Imagine a training session where the instructor stands in front of a group of employees, clicking through an endless stream of slides reading bullet point after bullet point. Some learners nod along politely while dreaming of being somewhere else (anywhere else); others glance at their phones; and a few silently question their life choices. Despite the importance of the content to the organization, the instruction falls flat. The inactive learners are bored and disinterested and, worst of all, they aren’t learning anything. Unfortunately, we’ve all been there.

Now imagine a learning session where participants are immediately placed into a simulated customer negotiation. They don’t have time to think. They must immediately collaborate, make decisions, navigate consequences, and adjust strategies on the fly. Engagement soars. Learners are energized. They’re applying their knowledge, discovering their gaps, and in real-time accessing their current skill set and knowledge.

Malcom Knowles, an American adult educator famous for the theory of andragogy, has suggested that adult learners are motivated to learn when they recognize a need or gap in their knowledge, skills, or abilities. In other words, adult learners learn best when they know they don’t know something. Our goals as designers of instruction is first to help the adult learners realize they have a gap that needs to be filled and then to help them fill in those gaps be they knowledge, skills, or abilities.