Trends in Learning

Report 2019
Based on research from The Open University’s
Institute of Educational Technology
Trends in Learning Report 2019

Contents

Foreword 3

Putting trends into practice 4-5

Introductio
n 6-7

Thinking and working out loud 8-9

Place-based learning 10 - 11

Action learning 12 - 13

Learning with machines

14 - 15

Playful learning 16 - 17

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 Trends in Learning Report 2019

Foreword

David Willett, Commercial Director,

The Open University

The Open University (OU) is an expert in learning innovation

and since 2012, we have been sharing that expertise with
learning and development (L&D) professionals in our
annual Trends in Learning reports.
These Trends in Learning reports are crucial for the L&D community.
They highlight and discuss the innovations that are shaping the
profession now and in the future, based on research that we have
conducted in conjunction with our research partners. Our insights
tell L&D professionals what they need to know, enabling them to keep
abreast of change and provide effective workplace learning solutions.

As an organisation, we turn 50 this year. We were trailblazers when we

started out in 1969 and we pride ourselves on being innovators still.
With our proven track record on learning innovation, we understand
how learning styles are evolving and how technology is revolutionising
learning. Our research into learning and teaching feeds directly into the
learning experience. Insights from analytics help us to continually shape
and develop the student experience.

We also understand what the changing learning landscape means for

employers. Our Trends in Learning reports demonstrate how learning
innovation is impacting on workplaces and driving change.

Effective learning in the workplace improves organisational productivity

and profitability. It can help businesses to address skills gaps, boost
engagement and increase retention.

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Trends in Learning Report 2019

Putting trends into practice

Dr Rebecca Ferguson, Senior Lecturer, The Open University

How do you know if a trend in corporate learning is

worth exploring and adopting? That’s the question our
Trends in Learning report aims to answer for corporate
L&D professionals. A distillation of the most relevant
workplace learning trends taken from our annual
Innovating Pedagogy report, Trends in Learning presents
trends that work well in terms of teaching and learning.
This is our area of expertise at the OU and this report
highlights what approaches to learning are likely to be
successful and why they are likely to be successful.
Adopting these trends has had a real impact on the way we design
and deliver learning here at the OU. Take Massive Open Online
Courses (MOOCs), for example. Our 2012 Innovating Pedagogy report
highlighted MOOCs as a trend. The OU went on to create FutureLearn
in order to deliver these types of courses. It now has nine million
registered users and offers more than 1,000 courses.

Other trends that we have used in our teaching and learning practice
include enhancing student engagement and retention using analytics.
We have also carried out research to understand the experiences of
students who take MOOC-type courses, including their motivation,
patterns of studying and engagement.

Our focus on learning and teaching research provides insights into

how these new trends can be applied in the workplace. We have also
included commentary from L&D practitioners to help show how each
trend can be applied in the workplace.

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Trends in Learning Report 2019

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Trends in Learning Report 2019

Introduction

Each year we research and identify

important and emerging trends that are
having an impact on workplace learning.
This year we have highlighted five trends,
outlined in our Innovating Pedagogy 2019
report, that we think are shaping how and
why we learn today and will continue to shape
the future of learning. Those trends are:
Thinking and working out loud, Place-based
learning, Action learning, Learning with
machines and Playful learning.

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 Trends in Learning Report 2019

On the face of it, some of the trends appear

disconnected from one another, but in actual
fact there are some common themes running
through them that tell us what is driving the
current focus of learning. Collaboration,
connectivity, sharing, reflection, feedback,
problem solving and personalisation – these
are all words and concepts that crop up
repeatedly across the five trends.

Driving all of this is technology. Digital tools

enable digital, collaborative ways of learning
and working. Digital is an enabler, enabling
us to learn more effectively and to learn
together. It makes learning more personal,
relevant and timely. This is changing how we
learn and it’s driving the performance and
impact of learning.

Our research comes from the OU’s Institute

of Educational Technology, working in
collaboration with researchers from Norway’s
Centre for the Science of Learning &
Technology. This research is at the forefront
of investigations into the latest innovations
in teaching, learning and assessment.
As well as outlining the trends, we have
also analysed the impact they are having on
workplace learning.

