The Science

of Learning
Five ways to make your L&D
strategy more successful

In partnership with Barbara Oakley

Distinguished professor of engineering and influential
researcher on the neuroscience of learning
Table of contents

Introduction 3 1. Help employees 5 Conclusion 20

master new skills
Creating a learner-centric L&D 4 Learner-centric L&D strategies 21
strategy drive impact

2. Help employees 8
learn successfully Endnotes 22

3. Cultivate employee 11
curiosity

4. Help employees retain 14

the material taught

5. Encourage employees 17
to go beyond passive
listening

The Science of Learning Table of Contents 2

Introduction
Creating a learner-centric L&D strategy
When delivering learning and development (L&D) programs, To navigate this new age of learning, L&D leaders must find
oftentimes, too much focus is placed on the content and better ways to make connections between the what—the type 1. Help employees master new skills
teaching, rather than on the employees themselves. To upskill of support to provide employees, and the how—the ways of Leaders should encourage combining periods of intense focus
(focused thinking) with relaxing mental breaks (diffused thinking).
and reskill employees effectively, understanding how employees delivering that support.
learn is important, too. But even as learning and development
In this piece, we partner with Barbara Oakley, a distinguished
leaders strive to deliver programs that put employees first, they
professor of engineering at Oakland University and the creator of 2. Help employees learn successfully
face multiple challenges.
some of the most popular courses on Coursera, such as Learning Leaders should consider a range of different content formats
First, most workplace learning happens in “flexi-chunks,” How to Learn, to produce five best practice tips that support suited to the different types of learning needs to gain the right
knowledge.
meaning when and where learning takes place varies L&D leaders in achieving this transformation.
significantly from employee to employee and from day to day.1
Oakley’s primary translational research focuses on the
Whether learning in a traditional office setup or on the go during 3. Cultivate employee curiosity
fundamentals of how people learn, combining neuroscience
a commute, meeting the needs of a mobile workforce is a real Leaders should allow space for their employees’ curiosity to
and social-behavioral analysis. Here are five science-backed flourish, giving them room to carve out their own careers.
struggle.
ideas we’ve curated with her support to help you build the most
Second, career development is no longer a linear proposition.2 impactful learner-centric L&D program to date:
Learning functions have to determine how to support their
4. Help employees retain the material taught
employees’ personal and professional growth over time as their
Leaders should provide employees with space to learn, retrieve,
employees’ careers shape up in new and different directions— and absorb knowledge. This is much more important than the
horizontally and vertically. speed at which they learn.

On the other hand, ensuring your employees stay on top of

new skills matters. According to business theorist Arie de Geus, 5. Encourage employees to go beyond passive listening
adopting new skills “may be the only sustainable competitive Leaders should incorporate different layers of interaction into
learning experiences. This actively engages employees instead of
advantage,” particularly in times of recession. relying solely on listening.

The Science of Learning Introduction 4

1.
Help employees
master new skills
Help employees master new skills

Employees are dealing with a lot.

“
People tend to think the only
Distinguish between focused and The Pomodoro Technique time you’re learning is when
diffused states of thinking and give An effective way for learning leaders to encourage the you focus, and that’s simply
employees space for both to learn habit of combining periods of intense focus (focused not true at all.
successfully. thinking) with relaxing mental breaks (diffused
thinking) is with the Pomodoro Technique. If you can’t figure something
Enterprise learning is often disconnected from employees’
Francesco Serilo developed this time-management out right away, taking a
jobs, behaviors, habits, and preferences. A big part of the
“why,” according to a 2016 Deloitte research report, is that the methodology in the 1980s. The idea is simple: Use a break is the most efficient
modern employee is dealing with a lot. Employees frequently tomato (Pomodoro) timer to focus on a task for 25
use of your time because it
minutes and then take a five-minute break. Take a
feel overwhelmed, distracted, and impatient, and the average
longer break after four 25-minute sessions. allows your brain to shift to
employee has just 1% of the typical work week left to learn.3
diffuse mode.
Bring it back to the year 2022, after a pandemic that transformed
the traditional workplace and significantly blurred work-life Barbara Oakley
boundaries, and employees’ schedules are simply overflowing. Distinguished Professor of Engineering,
Oakland University
A good way to help learning leaders bring the best out of their
employees—both in learning and everyday productivity, is by
cycling between two thinking modes: focused and diffused.

