Using learning loops to feedback on your content can help you improve your deliverables.
Optimising learning and reiterating your content is key to driving successful learning experiences.
After all, better learning leads to better outcomes.
Highly engaged teams show 21% greater profitability.
And encouraging your learners through ongoing feedback is a great way to keep them engaged, and also show you’re invested in their development.
Related: How to give feedback in the workplace
Meeting expectations of new learners, while not spending massive amounts of budget on new tools and infrastructure is a tricky tightrope to balance on.
But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.
Investing in a Totara LMS is a sure-fire way to achieve your goals, and can help you with its feature-rich ecosystem, simple integration options and high-level customisability.
Keep reading to learn:
- What a learning loop is
- The key components of a learning loop
- Why learning loops are important
Let’s get started.
What is a learning loop?
A learning loop is a process that enables individuals or organisations to continuously improve their performance and adapt to changing circumstances.
This iterative cycle involves the collection of data, analysis of feedback, implementation of changes, and reassessment of outcomes.
It sounds complicated but it isn’t.
Learning loops allow you to simplify the process of learning so that learners and L&D teams to evaluate, assess and improve how training and learning are done over time.
Four key components of learning loops
The four stages of learning loops, learning, application, feedback, and reflection, are essential for continuous improvement and adaptation in various contexts.
Each stage plays its role in ensuring that individuals or organisations can effectively acquire knowledge, implement it, and refine their practices based on insights gained from experience.
Let’s look at each in a bit more detail:
Learning
This is the foundational stage where new knowledge, skills, or information are acquired.
Learning can occur through various means such as formal education, training programmes, self-study, or on-the-job experiences.
The goal of this stage is to build a solid understanding of concepts and techniques that can be applied in real-world situations.
Effective learning often involves active engagement, critical thinking, and the ability to synthesise new information with existing knowledge.
And remember, learning can happen in a range of formats and environments.
In fact, we’re learning all the time. From reading a book to watching a video on social media, we’re constantly taking on new information and processing it.
Application
In this stage, the knowledge and skills gained during the learning phase are put into practice.
Application involves implementing new ideas, techniques, or strategies in practical situations.
This stage is crucial because it tests the real-world relevance and effectiveness of what has been learned.
By applying new knowledge, individuals or organisations can assess whether their understanding is accurate and whether their skills are sufficient to achieve desired outcomes.
Application can be tested in a number of ways:
Assessment
One simple way to test the application of learning is to simply test it. Within the learning content, you can add in quizzes, questions, and more to easily gauge the effectiveness of your learning content.
Remember, we’re not trying to trip our learners up. We’re just trying to see how well the learning has been absorbed and if further training is needed.
On the job experience
Not all learning is practical, but in many cases, on the job experience is the best way to test if learning has been taken on board.
An example could be health and safety training for how to properly clean and disinfect a workspace. While a learner may know the practical steps to do this, the best way to test it is to see it in action.
Collaboration
It’s often said that the best way to know if you understand something is to see how well you can explain it to someone else. This is often referred to as the protegé effect.
And there are ways to formalise sharing learning the workplace.
One key way is a shared forum space for learning, directly in your LMS.
🎯Pro Tip
Our LMS offers workspaces, forums and discussions spots for users to share their thoughts on learning, interesting resources and answer questions for new learners.
Learn more about Totara Engage
Feedback
Feedback is the process of receiving information about the performance or outcomes of the application stage. This should be timely and accurate in order for your learners to get the most impact.
These sessions can be delivered online, face to face, or via your learning management system.
This can also come from various sources, including supervisors, peers, customers, or self-assessment.
Feedback provides valuable insights into what is working well and what needs improvement.
It is essential for identifying gaps in knowledge, skills, or processes.
Related: What is a skills gap and how to identify it
Constructive feedback helps individuals or organisations to make informed adjustments and to understand the impact of their actions.
Reflection
Reflection is the stage where individuals or organisations critically analyse the whole process; the learning, the application and the feedback.
This involves considering what was successful, what challenges were encountered, and what lessons can be learned.
The goal is to look at what worked and what didn’t and then evolve it so that you can improve your learning journey going forwards.
Reflection helps in making sense of the feedback and in identifying specific areas for improvement.
It also fosters a deeper understanding of the underlying principles and enables the development of more effective strategies for future application.
Through reflection, individuals and organisations can close the learning loop and prepare to start the cycle anew with enhanced knowledge and improved practices.
By progressing through these four stages—learning, application, feedback, and reflection—individuals and organisations can create a dynamic and effective learning loop.
This continuous process promotes ongoing growth, adaptation, and improvement, ensuring that they remain responsive and competitive in an ever-changing environment.
Why are learning loops important?
Learning loops are important because feedback is important.
Related: Why giving feedback in learning is important
And it might be clear from the process we’ve just described, but learning loops allow you to reiterate and evolve your learning content, processes and more.
And that can only lead to good things.
But we already know the impact of feedback.
And learning loops are essentially a feedback loop.
We know that 75% of employees who receive feedback feel that it is incredibly important to their work.
But, less than 30% of respondents actually receive feedback on their work.
Related: 30+ employee feedback statistics
Learning loops foster a culture of continuous improvement, which is crucial for long-term success.
According to McKinsey & Company, organizations that regularly revisit and update their strategies and processes are 30% more likely to outperform their peers.
This highlights the value of iterative learning and feedback in driving innovation and competitiveness.
Plus, research indicates that data-driven organisations are 23 times more likely to acquire customers, six times as likely to retain them, and 19 times as likely to be profitable.
Implement learning loops into your own learning strategy
Getting started with learning loops doesn’t need to be difficult.
With the right tool in place, you can easily build feedback loops. Want to learn how?
Speak to us to see how you can incorporate better feedback practices right into your learning platform.
Want to learn more?
Here’s how you can gather and share feedback in your LMS.