Are you and your training designers so busy developing new training programs that you don’t have the time to make sure that trainees are using the lessons you taught them? Even more troubling, do you sense that employees in your organization aren’t really that interested in learning? They’ll show up for required training and do what you ask them to, but aren’t really motivated by the idea of continuous learning.

Resources that Can Turn Attendees into Lifetime Learners

“Cultivating Valuable Learning Environments,” an article that Catherine Lombardozzi wrote for TD Magazine, offers some great advice for creating learning environments where employees are continually motivated to continue educating themselves. Lombardozzi is director of the Center for Creative Instruction and Technology at Delaware Technical Community College and author of the book Learning Environments by Design, published by the Association for Talent Development.

What should you include in a motivational learning environment? Lombardozzi writes that it should contain “a deliberately curated collection of materials and activities to support the development of a specific knowledge base or skill.”

Here’s a checklist of resources to include:

• A library of study and reference materials in a variety of formats, including books, manuals, podcasts, videos and webpages
• Connections to people who support learning, including peers and managers
• Ongoing access to formal courses, workshops and learning modules that address specific learning objectives
• Experiential learning activities that allow people to learn on their own through what they do on the job