The Science of Learning Help employees master new skills 6

Cycling between thinking modes for the greatest impact

The brain has two different thinking modes: focused and Want your employees to learn a difficult and unfamiliar concept? Coursera LevelSets assess
diffused. Each helps employees in different ways. Combining
both is the most powerful way for learning leaders to help
Encourage them to study the concept with focused thinking,
then let them wander around the office or get coffee with a
starting points for learning
employees make innovative connections between new and friend to allow their brain to shift into diffuse thinking. In this From the concepts of “diffuse” and “focused”
existing knowledge. respect, remote working has a lot of advantages. thinking, we realize that employees’ prior
knowledge is extremely important for further
development. Employees understand and
Focused thinking Diffuse thinking make sense of things based on their existing
foundational knowledge. Coursera’s LevelSets is
Focused thinking is often wrongly believed to be the only form Diffuse thinking, on the other hand, is relaxed. It occurs largely a great tool to seize this nugget of wisdom.
of “productive” reasoning. When employees are in this state subconsciously and can result in surprising connections in the
of mind, they’re concentrating and conscious. It is used to brain. When employees’ minds have space to wander, their LevelSets are bite-size assessments that quickly
understand and solve familiar problems and to study a concept subconscious connects new and unfamiliar concepts with reveal an individual’s proficiency in specific
using existing neural pathways and knowledge. Because existing ones. Using focused and diffuse thinking in combination skills and provide content recommendations to
employers have a bias toward action, it’s not surprising to see is the most powerful way to support new neural pathways that maximize learning. With LevelSets, organizations
many leaders believing employees are only productive when contribute to learning success. can target proficiency gaps, and employees
they are in this mode of thinking.4 can focus on leveling up their existing skills.
LevelSets allow learning leaders to personalize
the learning experience to the individual needs
Thought
of their employees—whether they’re beginners,
Thought
intermediate, or advanced learners—for all
learning formats.

The Science of Learning Help employees master new skills 7

2.
Help employees
learn successfully
Help employees learn successfully

Certain types of learning require Declarative learning uses the hippocampus Procedural learning uses the basal ganglia

more explanation, others more Declarative learning—or an explanation-based approach—is the Procedural, or practice-based, learning goes through the basal
active practice. Delivering learning instruction that helps employees with factual data and concepts ganglia and helps employees know how to do something—like
via the hippocampus. This type of instruction is easier to share learning how to program. It takes more time for an employee to
in different formats matters. and typically faster to learn but also easier to forget. The history learn, but once they’ve got it, it’s very fast for them to use it—
Employees are more alike than different in how they learn. of machine learning would fall under this category. they don’t need to think about it.
What science has found, though, is that there are two main
Learning leaders should promote the use of retrieval practices to This type of learning is best taught through hands-on instruction
approaches to learning that use different pathways in the brain.
refresh employees’ memories of previously learned declarative like Guided Projects on Coursera. Guided Projects help
This means offering different learning formats for different types
learning. At Coursera, one such approach is with Clips, 5-10 employees acquire mastery with in-browser tutorials led by
of learning in an organization is important.
minute video lectures linking to longer courses on the platform. an expert.
Learning about the history of machine learning, for example, They can serve as “course refreshers” and drive engaged and
won’t require the same instruction as learning a programming continuous learning through shorter, actionable content on job-
language. Learning leaders must cater to this. relevant topics.

Neocortex
Basal ganglia
Hippocampus

The Science of Learning Help employees learn successfully 9

The different approaches to learning

“
Today, most learning is neither completely declarative nor
completely procedural. A thorough L&D program, therefore,
tends to combine both approaches.
We often learn best when
we can integrate what we’re
learning by using a lot of our
Coursera content formats suitable for each learning approach different senses including
hearing, seeing, and, perhaps
Declarative and Declarative learning: especially, being able to feel
Declarative Procedural
Procedural explanation-based approach with our hands.
Barbara Oakley
Distinguished Professor of Engineering,
Professional Declarative and procedural learning: Oakland University
Clips Guided Projects
Certificates explanation and practice combined

Authored Guided Procedural learning:

Courses Specializations
Projects practice-based approach

The Science of Learning Help employees learn successfully 10

3.
Cultivate employee curiosity
Cultivate employee curiosity

Exploring and satisfying curiosity The pharmaceutical company Novartis has received many
accolades for its workplace culture.5 Part of this success comes
“
Curiosity is a key part of the
stimulates our brains with from cultivating curiosity in its employees. culture within Novartis.
dopamine. Cultivate employee
By helping employees stay curious, Novartis finds there is We’ve been looking at how
curiosity with short-form content. always time to learn—in fact, the company is encouraging each
we can support that culture
employee to train 100 hours a year.7
When employees are curious, and they satisfy that curiosity,
of curiosity, considering
their brains are stimulated by dopamine, which is a
neurotransmitter that signals employees’ internal reward
In 2021 alone, across learning partners like Coursera, Novartis
how we should encourage
registered a total of more than 47000 active users and more than
system. Creating and nurturing curiosity for learning can help
105 000 courses were completed by employees.8 people to take the time to
employees feel good about their learning experiences and make
learn, make sure there are
them want to come back for more.
great learning opportunities
Unexpected reward releases
dopamine around the brain. available, and encourage that
constant questioning and
experimentation.6
Simon Brown
Chief Learning Officer, Novartis

