Fail-Proofing Your Learning Strategy

How to bulletproof initiatives from day one

Prevention beats rework every time

I’ve seen learning initiatives fall apart, not because the design was weak, but because alignment wasn’t locked in. One healthcare client launched a compliance module without manager buy-in. Completion rates lagged for months. We rebuilt with stakeholder interviews, scenario mapping, and clearer metrics. Same topic, same tech, radically different outcome. Why? This time, it was anchored in real context.

Map expectations early and often

Before I create anything, I ask: What does success look like to each group, leadership, learners, and front-line managers? That simple question surfaces misalignment fast. I then design feedback loops into the rollout: check-ins, usage data, short surveys. This helps spot issues while they’re still small. It’s not flashy work, but it’s what keeps programs from stalling post-launch.

Takeaway

The best learning plans aren’t just well-designed, they’re co-owned from day one.

Discussion Prompt

What’s one thing you wish you'd asked before launching a learning initiative?

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What AI Can’t Do (Yet)

Keeping the human edge in an algorithmic age

AI is a partner, not a proxy

I’ve tested AI tools across course design, feedback loops, and learning analytics. They’re fast, scalable, and occasionally brilliant. But they still don’t understand nuance. AI can suggest a quiz, it can’t read a learner’s frustration. It can tag learning objectives, but not reframe them in language that inspires. In short, AI does pattern. People do meaning. And right now, that gap still matters.

Human insight builds learning that lands

I once used an AI tool to auto-generate course outlines. They looked sharp, but when we tested them with learners, they missed tone, pacing, and relevance. We kept the bones, but had to rewrite for clarity and connection. The real win was combining AI’s speed with a human filter for empathy and impact. That’s where I see the future, not automation, but augmentation.

Takeaway

AI can boost learning delivery, but people still craft the experience that connects.

Discussion Prompt

Where has AI helped, or hindered, your work in learning or design?

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Data as Dialogue

What learning analytics should actually be telling you

Numbers should spark action, not just reporting

I’ve worked with institutions that had dashboards for everything, course completions, quiz scores, and attendance logs. But the real question is: What decisions are we making with this data? Learning analytics only matter when they trigger meaningful dialogue. I once ran a workshop where we shared quiz drop-off data with faculty, not to critique, but to redesign. That single conversation led to a 16% lift in assessment completion.

My own background is in statistics and data analysis. I love data, sometimes even data for the sake of having data. But data alone will not solve any problems. 

Ask better questions, get better learning

Instead of asking, “Did they finish?” I push teams to ask, “What made them stop?” or “What’s missing in the behavior we expected?” Data becomes useful when it’s tied to experience and outcomes. That’s why I embed reflection checkpoints, pulse feedback, and usage maps into every program I design. The goal isn’t just insight, it’s iteration.

Takeaway

Analytics aren’t the answer. They’re the start of a smarter conversation.

Discussion Prompt

What’s one learning metric you think we overuse, or overlook?

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Teaching the Teachers

How I’ve trained 100s of faculty to thrive online

Faculty don’t need tech, they need trust

When I started leading online faculty development, I assumed the biggest hurdle would be tools. It wasn’t. It was fear, of losing presence, losing rigor, losing themselves. So I stopped leading with features and started leading with purpose. We built trust first: short workshops, peer mentors, and real demos from real courses. Faculty engagement increased, and course quality followed suit. The lesson? Empowerment beats instruction.

Practical wins beat theoretical best practices

Faculty are experts in their field, not in course design. That’s why I frame every session around impact: What will help your learners this week? What will reduce grading fatigue? What will increase clarity? One professor I coached redesigned her weekly modules with quick videos, an interactive learning object, and FAQs. Student messages dropped by half, and her teaching scores climbed. Most importantly, it allowed her to focus on what she loved, teaching students what they needed and wanted to learn. 

Takeaway

The best faculty training is grounded, useful, and designed for quick wins.

Discussion Prompt

What’s one support you wish you’d had when first teaching online?

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Scaling Without Losing Soul

Building inclusive programs for diverse learners

Inclusivity isn’t an add-on, it’s the foundation

I’ve worked on projects with massive reach, thousands of learners, dozens of roles, global time zones. The only way it worked was by centering inclusion from the start. Universal Design for Learning (UDL), accessibility standards, and real user feedback weren’t “extra.” They were essential. When we ignore learner variability, we shrink impact. When we design for the margins, we serve everyone better.

