Two stories in the news this week certainly caught people’s attention:
🎮 Using GTA (Grand Theft Auto) to help understand public behaviour.
🦎 Role-playing as slow worms during a training session.
Both have raised eyebrows and generated plenty of debate.
Putting aside the political discussion around public funding, there is an interesting workplace learning question:
How far should we be prepared to think differently when helping people learn?
As a trainer, mentor and coach, I’ve never worked with a team where everyone learns in exactly the same way.
👉 Some people learn through discussion.
👉 Some through practical activity.
👉 Some through observation.
👉 Some through reflection.
That’s why effective workplace learning often requires adapting our communication, tools and delivery methods to ensure everyone can engage and apply what they learn.
I’ve never played GTA, so I can’t comment on its effectiveness as a learning tool.
However, I regularly use scenario-based exercises involving different characters and situations to explore areas like unconscious bias. Participants often discover how quickly assumptions can be mistaken for facts, leading to valuable discussion and reflection.
Role-playing as a slow worm wouldn’t have immediately occurred to me!
But innovation in learning isn’t about whether an idea sounds unusual. It’s about whether it helps people understand, retain and apply new knowledge.
Sometimes the most effective learning methods are the ones that initially seem the most unexpected.
What’s the most innovative learning approach you’ve seen in your organisation?
More importantly – did it actually work?