Pacific Blue Solutions

One of the most frustrating things in L&D is watching a well-designed programme produce uneven workplace results.

Some learners apply the learning quickly and confidently. Others struggle to turn good intentions into consistent action.

In a new article on the Learning Academy blog, I explore a possibility we don’t discuss often enough: What if part of the issue isn’t just the training itself — but the learner habits people bring into real work situations afterwards?

Things like:

• confidence under pressure

• self-management of learning

• turning intentions into action

• recovering from early setbacks

Because increasingly, workplace performance depends not just on what people learned… but on whether they know how to use learning effectively once they’re back on the job.

Why Some Learners Apply Training Faster Than Others Why do some learners apply training successfully and others struggle? Explore the habits and behaviours that influence learning transfer and performance.

One of the most influential shifts in modern learning design has been the growing focus on how the brain actually works.

Attention is limited.
Memory is unreliable.
Stress interferes with performance.
Emotion shapes what we notice and remember.

All of which has led to better, more cognitively-informed approaches to learning design. But I’ve been wondering about something slightly deeper recently.

What if understanding the brain isn’t just about designing around human limitations?

What if part of L&D’s role is also helping people become better at managing uncertainty, difficulty and early failure when they return to the workplace?

I explored that tension in a new article on the Learning Academy blog: 'Work with the brain but don't stop there.'

Work with the Brain - But Don't Stop There... What does brain science mean for learning design? This article explores if L&D should do more than design for human limitations.

Why L&D Should Consider Learning to “Speak Visually” - Why visual communication is becoming an essential L&D skill — especially as AI tools make visual storytelling easier and more accessible.

Why L&D Should Consider Learning to “Speak Visually” Why visual communication is becoming an essential L&D skill — especially as AI tools make visual storytelling easier and more accessible.

Learning styles refuse to die — not because the evidence supports them, but because they feel right.

In part two of this short series, I look at why the idea took hold, how research from Mayer and Clark has been misunderstood, and why none of this really matters once performance is required.

If you work in L&D and have ever felt uneasy about learning styles but struggled to articulate why, this one’s for you.

Why Learning Styles Feel Right — Even When They Miss the Point Learning styles feel intuitive, but evidence tells a different story. Why preference-based learning misses the point — and what matters instead.

Learning styles are one of the most persistent ideas in L&D. They sound intuitive. Learner-centred. Common sense. The problem? When you look closely at the research, the evidence just isn’t there.

In this week’s post, I unpack what decades of research actually say about learning styles — what’s being challenged, what isn’t, and what works better if your goal is real learning and performance.

Busting the Myth of Learning Styles Learning styles are popular in L&D — but the evidence doesn’t support them. Here’s what the research actually says, and what works better.

Does music actually help you focus? Or just make work more pleasant?

I revisited John Medina's Brain Rules and paired it with some fascinating research from MIndLab. The results? Music doesn't make you smarter but it can definitely shift your frame of mind and prepare you to think more smartly...

Neuroscience Sounds Scary: Music's Impact on Focus Isn't Music doesn't make you smarter; but it can shift your mental state. Here's what John Medina and MindLab reveal about using music to improve focus.

AI isn’t evenly smart. And for L&D, that really matters.

In Part 2 of my “Jagged Edge” series, I explore what this unevenness actually looks like in real L&D work:

Where AI is consistently strong
Where it’s still unreliable
How L&D can navigate that gap safely and confidently

If you’re trying to make sense of AI’s role in your design work (or avoid the places it still falls short), this one will help.

Designing at the Jagged Edge: What AI’s Uneven Abilities Mean for L&D Where AI helps L&D and where it still falls short. A practical guide to navigating AI’s “jagged edge” and designing around its strengths and weaknesses.

Standing on the patio of the Stahl House in the Hollywood Hills, I looked out over the jagged, uneven ridges - a stark contrast contrast with the flat LA city grid below. The jaggedness of the ridges perfectly illustrate the current state of AI.

In this week’s Learning Academy post, I explore what researchers call the jagged edge of AI — and why that concept is so important for L&D. It’s not about replacing people. It’s about understanding where AI truly shines — and where we make the biggest and best contribution.

The Jagged Edge of AI: What It Means for Learning and Performance AI isn’t advancing evenly. Discover how L&D can design around AI’s jagged edge—where automation excels, humans still matter, and performance thrives.

Don't focus purely on learning. Incorporate workplace performance support strategies and tools, too.

In this week’s Learning Academy post, I explore how to make training events more performance-support focused — so learners practise using the same tools, prompts, and resources they’ll rely on back at work.

The shift is simple but powerful: stop bolting support on after training. Start designing it into the training itself.

Designing Training That Builds Performance Support Habits Discover how to design learning events that build good workplace application habits — by integrating performance support solutions from the start.

Too often learning materials resemble paper maps — they show you the terrain, but they don’t guide you through it. This is when the learning equivalent of a Sat Nav would come in handy — a tool that uses context and integration to help learners navigate through the flow of work.

In this week’s Learning Academy post, I explore how understanding context helps transforms learning into performance support — and what this means for anyone designing digital resources.

From Map to Sat Nav: How Context and Integration Aid Performance Support Discover how context and integration transform learning resources into performance support that truly helps people in the flow of work.