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Trends in Learning Report 2019

Thinking and working out loud

About this trend
In essence, thinking and working out loud is working
in an open, collaborative and visible way. It’s all
about building connections, sharing insights and
problems and collaborative ways of working. Rather
than individuals being protective about what they
are doing, they reach out to others, whether it’s to
seek advice and get help with a problem or to share
interesting and useful insights with peers.
There has been a proliferation of digital tools that
facilitate and encourage thinking and working
out loud – Yammer, Twitter, LinkedIn, Whatsapp,
OneDrive, Slack…These enable teams to work
together more effectively, particularly virtual teams.
The technology now exists to take that spirit of
collaboration and connectivity further, with a range
of digital tools available. These tools enable teams
to work and learn together across boundaries,
leading to a rise in virtual teams.
This way of working encourages people to learn
in tandem rather than in isolation. People share
problems and insights and learn from each other
and with each other. It’s all about the co-creation
of ideas and communication, rather than
individual outputs.
Because learning is more visible it can also be
more targeted and personalised. This helps to
move the L&D industry forward and it allows L&D
to help its customers move forward.

What impact is this trend having on

workplace learning? Expert view
There has been a gradual move towards thinking Gemma Critchley, Global Learning Experience Lead
and working out loud in the past 20-30 years but it at insurance company Aviva
has gathered pace in recent years as digital tools
Working out loud and being collaborative
became more sophisticated and gained widespread
is becoming more and more important for
adoption. It started with office environments
organisations, as a skill, as a mindset and as a
becoming more open and social – open-plan offices,
behaviour. We are doing a lot about the workforce
break-out zones, hotdesking etc. The modern
of the future, and the ability to work out loud, to
physical environment encourages collaboration.

Tips for L&D

• Do it. Get out there, give working out loud a go

• If you have a problem, there are many networks out there. Build networks, use L&D Insight, Twitter,
LinkedIn. People like to be helpful

• Role model working out loud in your organisation

• Be brave and be curious. It can be scary putting your work out there but it gets easier

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 Trends in Learning Report 2019

collaborate, communicate and share is forming a

big part of that. You can solve people’s problems
together with a collective brain.

It’s things like being open to conversations and

having coaching conversations with colleagues.

As a learning team, we try to role model that sharing As a learning team, we try
your work helps everyone because people can be
quite protective of their work and reluctant to share.
to role model that sharing
You also have to be open to the tech that can help
your work helps everyone
you – such as using OneDrive to share documents because people can be quite
and work on them together. You have to get your
voice out there, using enterprise social networking
protective of their work and
tools like Yammer. reluctant to share.
I’ve always been big on social networking and Gemma Critchley,
using my personal network to solve problems I have Global Learning Experience Lead
at work. Groups such as LinkedIn’s Women in Learning at insurance company Aviva
(https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12210548/)
are designed to connect people in learning to
collaboratively solve problems and share inspiration.
It also helps to move the industry forward.

Resources
Padlet – collaborative boards for sharing
resources online: https://padlet.com/

Prism – tool for collaborative interpretation of texts:

http://prism.scholarslab.org/

Verso – tool to promote collaboration, critical

thinking, feedback, and metacognition:
https://versolearning.com/how-it-works/

Five EdTech Tools To Make Thinking Visible:

http://bit.ly/2FWtE7D

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Trends in Learning Report 2019
Place-based learning
About this trend
Context is king with place-based learning. It is
about making the link between potentially abstract
concepts with actual information and challenges.
So, in an educational setting it could be field work –
a trip to a place with the topography being studied,
for example.
In the workplace, place-based learning focuses on
linking learning to a place and the people operating
within that place. It could mean linking the learning
to a place outside the normal work environment
if that is relevant to how the learning needs to be
understood and applied. Or it could be linking the
learning specifically to the normal workplace and
the characteristics of that workplace. The point is
that the learning is highly place-relevant, that the
learning is within a specific context, in order for
that learning to be successful.
Technology has made place-based learning much
easier to achieve. Mobile, digital, VR – they all open
up new possibilities for how place-based learning
can be created, designed and implemented.
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What impact is this trend having on
workplace learning?
L&D can and is using place-based learning to create
learning that is very contextual and very specific to
organisational needs. Rather than taking employees
away from work to learn, place-based learning
is concerned with putting learning to work in the
work environment. This requires L&D and anyone
involved in the design of learning to really hone in on
what is required, what the context for the learning
is and how that impacts on the learning provision.
It encourages L&D to think beyond courses and
content and to think about how the learning will be
applied in the workplace and how it can be designed
to achieve the desired results. If context isn’t taken
into consideration, the impact of learning is limited.
Expert view
Professor Allison Littlejohn, Dean (Learning
and Teaching) at the College of Social Sciences,
University of Glasgow
One of the things we have found from our research is
that context is absolutely key. So if you take finance
professionals working in the city of London, for
example, and they’re trying to produce new policies
that deal with uncertainty, then who they are able
to contact really makes a difference. This is not so
much about geographical location – it’s more about
your relational knowledge, who you know and/or who
you understand can help you to try to develop new
policy and ideas.
With place-based learning, the important thing is
that you can’t just think about the learning – you
have to think about the context of the learning as
well and the people within that context.
 Trends in Learning Report 2019