Time

The Science of Learning Cultivate employee curiosity 12

From curiosity to persistence with Coursera

Learning leaders can stimulate curiosity by stoking initial

Clips drive engaged and continuous learning through 5-10 minute videos and short lessons—with over
interest in learning a new subject. Short-form content like Clips
200,000+ available on Coursera. Additional lessons are surfaced within the context of longer courses.
Coursera’s Clips is a great way to pique curiosity in this way. This
strategy is incredibly helpful for employees to take charge of
their own development.
Guided Projects are powered by cloud desktops and provide employees with step-by-step, hands-on
Guided Projects
learning and instruction from industry experts to help them master skills.

Courses on Coursera teach essential and cutting-edge skills through 4,000 different pathways in
Courses
business, leadership, technology, data science, and human skills.

Professional Professional Certificates prepare employees for in-demand careers with key industry qualifications
Certificates in less than a year.

Degrees offer employees the ability to choose from a wide variety of online master’s and
Degrees
bachelor’s degree programs to elevate their careers to the next level.

The Science of Learning Cultivate employee curiosity 13

4.
Help employees retain
the material taught
Help employees retain the material taught

Some employees learn faster than Prizes is that when they were learning, they went really slowly
and had to practice or it fell out of their heads. But in doing so,
“
Some people with higher-
others. Consistent time, effort they caught errors that the faster learners with the big capacity capacity working memory
and focus on learning are what’s working memory just jumped right over.” It’s worth giving can understand an
important. Focus on creating employees the time and resources they need to fully complete
explanation really quickly
their training. This will help them bring different perspectives to
stackable learning experiences. the table and better connect the dots with existing knowledge. and then they practice a little
Within every organization, there’ll be employees with a variety of bit, and they get it.
“Some people have brains like race cars, and they can get to
working memory capacities. What’s more, they’ll all understand
things based on what they already know, and that’s different for
the finish line really fast,” says Oakley. “Other people’s brains
But for someone with lesser
are more like hikers. They can get to the finish line, but it’s a lot
everyone.9
slower. capacity working memory,
Although feeling frustrated when employees struggle to they might have to watch
“Think about what they experience as they’re walking, though.
understand new concepts right away is normal, the process of
They can reach out and touch the leaves on the trees, they can a video several times and
carefully listening, studying, and taking the time they need to
smell the pine in the air, and see the birds. It’s a completely practice a bunch of times.
get their head around a subject can mean new knowledge really
different experience and in some ways far richer and deeper.”10
sticks in their brains. It can actually be an advantage.
Barbara Oakley
In a learner-centric L&D model, learning leaders should look Distinguished Professor of Engineering,
Indeed, higher- or lower-capacity working memory should not
beyond the goal of employees finishing a course or gaining Oakland University
be equated with higher or lower intelligence.
a qualification. Oakley recommends that learners “just think
Oakley says that “there are even Nobel Prize winners with lesser about putting in the time and effort and slowly build up from
capacity working memory. And the reason they won those Nobel there.”

The Science of Learning Help employees retain the material taught 15

Coursera’s stackable content: Smaller goals for greater results

Stacking learning on Coursera allows employees to work on

smaller, achievable goals but still end up with deep reskilling Clips Begin their journey through a Clip like Applications of Machine Learning
and upskilling.

For example, an employee looking to reskill in machine

learning on Coursera might follow this journey:
Go on to build their foundation through a Introduction to Applied
Course
course like Machine Learning

Apply what they learned through the hands-on Unsupervised Machine Learning for
Guided Projects
experience of a Guided Project like Customer Market Segmentation

