How to Build Amazing Learning Pathways That Work

If you had to choose between a series of training manuals, or, an interactive learning pathway to learn a new skill or position, you’d probably choose the second option. That’s because it’s meaningful learning opportunities that excite our brains and motivate us to actually want to absorb information. Knowing this, it’s logical to make the assumption that the key to building amazing learning pathways has everything to do with how they are packaged and presented. With that said, there are key elements you should include in every learning pathway you create. We will cover what these are, and how to make each element of a learning pathway, as interactive, and engaging as possible so that the learner can meet the learning objective of their specific pathway.

Key Elements to Learning Pathways

No matter whether you are kicking it old school with paper manuals (which we hope you aren’t, as this form of training has been proven to be quite ineffective), or are already using a tool to build your learning pathways, there are a few things that are a must when it comes to creating an amazing learning pathway for your employees.

Let’s dive into the key elements of an optimal learning path.

Using Multiple Content Mediums

Your learning pathways should be content agnostic - this is one of the key takeaways we highlighted in our article on the Top 4 Ways to Build a Kick-ass L&D Strategy. We spoke about the importance of having multiple mediums of learning and the reasons why. However, we did not speak to the ideal content mix that you should have in your learning path. This is important because it can either enhance or decrease the effectiveness of your learning pathway, simply by which mediums you choose to add to it.

Introducing multiple learning mediums to demonstrate the same concept has been proven more effective to a learner’s ability to grasp what they are learning, than if they were to learn it through one medium only. For this reason, using a mix of content (written, video, audio) is the best combo! And, remember, although there is loads of content online, try to personalize your content so your employees can connect with it better.

Pro Learning Tip: Use Loom to record your own videos - ie. if you’ve shared an article explaining a particular topic, record a Loom video and speak about how that concept is applied within the company as a way to reinforce the relevancy of it. Make sure you can embed the Loom video into your learning platform.

To nail this element of the learning path process, you need to find a learning platform that is content agnostic.

Creating a Solid Structure & Flow

The most effective learning path follows a clear structure and flow that naturally leads a learner through a series of sections or modules.

There are two ways to create these modules, the easy way, and the hard way. I am pretty sure, you are opting for the easy way…if so, here is an example of a simple structure you can follow, using a week-by-week format as a way to organize your learning pathway:

Pro Learning Tip: Make sure you allow enough time between the desired completion date of each module so employees do not have to rush through the material. With the right system for setting up your learning path, you can easily create sections, prerequisites, required steps, and more.

Feedback Is Fuel When Building Learning Paths

If you can build an incredible learning pathway in the first go around, that’s awesome, but for most of us, it may take more than a few people going through the learning path, to help us tweak and optimize it. To do this, we need to collect feedback from those using the learning pathways. Surveys are a great way to gain valuable feedback, especially when used throughout the learning process.

Pro Tip: Using forms to collect feedback and validating learning is key to fine-tuning your learning paths.

Make It Interactive

Most learning pathways are made for individual learning, meaning, the individual in the pathway learns on their own, and in their own time. There’s nothing wrong with this setup, but it can be isolating at times, and prompt disengagement. With a lack of interaction, the concepts are often more difficult to bring to life.

Pro Tip: Liven up the learning experience by adding in-person or virtual events to your learning pathways.

Another way to make your learning path interactive is by setting up tasks or case studies after key learning modules and asking employees to add the insights gained from the material they have worked through.

Lighten It Up

There’s nothing worse than a dull training module that feels like a dusty textbook or half-day lecture taught by a monotone professor.

Lighten up your material, by adding images, gifs, and other visuals that make your content shine.

Pro Tip: Using free tools like Unsplash to find images for pathways is a quick way to liven up your content + if you’re using a modern learning platform like Superpath, you can choose the best images for your pathways, from directly inside the platform.

Customize Your Learning

Learning is definitely not always linear, and everyone has a different learning style, which is why it is important to customize your learning pathways for each team or individual. In traditional learning paths or old-school training material, customization really never existed. One of the main reasons was that logistically, customizing training for each team or employee would have eaten up a huge amount of time, and frankly, been quite a headache. Thank goodness times have changed and there is now a simple way to customize learning pathways without the chaos. Features like a simple copy, and drag and drop options are some of the best features available to learning platforms.

Have A Way To Track Progress

Tracking an employee’s progress through a learning pathway allows an employer to see if an employee is getting held up in any particular area. Knowing this information allows them to identify roadblocks and jump in to address any issues that may be preventing an employee from progressing.

Tools that allow you to get evidence of every learning achievement and easily view the progress of any employee through their learning path, including seeing their completions, learning evidence, and progress through the pathway, is a key element you should look for in a learning pathway system.

Apart from tracking progress, reporting and analytics helps you identify whether your learning pathways were successful in helping your employees meet the objectives of their particular learning pathway.

Let’s Get Building Your Learning Pathway

Now that you’re clear on the key elements needed to build an amazing learning pathway, it’s time to get started. Here’s how…

1. Head over to SuperPath, a simple yet highly effective learning platform that allows you to create amazing learning paths that provide your team with the meaningful learning opportunities they need to be successful.
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2. Create a FREE account.
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3. Start building your learning pathways.