I’ve been working with a professional energy

organisation for a number of years on researching
learning from incidents. One of the things we found
was that in an organisation an incident will be
reported, investigated and then the investigation
team puts together learning resources and the
idea was people will have learned from it. But they Context is king for place-
didn’t get the reduction in incidents. What we said
is that people really need to reflect on the learning based learning. It is about
points communicated and think about how it relates
making the link between
to their work. Either you need to make changes to
their practice, so do things differently, or maybe potentially abstract concepts
recommend what changes in policy or equipment
need to be made in the workplace.
with actual information and
challenges. In the workplace,
Resources place-based learning focuses
Learners making science, Innovating Pedagogy on linking the learning to
Report 2017:
https://iet.open.ac.uk/ le/innovating-pedagogy-
a place and the people
2017.pdf operating within that place.
What is place-based education? Promise of Place: Professor Allison Littlejohn,
https://promiseofplace.org Dean (Learning and Teaching) at the College of Social
Sciences, University of Glasgow
Enhancing Learning and Teaching with Technology:
What the Research Says:
http://bit.ly/2BPGd0z

Tips for L&D

• Really think about the context of the learning. What are the specific needs of the learners in
their situation?

• Think about how to use technology to enhance place-based learning

• Understand the different contexts in which employees work. A one-size-fits-all approach to

learning will have limited impact

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Trends in Learning Report 2019

Action learning
About this trend innovation. This is particularly important in the
context of today’s fast moving business landscape,
Action learning has been around for a long time
where new challenges and possibilities crop up all
– professor and management consultant Reg
the time. Learners and organisations need to be
Revans pioneered the use of action learning in
able to respond quickly to change, looking at
the 1940s, firmly believing that practitioners are
problems and situations in new ways. Action learning
key to improving performance, not experts. It has
enables organisations to bring about change quickly
enjoyed a resurgence in the workplace recently for
and effectively.
several reasons: it combines learning-by-doing with
reflective learning and collaborative learning, all of By introducing action learning in organisations,
which are now considered key to effective learning. L&D is helping to create a culture of lifelong,
self-directed learning. A core element of learning
There are four key elements to an action-learning
by doing is the principle that there is no learning
session: a coach, a group of typically five to eight
without action and no action without learning.
people, a problem or problems and questions.
This ties into the 70:20:10 learning model, where
The focus is very much on asking questions,
the focus is very much on learning in the flow of
collaboration, reflection and analysing problems,
work and just-in-time learning. Action learning
rather than on debating or coming up with a single
moves away from the concept of formal learning
answer. This is about peer-to-peer sharing and
being a one-off event that is delivered by an expert.
knowledge, not about experts delivering learning.
Instead, it moves learning beyond the course,
The group decides how many times it needs to meet into the workplace.
– it might be just one or several times.

Expert view
What impact is this trend having on Laura Overton, founder and former
workplace learning? CEO of Towards Maturity
Action learning enables individuals and groups of
Action learning is coming back into vogue,
people to look at and address challenges they are
particularly in terms of encouraging behaviour
facing at work, in a timely and collaborative way.
change and more learning in the workplace.
It facilitates problem solving, collaboration and
Historically, some of the top performing companies
reflective practice. Also, individuals are encouraged
have embraced it – they just may not have called it
to be proactive and own their learning – it’s their
action learning.
challenges being discussed, it’s their input and
learning that leads to action. The whole emphasis of action learning is on
learning at the point of need, learning in the
The reflective nature of action learning encourages
workflow and campaign learning – nudging
participants to properly reflect on their experiences
people along to behaviour change, rather than
and the experiences of others in the group. And it
a one-off intervention.
encourages the kind of deep, questioning thinking
that is so important for creativity, agility and Learning is no longer about a course when you only

