’re already using some of these approaches.
You can buy Action-First Learning on Amazon. (Yep, that’s an affiliate link. It doesn’t cost you anything extra, but it helps pay for the cost of hosting and running my blog.) If you’re an ATD member, it may be cheaper to buy it from the ATD book store. Check the ATD store for additional free resources, including a coloring book.
More recommended books
Looking for more books? I have a list with over 50 book recommendations related to instructional design and elearning.
Check out my reviews of some of Karl Kapp’s previous books.
