The L&D
Word Project

A learning experience platform is another, more modern term for a learning management system that aims to take the focus away from asset management and place it on the learner's experience in the software.

A lagging indicator is a measurable factor that changes after a related economic, financial, or business variable has changed.

Leadership refers to the actions related to leading a group of people or an organization.

Leadership development refers to the upskilling and training of leaders so that they can be successful in their roles and with their teams.

A leading indicator is a measurement that provides insight into what is likely to happen in the near future. They are forward-looking and can be used to predict turning points or anticipate future trends.

Originally from the manufacturing industry and then adopted by software development and learning and development, lean refers to the set of processes and principles that aims to maximize efficiency and reduce waste.

A learner journey looks at how the learner moves through a learning experience, including the time before they begin the experience to the activities that occur after the experience to apply and reinforce learning.

Learning is the process through which we acquire knowledge and/or skills.

Learning transfer is the use of previously acquired knowledge and skills in new learning or problem-solving situations.

Learning agility is when a person doesn't know the answer but knows what to do or the resources to consult to find the answer.

In a learning and performance ecosystem, employees are connected to the resources they need to learn, improve performance, and develop their skills to grow in their roles.

Learning culture refers to how employees, teams, and organizations use learning and growth opportunities to help employees feel they belong in and have a future at their organization.

Learning design is another, more modern term for instructional design that aims to take the focus away from "instruction" and place it on the learner as an active participant.

The learning environment refers not only to the physical location where one learns but also to the delivery method, educational approach, and cultural context where learning takes place.

Learning in the flow of work is a concept where employees are given access to learning opportunities within their existing workflow, rather than by interrupting an employee's work to deliver formal training.

A learning myth is one that sounds plausible but has no basis in research or research-based practice.

A learning object is a digital resource that can be used to support teaching and learning. Examples include text, images, videos, simulations, or animations.

A learning objective is a brief statement that describes what someone will learn by the end of a successful learning experience.

A learning pathway is a set of modules, lessons, courses, activities, resources, or experiences that help a learner move through information on a particular topic.

One of the most popular and well-known learning myths that is still taught in graduate education today, the learning styles theory states that people learn in one of three main ways: auditory (through listening), visual (through seeing images and graphic representations), through reading/writing, and kinesthetic (through manipulating objects or doing something "hands-on").

Created by a mother/daughter duo based on the work of Carl Jung, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is a personality test used to divide people into extroversion or introversion, sensing or intuition, thinking or feeling, and judgement or perception. It's validity, dichotomy, reliability, and lack of objectivity have been repeatedly called into question over the years.

Managed learning services (MLS) are when a group outside of the organization is responsible for some or all of the learning and development responsibilities for an organization.

A massive open online course (MOOC) is a course available to a large group of learners over the internet.

Mixed reality is an immersive experience that involves parts of the real world and digital world.

Machine learning is a field of study in AI concerned with the development and study of statistical algorithms that can learn from data and generalize to unseen data and thus perform tasks without explicit instructions.

Macrocognition is the study of mental processes that people use to perform tasks or achieve goals in complex, natural settings.

Market share is the percentage of the total revenue or sales in a market that a company's business makes up. For example, if there are 50,000 units sold per year in a given industry, a company whose sales were 5,000 of those units would have a 10 percent share in that market.

A masterclass is a lesson given by an expert to a group of high-performing learners who have a specific interest in the topic.

Mayer's Multimedia Principles are 12 principles to follow when designing multimedia assets that aim to increase retention and reduce cognitive load of learners.

Memorization is the process of committing information to memory so that you can recall it later.

A mental model is a representation in someone's thought processes for how something works.

Mentoring is a reciprocal relationship between a more experienced person and lesser experienced person, where the more experienced person provides advice to the lesser experienced person for the purposes of achieving career goals and growth.

David Merrill spent time researching which principles were most common in instructional design theory and came up with what he deemed the first five principles of instruction where learning is promoted: 1. when learners are engaged in solving real-world problems, 2. when existing knowledge is activated as a foundation for new knowledge, 3. when new knowledge is demonstrated to the learner, 4. when new knowledge is applied by the learner, and 5. when new knowledge is integrated into the learner’s world.

Metacognition is the process of thinking about one's own thought processes and the patterns that create them.

A simulated digital environment that uses augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and social media mechanics to create a space for people to communicate and interact like they would in the real world.

A method is a systematic or established procedure for accomplishing something.

Methodology refers to the systems, rules, and processes of doing something.

Micro-credentials are qualifications based on a short-term, focused learning experience.

Microcopy refers to short pieces of copy in the user interface that help users know what to do, such as error messages, labels, and pop-up hints.

Microlearning is a strategy that breaks down learning content into small, focused units of information, often called "bite-sized" pieces, to help learners retain information better. These pieces are delivered in short modules or lessons, usually lasting 3–5 minutes.

Modality refers to the pathways through which people consume information. This can refer to sensory pathways, such as seeing and hearing information, or the delivery method, such as hybrid or remote.

A module is a unit of learning.

Multimodal learning uses multiple channels of information to create a learning experience.

Naturalistic decision making is a field focused on people's decision making in cognitively complex, real-world situations.

Natural language processing is branch of AI concerned with how computers process human language data to provide insights and information.

