The Redesign Just In Time Learning Needs to Drive Real Change
Reading Time: 8 minutesOrganizations have spent years trying to make learning more accessible. And by most traditional measures, they’ve succeeded—LMS adoption is high, content libraries are full, and micro-learning is everywhere. But despite all of that, behavior change remains elusive. Employees still struggle to apply what they’ve learned. Leaders still default to old habits in moments that matter most. And learning professionals are left asking: Why isn’t any of this sticking? This is the core tension behind Just-in-Time (JIT) learning. Originally developed as a way to deliver information in the moment of need, it promised a better way to support learners—less waste, more relevance, stronger application. But the way JIT learning has been implemented hasn’t kept up with the complexity of work today. In many cases, it’s still just a content delivery model with a new name. To understand what needs to change, it helps to look at where the model came from—and why it no longer meets the demands of modern teams. Get the free guide to close your leadership development gap and build the trust, collaboration, and skills your leaders need to thrive. The Origins Of Instructional Design Formal instructional design emerged alongside the information revolution. IBM announced its first mass-produced computer—the IBM 650—in 1953. Just a few years later, Bloom’s Taxonomies of Educational Objectives laid the groundwork for structured learning models. Both learning and technology took another leap in the 1990s with the rise of the Internet and the introduction of e-learning at scale. This was also the era when the concept of “Just-in-Time” learning took hold. Writing for Chief Learning Officer, Bob Mosher—who, alongside Con Gottfredson, developed the influential “5 Moments of Need” model—later expressed some regret about how the idea was embraced: From the learning community’s perspective, JIT was strictly a time issue; basically time saved on not attending class. It was about availability. But to our learners JIT meant something else. Say JIT to learners and they take it to a whole new level. For them it doesn’t just stop at availability. That’s the easy part. For them it’s an issue of context as well. The material presented needs to be just the right amount of information about just the right topic to help them solve or learn something right in front of them at the right time. Try running that through your LMS and e-learning library. Few hold up to that promise and level of effectiveness. – [1] Even in its early days, the gap between content availability and contextual relevance was clear. Learners weren’t just asking for faster access—they were asking for support in the moment they needed to act. And that’s where most systems, then and now, continue to fall short. Make Your Just In Time Learning More Impactful See How High Performing Teams Use Tech To Equip Their Leaders Why Just-in-Time Learning Needs to Be More Than Content Availability Of the 5 Moments of Need — the learning framework introduced by Bob Mosher and Con Gottfredson — the first two, Learn New and Learn More, are considered good matches for traditional learning approaches like classrooms and content [2]. The remaining moments are more fragile. When someone needs to put their learning into practice (Apply), solve an unexpected problem (Solve), or internalize a new way of doing things (Change), most people won’t turn to a learning management system… Each of these three Moments of Need requires advanced L&D strategies that go beyond content libraries. Moment 3: Help Learners Apply Classroom Learning What is it? According to the Harvard Business Review, after receiving training from L&D, only 12% of employees use new learnings in their jobs [3]. The infamous “Forgetting Curve” suggests that by the time an employee walks out of a classroom, across campus, and to their desk, they will have lost 42% of the information they received. Go to lunch? By the time they return, the information loss grows to 56%. By the next day, the typical employee only retains about a third of their training. [3] This is why the Apply moment is so challenging, and why the Just-in-Time concept is so attractive. What does good look like? A really good strategy for Apply would enable employees to learn in the flow of work, based on their real, experienced context, and these learnings would be personalized to each learner. What does the market look like? A look at current offerings shows that most platforms that claim “Just-in-Time” are an evolved version of the eLearning strategy from the 90s. Yes, it is excellent to have courses available, and the switch to micro-learning formats may help employees digest more focused content. Sometimes these platforms offer integrations, but rarely so that employees can actually engage with learning in the tools they use every day. Personalization looks more like red sauce offerings at the grocery — you can pick Chunky, Sage, or Meat Sauce. In fact, in many cases, these personalizations are simply a learning track, each for Individual Contributors vs. Managers. What Needs to Happen Instead Co-founder Kirsten Moorefield has repeatedly told the Cloverleaf product team, I don’t want users to spend time on the platform, I want them to get insights inside the tools they use every day. L&D Practitioners find that when they invest in human skill training for employees, Cloverleaf helps conquer the Forgetting Curve by providing true Just-in-Time learning in Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Email. As a team of one supporting 2,000 employees, Cloverleaf’s coaching tools have empowered our leaders to develop their teams without constant hand-holding. It’s scalable, personalized, and impactful. — Dr. Erin Meyers Cloverleaf learnings actually matter to employees because They are short and impactful (driven by more than 7 years of internal refinement), They are context-aware (Cloverleaf’s algorithms sync with users’ calendars and activity to deliver coaching on the most relevant teammates each day), and They are personalized with the most individualized model of human personality available (Cloverleaf’s support across more than 12 industry-leading assessments enables unmatched depth of understanding). As a result, learning doesn’t just