Deepen their machine learning skills through a

Specializations Machine Learning
specialization like

Go on to obtain a job-ready certification IBM Machine Learning

Certificates
through the Professional Certificate

The Science of Learning Help employees retain the material taught 16

5.
Encourage employees to go
beyond passive listening
Encourage employees to go
beyond passive listening
Online learning allows for great and then move through it at a similar pace. Much of the learning
is peer-to-peer and provides a variety of ways to think and learn
“
I truly believe that teaching
cohort-based social learning by active engagement. online can help match the
experiences. Combine passive outcomes possible in a
The idea of cohorts is not new, but this educational format
listening with more active wasn’t as easy to deliver until video-conferencing tools became traditional classroom, and
engagement by leveraging this commonplace. Cohorts of peer employees can now come indeed, even surpass it.
practice. together from dozens of countries, meet at any time of the day,
and adapt the curriculum to their work circumstances on the fly. You can engagingly present
Online learning is constantly improving as technology
McKinsey proposes a 70:20:10 framework that captures the materials and then have
advances. This means employees can now easily have real-time
interactions with colleagues enrolled in the same course—no this cohort-based learning approach in the workplace. This employees take part in active-
matter what part of the world they’re based in—through framework has 70% of learning taking place on the job with
learning exercises.
breakout rooms that facilitate active engagement in smaller tools like Guided Projects, 20% taking place through interaction
groups. and collaboration such as with cohort-based learning, and
Barbara Oakley
10% through formal-learning interventions such as classroom Distinguished Professor of Engineering,
Research shows that speaking with familiar people and seeing training and digital curricula.12 Oakland University
their reactions gives another dopamine rush.11 This is why
familiarity with a cohort allows employees to be inspired
throughout their learning experiences.

This interactive approach is the essence of cohort-based

learning. A group of employees come together to join a course

The Science of Learning Encourage employees to go beyond passive listening 18

How can Coursera help track cohort-based learning in your organization?

Done right, cohorts result in a large community of engaged Learning leaders can follow employees as they progress in IDC reports that companies
employees collectively addressing real business problems and
developing knowledge and insights they can put into practice at
their learning journey and iterate the process with the different
learning tips shared in this article.
using Coursera see tangible
work.
business benefits
Skills Dashboard from Coursera helps measure the effect of
cohorts on learning by tracking actual skills developed by
employees across business, technology, and data skill sets. +25 % +94 %
Productivity More trained

Skills Development Tracking

Understand skill gaps, progress, mastery, and
more across 100+ skills. +38 % 746 %
Retention Three-year ROI

ROI Reporting
Gain access to skill breakdowns and introduce new +20 %
content using insights into employees’ top skills. Employee
mobility

Skills Benchmarking
See how your organization’s skills proficiency
stacks up against competitors.

The Science of Learning Encourage employees to go beyond passive listening 19

Conclusion
Learner-centric L&D strategies drive impact

The science of learning provides several important insights It’s a win-win with impressive returns for both employees and
“
New neurons are born
into how to engage employees, putting them at the center of
their own learning path. Despite distractions and competing
businesses.
every day, especially in the
interests, employees who invest in this ongoing effort will be hippocampus. But to ensure
best equipped to master new learning. Learn more about Coursera for Business these new neurons survive,
And the more your whole workforce gets into the habit
or talk to a learning consultant today. thrive, and grow, you must
of learning, the easier it will get for your organization to
Request a consultation
continue learning.
acquire new knowledge and skills faster and better than the
competition. Barbara Oakley
Distinguished Professor of Engineering,
Shifting to a learner-centric strategy requires curating content Oakland University
in a variety of formats, personalized to different needs—these
options also serve to spark curiosity and engage employees
more actively.

Understanding the science of learning will help learning leaders

adopt courses, incentives, and learning partners that support
employees in this way, building strong foundational knowledge
in new areas and paving the way to deep, effective skills
development for greater impact on the job and business.

The Science of Learning Conclusion 21

Endnotes
Barbara Oakley
Distinguished Professor of Engineering,
Oakland University

1. Shaping individual development along the S-curve, McKinsey & Company. 2019.
2. Ibid.
3. Meet the Modern Learner: Engaging the Overwhelmed, Distracted, and Impatient Employee, Bersin by Deloitte. 2014. Barbara Oakley is a Distinguished Professor of
4. Why do we prefer doing something to doing nothing? The Decision Lab. Engineering at Oakland University in Rochester,
5. Awards and Recognition, Novartis. 2022. Michigan. Her work focuses on the complex
6. Cultivating curiosity: Novartis’ chief learning officer on why it matters more than ever, Heidrick & Struggles. relationship between neuroscience and social
7. Accelerating Curiosity: Novartis’ Integrated Approach to Employee Learning Blog, Coursera. 2020. behavior. She created and teaches Coursera’s
8. Learning and development, Novartis. 2021 “Learning How to Learn,” one of the world’s most
9. Seven Principles of Learning Better From Cognitive Science, Scott H. Young. 2014. popular massive open online courses, along with
10. 6 top takeaways from “How to Learn: MyTutor with Barbara Oakley.” MyTutor. 2021. other popular “Top MOOCs of All Time.”
11. The Neuroscience of Conversations, Psychology Today. 2019.
Barb is a New York Times best-selling author
12. The Essential Components of a Successful L&D Strategy, McKinsey & Company. 2019.
who has published in outlets as varied as the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
the Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times—
her book “A Mind for Numbers” has sold over a
million copies worldwide. She is a Fellow of both
the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
and the American Institute for Medical and
Biological Engineering.

The Science of Learning Endnotes 22