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learn stuff until the end of the course. This is about

applying learning, reflecting and applying more
learning – you use the information that you’ve
got in an environment that allows you to apply it.
It’s about testing together and reflecting back
together. Reflection is really important for action
learning – proactively reflecting and thinking about By introducing action
what you’ve learnt and how you’ve applied it. learning in organisations,
Most learning professionals are still in the space of L&D is creating a culture
formal learning. If they can embrace action learning in
formal learning they can start to influence the culture of lifelong, self-directed
of an organisation. Action learning is about being learning. A core element
proactive on what happens next and learning how to
learn. It models ownership of learning. of learning by doing is the
principle that there is no
Resources learning without action and
All About Action Learning, Carter McNamara:
no action without learning.
http://bit.ly/2Q8Jz7r
This ties into the 70:20:10
International Foundation for Action Learning:
http://ifal.org.uk learning model.
Optimizing the Power of Action Learning. Soundview Laura Overton,
Executive Book Summaries: founder and former CEO of Towards Maturity
http://bit.ly/2QuC22l

Tips for L&D

• Start where you already have influence and grow it from there

• Think about how action learning helps individuals learn how to learn. This is a key skill in today’s world

• Use it on yourself first. Try it, reflect, adapt and learn some more

• Focus on the power of reflection

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Trends in Learning Report 2019
Learning with machines
About this trend
Learning with machines covers several aspects of
tech-enabled learning. There’s AI and intelligent
learning, there’s the use of algorithms as a
mechanism for instruction and there’s humans
interacting with robots. And they are all developing
all of the time. And learners are getting more
comfortable with them all of the time.
Machines are integral to learning now – in simple
ways such as to find and share information and
in more complex, sophisticated ways such as
personalised learning, chatbots and so on.
Machines are tools that we can all use to learn
better, faster and more intuitively. They will also
have an increasing role in helping us to learn more
effectively and in new ways in the future – nudging
us about learning needs and tools, for example.
Learning with and from robots is not widespread
yet, but it is increasingly gaining traction in and
out of the workplace.
What impact is this trend having on
workplace learning?
There is a slow but steady move away from the click
next elearning mindset, with the realisation that
Tips for L&D
• Start with measurements – where you are today. If you don’t know that, how will you know if things
have got better and why?
• Focus on feedback – facilitating feedback in the workplace so it’s valuable and iterative
• Balance social actions and outcomes with content
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technology-enabled learning can and should be much
richer, more personalised, targeted and intuitive.
By using machines and the array of digital tools out
there, learners can communicate, collaborate and
problem solve with their peers in the flow of work.
These tools encourage reflection, peer-to-peer
feedback and individual and collective action,
rather than just the consumption of content and
pieces of learning.
At the core of learning is the need to problem solve,
whether it’s about skills, knowledge or behaviour
change. Digital learning helps with that, giving
learners and organisations meaningful insights.
Digital tools help us to problem solve and to do it
collectively and in real time.
Machine learning, the ability of technology to
complete tasks using algorithms and statistical
models, is opening up new possibilities about how
we learn and how we interact with others. The use of
intuitive data is increasingly important and prevalent
as learning becomes more social and collaborative.
And the more that a learner uses AI learning, the
more tools understand individual needs and can feed
back the right kind of learning.
 Trends in Learning Report 2019

Expert view
David Perring, Director of Research
at HR industry analysts Fosway Group

Machines are tools that enable you to communicate

and reach out. They are a conduit to learning because There’s been a social switch
they give other insights. You can use machines to
inform your insight – as a lever to gain a richer, and over the next ten years,
deeper, different insight. We are using machines it will increasingly be
to problem solve, problem solving being part of the
bridge to providing deeper and richer learning. more about data and the
Machines are a bridge to doing things you couldn’t personalisation of learning
necessarily do before.
– using data and insight
More recently, machine learning has taken a as coach, mentor, nudge
fresher focus on peer to peer social interaction.
It’s having conversations in real time, collaborating, and mirror.
brainstorming etc. The shift is towards socialisation,
David Perring,
rather than being sent away to do an online course on
Director of Research at HR industry analysts Fosway Group
your own. There’s been a social switch and over the
next ten years, it will increasingly be more about data
and the personalisation of learning – using data and
insight as coach, mentor, nudge and mirror.

Most L&D is relentlessly focused on content, ignoring

social connectivity and learning in the workflow. We
don’t want to get rid of content, but re-emphasise the
importance of peer to peer feedback, the socialisation
of learning and integration of business data.

