Jay’s recent post on Another way of Looking at Instructional Design connects well with Rob’s post on Small Pieces Loosely Joined. Jay moves from the traditional ADDIE model of instructional design to a garden metaphor:
Gardeners don’t control plants, and managers don’t control people. The most that either can do is nurture growth by supplying nutrients and pulling weeds. Gardeners and managers have influence but not absolute authority. They can’t make a plant fit into the landscape or a person fit into a team.
Learning is a continuous process, not a fill-er-up course and you’re on your way. The garden metaphor could go a long way in changing attitudes about learning and our approach to training and educational design.