Compliance doesn’t equal connection

Yes, we meet WCAG standards. But the real test? Whether learners feel seen and supported. I once led a redesign for a public university serving adult learners. We swapped dense text for chunked content and added multiple ways to engage, videos, transcripts, and interactive quizzes. The course completion rate jumped by 28%. That’s not just good design, it’s ethical design.

Takeaway

Scalable doesn’t have to mean generic. Inclusive design drives outcomes and belonging.

Discussion Prompt

What’s one inclusive design choice you’ve made that changed learner engagement?

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Stop Training, Start Engineering

How learning strategy aligns with business transformation

Training is not the finish line

Too often, organizations treat training as a box to check once change is announced. However, transformation doesn’t happen simply because someone has sat through a module. Learning must be designed as infrastructure, aligned with academic or business goals, reinforced by curriculum, and measured through performance on assignments, tests, and other authentic assessments. I’ve helped build these systems from the ground up, from onboarding rollouts to program-wide curricula. The key shift? Thinking like an engineer, not a content creator.

Design to drive behavior, not just recall

When I work with leaders, I ask: What behaviors will demonstrate that this learning was effective? Then we reverse-engineer from there. This means integrating tools such as advanced organizers, peer mentoring, and feedback via formative assessments to extend learning beyond “event mode.” It also means building feedback loops that link learning data to real outcomes.

Takeaway

Strategic learning isn’t a one-time intervention; it’s the soul of the curriculum.

Discussion Prompt

What’s one problem you wish L&D teams were invited to solve earlier?

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Curriculum Without Borders

Designing for agility in both higher ed and healthcare

Curriculum needs to move faster than content

In both university and corporate settings, I've designed learning programs that needed to stay relevant amid constant change. Academic institutions often focus on rigor and legacy, while healthcare and tech demand speed and precision. The trick is knowing that curriculum isn’t content, it’s a framework for thinking and doing. And it must flex. I’ve worked with professors steeped in theory and HR leaders needing quick ROI. Both succeed when design honors outcomes, not ownership.

Context changes, principles don’t

Whether I was guiding an LMS migration for a university or launching client-facing onboarding in healthcare, the learning challenges echoed one another. Mismatched expectations. Stakeholder overload. Time-starved learners. The solution wasn’t picking the perfect template; it was listening, testing, and iterating. The right curriculum balances foundational skill-building with just-in-time tools. In both sectors, learners need clarity, relevance, and room to grow.

Takeaway

The best curriculum isn’t static; it’s responsive, resilient, and rooted in what learners actually need to do.

Discussion Prompt

How do you keep curriculum meaningful when priorities shift?

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Human Before Digital

Why empathy still leads in learning design

Designing for people, not personas

In every role I’ve held, from developing over 100 programs at Wiley and other places to advising fast-moving edtech teams, there’s a consistent lesson: learning succeeds when it respects the human experience. I’ve seen sleek modules fall flat because they ignored learners’ real contexts and goals. And I’ve seen low-budget solutions work wonders by showing up at the right moment, with the right tone.

Before I map content or choose a platform, I start with the learner. Where are they right now? What are they anxious about? How does this training support their real-world performance? This isn’t high tech, it’s high touch. Those questions shape design choices more than any tech stack or framework. A beautiful interface is meaningless if it’s misaligned with what people need in the moment.

Empathy isn’t soft; it’s strategic

Empathy helps build trust, which fuels engagement. That’s why I advocate for user testing with real learners, not just stakeholders. It’s why I talk to front-line program managers during needs assessments and invite feedback early and often. Empathy helps us create learning that resonates, sticks, and scales.

Takeaway

Design anchored in empathy isn’t just more humane, it’s more effective.

Discussion Prompt

What’s one time you saw empathy, or its absence, change how someone learned?

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Attacked by a Python!

Posting is likely to be a bit sporadic for a bit.

I started a new job and while I have expertise in SAS, SPSS, Statistica, and enough knowledge of R to get me into real trouble. My new gig needs me to know Python.

Like yesterday.

So I am battling a Python today.

I'll figure it out.