3. Apply your learning – Setting Direction | C6 Approach to Accelerated Learning by Carlton Nettleton

At Applied Frameworks Online Education, our goal is to provide you the essential information (“no fluff”) in condensed chunks when you need it.  The way we are going deliver on that promise is through our C6 learning approach, which is based on the ideas found in Accelerated Learning.  Here is how we define a C6 learning approach:

1. C1 (Exercise): before you begin exploring the topics in a lesson, we begin each lesson with a short exercise designed to draw connections from your previous experiences to the concepts you are about to learn.  Exercises are designed to range from five to fifteen minutes in length.
2. C2 (Video): each course provides a short video (or two) that serves as your traditional lecture, but with a twist.  In today’s busy, interconnected world full of distractions, we have found that there is just no way anyone can stay focused for more than fifteen minutes in front of a computer.  So, we choose to work with human nature, rather than against it – we have NO videos over fifteen minutes in length (at the most, you will spend no more than thirty minutes per course watching videos).
3. C3 (Apply Your Learning): immediately after watching the video, we follow-up the lecture portion of a course with one (or two) short activities, exercises or task.  This assessment, right after watching a video, offers you a brief moment to put the into practice the concepts you just learned.  We find this increases your retention and comprehension.  Our assessments in the C3 range from ten to twenty minutes.
4. C4 (Conclusion): after completing the C2 Video and the C3 Apply Your Learning exercise(s), we suggest you take a break and come back to the course a few days later.  In the meantime, reflect on what is new for you, how you might apply a new concept from the course or what feedback you received when you shared something about the topic with a friend of colleague.  The conclusion is your chance to express what the new information means to you and your organization.  Plan to spend from ten to twenty minutes to complete a C4 assignment.
5. C5 (Resources): for those who are inspired to go deeper on a topic or have a specific business need to learn more, this section connects you resources we have found useful.  Our curated list of resources offer you links to books, blogs and\or videos that you might not be aware of, but will give you a deeper appreciation of the topic.
6. C6 (Challenge): finally, for those who are ready to stretch themselves, we offer a challenge.  A challenge is a specific, step-by-step activity you can do with your Scrum Team that explores the key elements from the course using a helpful technique.  Not every course will have a challenge, but when they do, expect to spend at least an hour preparing, facilitating and reflecting on your challenge.

Lastly, we need to give credit where credit is due with respect to the C6 approach; a hearty “thank you” goes out to Karen Greaves and Sam Laing at Growing Agile.  They graciously pioneered this learning approach and shared their powerful framework with us.  Without Sam’s and Karen’s inspiration, this program would be very, very different.