Resources
InsideCoach football collects and reports data
on force, trajectory, spin, number of passes, and
number of touches:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/world-s-
smartest-football-soccer-ball#/

Why we need to learn to trust robots,

Hutson, M. (2015): http://bit.ly/2KSbeDN

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Trends in Learning Report 2019

Playful learning
About this trend
Most people associate playful learning with
children. However, it is increasingly recognised
that adults respond well to playful learning in the
workplace. But what is it? It’s easy to pigeon hole
it as being just role play or gamification, but it’s
actually much broader than that. Playful learning is
about experimentation, exploration and curiosity.
It is as much a state of mind and an environment, as
an actual medium of play, so while it can be role play
and gamification, it can also be a lot of other things.
In essence, playful learning is about learning in a
playful way, in an environment where people feel
comfortable about trying new things, experimenting,
taking risks and knowing that they might fail.
Digital games are used heavily in playful learning.
They enable participants to immerse themselves in
scenarios that resemble real life, but in a safe way.
What impact is this trend having on
workplace learning?
Creating an environment where adults can play,
explore and experiment boosts motivation,
engagement and creativity. It takes learners out
of their day to day routines, enabling them to try
new ways of doing things and new behaviours.
Playful learning is used to develop people’s problem
solving skills, critical skills and communication. It is
challenge-based learning.
The important thing is that people know they
can experiment, take risks, think and behave
differently, fail and it won’t matter. People need to
have psychological safety, knowing that they have
permission to test things out and fail.
When Google set out on a mission in 2012 to find
out what made some teams highly successful and
innovative and others not, it analysed the behaviours
and make up of various teams. And the results were
surprising. The number one characteristic of high-
performing teams was psychological safety – people
feeling able to play around with ideas, explore and
take risks.
Digital games and virtual reality (VR) are great for
this, allowing people to try different ways of being
and doing, but in a safe way. That’s why the air
industry, NASA and the military have always been
early adopters of digital and VR. More and more
organisations are going down the digital and VR
route. VR in particular will continue to open up new
possibilities for playful learning in the workplace.

Tips for L&D

• Create realistic challenges where people can play in situations that resemble real life, but it’s safe to fail

• Don’t be misled by edutainment marketing

• Look at badges of accomplishment and the role of gamification.

• Experiment with VR. It’s early on in the adoption curve so have a play with it

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There is already the annual Playful Learning

conference, when adults are encouraged to step out
their comfort zone and take risks through a series
of activities, such as escape rooms, treasure hunts,
secret storytelling, sandpits and video games.
Playful space is about
Expert view psychological safety – when
Nick Shackleton-Jones, Learning Expert
and Author of ‘How People Learn’
people feel safe enough
Play is learning in its natural state. It’s not a social
to experiment, challenge
constraint, but an innate mechanism. There isn’t decisions, be creative and
much good quality research into play because it’s
considered too frivolous. There’s a misleading social
talk to people in an open
construct of play that it’s about games. It’s not. and honest way.
It’s actually about the opportunity to explore within
a safe space and to experience effective responses Nick Shackleton-Jones,
to learning. Learning Expert and Author of ‘How People Learn’

Take simulation, much used in the air industry and

NASA. This is about providing a sophisticated
space for people to try things out and see what
happens. It’s not about how complicated it is but
the extent to which it resembles a real situation.
It can’t be tokenistic play and it has to be sufficiently
significant to make you sweat. It doesn’t have to
be using tech either – it can be something like a
board game.
Resources
Game-based learning and 21st century skills: a review
of recent research, Qian, M., & Clark, K. R. (2016),
Computers in Human Behavior, 63, 50–58:
Highlights and abstract openly available at:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.05.023

We are trying to do a lot more experience design
work, supporting the learning agenda. So recreating
simulations of real environments. What are the
situations that a leader will encounter, for example?
What are the critical things, so people can play around
with different approaches. That is basically play.
Lego professor: Cambridge University hires
‘professor of play’:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-
cambridgeshire-40031687

Playful space is about psychological safety – when

people feel safe enough to experiment, challenge
decisions, be creative and talk to people in an
open and honest way.

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Trends in Learning Report 2019

The OU is globally renowned for its academic expertise,

but we also work with employers, providing outstanding
L&D solutions that are tailored to individual organisational
needs. We do this by helping organisations identify
the business challenges they face and what learning
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Why choose us for your learning needs? Because of the range

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Trends in Learning Report 2019

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