Neuro linguistic programming is a pseudoscientific claim that posits there is a connection between neurological processes, language, and behavioral patterns learned through experience and that these can be changed to achieve specific goals in life.

The net promoter score is a metric that assesses customer experience, including how likely it is that a customer would recommend the product or service, and helps estimate business growth.

A needs analysis is all the questions we ask to get to the root cause, find the ideal state, and get all the information we need to make an educated decision about how to proceed with a solution during a learning project.

A needs assessment is the systematic process of how we determine if there is a problem or opportunity and if it is related to training.

Neurodivergent refers to people who experience atypical mental or neurological functions and behaviors.

Neuroplasticity refers to the ability of neural networks in the brain to change through growth and reorganization, meaning that through neuroplasticity, the brain can function differently than it previously did.

Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system).

Neurodiverse refers to people who experience typical mental functions and behaviors.

New skilling is the continuous learning of skills for your role or another in your organization.

No-code refers to platforms that allow non-technical people to create computer software without programming knowledge or skill.

Non-formal learning occurs outside of a typical learning environment but still has learning objectives and structure.

Non-instructional interventions are performance solutions that do not involve traditional instruction or learning.

Nudge theory is the idea that you can positively change people's behavior by guiding them to make decisions they would already make.

Organizational development (OD) are the efforts of an organization to make changes in processes, practices, and systems to improve the organization's performance and culture.

One-the-job training refers to instruction and learning that occurs in the workplace, while someone is performing the tasks of a job.

Objectives and key results (OKRs) refer to a goal-setting framework created to help organizations track goals, performance, and outcomes.

Off-the-shelf content refers to ready-made, immediately available learning experiences.

Offboarding is the separation process between an employee and a company through resignation, termination, or retirement. It might include events such as transferring knowledge or duties, communicating the separation, collecting any equipment or deactivating access, or conducting an exit interview.

On-demand learning refers to when a learner has immediate access to learning content, anytime and anywhere.

Onboarding refers to welcoming and integrating a new employee to their organization. Onboarding is also used in customer education to describe providing customers with basic knowledge of a product or service.

Order taker is a word used in learning and development to describe someone who designs and develops training or learning experiences without doing a proper needs assessment and typically coming into the L&D department by the request of a stakeholder who has no background in L&D. It is meant with a negative connotation, likening training to fast food and implying that training developed this way is low quality.

Organizational culture refers to the values, beliefs, and behaviors that are expected from everyone in the organization.

Also known as organizational architecture, organizational design is a field concerned with the creation of roles, processes, and formal reporting relationships in an organization.

Organizational effectiveness includes all the metrics that measure how well an organization achieves its goals.

Organizational psychology is the study of human behavior in the workplace. It is also referred to as Industrial Organizational Psychology, or I/O psychology, for short.

An outcome is the change in the organization, employees, or customers that drives business results.

In learning, output refers to the products we create to achieve a learning outcome. Examples include courses, performance support material, events, content, and platforms.

A post-implementation review assesses how effectively a project reached its objectives after the project is complete.

Personal knowledge management (PKM) is the process one uses to collect, store, organize, and retrieve information they've collected.

Pedagogy refers to the practice of teaching.

People analytics refers to collecting and assessing candidate and employee information for reaching talent and business goals.

Performance is the process of accomplishing an action, task, or function.

Performance consulting is a practice that takes a systems approach to identifying performance issues in an organization and creating solutions to solve those problems.

Performance management refers to how a supervisor or manager monitors and assesses an employee's work throughout the year and provides feedback on their progress and ability to achieve outcomes.

Performance support refers to a resource designed to help people perform a task, such as a job aid or checklist.

A persona is a character created to represent a learner or user.

Personal growth refers to the process of developing new skills, attitudes, behaviors, or routines that have a positive impact on your life and increase your overall wellbeing.

Personality tests are assessments used to make generalizations about a person's personality characteristics.

Personalization refers to designing or creating something to meet a specific individual's requirements.

A philomath is a person who loves learning.

A podcast is a digital audio file that is made available for download on the internet on a podcast hosting platform.

A portfolio is a representation of a person's work.

A portfolio career is when someone monetizes their skills in multiple ways in order to create multiple income streams, rather than holding a single job at an organization.

A term coined by Maslow, positive psychology refers to the field of psychological theory and research that focuses on psychological states, individual traits or character strengths, and social institutions that enhance subjective well-being and make life most worth living.

A posttest is an assessment given after a learning experience.

Predictive analytics is a branch of analytics that makes predictions about the future using historical data combined with statistical modeling, data mining techniques, and machine learning. Companies use it to find patterns in data to identify risks and opportunities.

A pretest is an assessment given before a learning experience.

Problem-based learning is an educational approach where learners are presented a real-world, complex problem and learn by solving it.

Professional development is the continuous upskilling and training of employees so that they can be successful in their roles or achieve promotions within their organization.

Programmed instruction is a series of self-paced and self-administered, specific and structured steps and the assessments that accompany them.

A project is a group of tasks that lead to a specific goal by a specific time.

Project management is leading the work of a team to make sure a project is successful at meeting its goals and remaining within constraints.

A project sponsor is typically a member of senior management, who is responsible for the success of a project and provides the necessary guidance and resources to the project team throughout the lifecycle of the project.

In AI, a prompt is an input a user feeds to an AI system in order to get a desired result.

To proofread is to look over text before it is published to identify any errors.