The L&D
Word Project

Browse or search for L&D and business terms.

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Method

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

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

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

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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.
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Modality

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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.
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Module

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A module is a unit of learning.
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Multimodal learning

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Multimodal learning uses multiple channels of information to create a learning experience.
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NDM (naturalistic decision making)

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Naturalistic decision making is a field focused on people's decision making in cognitively complex, real-world situations.
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NLP (natural language processing)

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Natural language processing is how computers process human language data to provide insights and information.
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NLP (neuro linguistic programming)

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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.
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NPS (net promoter score)

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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.
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Neurodivergent

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

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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.
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Neuroscience

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

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

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New skilling is the continuous learning of skills for your role or another in your organization.
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No-code

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

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

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

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

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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.
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OJT (on-the-job training)

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One-the-job training refers to instruction and learning that occurs in the workplace, while someone is performing the tasks of a job.
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OKR (objectives and key results)

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

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

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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.
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On-demand learning

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

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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.
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Order taker

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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.
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Organizational culture

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

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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.
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Outcome

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An outcome is the change in the organization, employees, or customers that drives business results.
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PIR (post-implementation review)

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A post-implementation review assesses how effectively a project reached its objectives after the project is complete.
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PKM (personal knowledge management)

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

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Pedagogy refers to the practice of teaching.
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People analytics

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

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

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

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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.
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Performance support

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

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

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

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

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A philomath is a person who loves learning.
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Podcast

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

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

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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.
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Posttest

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A posttest is an assessment given after a learning experience.
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Pretest

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A pretest is an assessment given before a learning experience.
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Problem-based learning

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

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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.
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Programmed instruction

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

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

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

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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.
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Proofread

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

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A prototype is an early, simple version of a design created to test the validity of the concept.
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Psychological safety

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Psychological safety, at work or in a professional environment, is when people feel comfortable bringing their full, genuine self to work and when they feel comfortable sharing ideas, asking questions, sharing concerns, or making mistakes and owning up to those mistakes.
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Push and pull

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Push and pull learning refer to how content is delivered to the audience. Push learning is where the audience is told how much, when, and where to learn -- the learning is pushed out to the user. Pull learning is where the audience is able to access the information they need, when they need it -- the learning is available to be pulled on demand.
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Qualification

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A qualification is a skill or accomplishment that makes someone an appropriate fit for a job.
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Question bank

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A question bank is a collection of assessment questions that are stored so they can be used repeatedly, typically used in eLearning design and as a feature of many rapid authoring tools.
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Rapid Prototyping

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Rapid Prototyping is the process of creating a preliminary version quickly in order to test its validity. It is also the name of an instructional design model created by Tripp and Bichelmeyer.
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Rapid authoring

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Rapid authoring refers to tools that help people create eLearning without the use of technical skills, like coding or web development.
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Readability

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Readability refers to how easy something is to read.
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Remote learning

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Remote learning refers to a learning experience where the learners and their instructor are separated by physical distance.
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Remote working

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Remote working is when an employee does not commute to a central office location but works from somewhere else, generally from their home but sometimes from anywhere.
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Reskilling

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Reskilling is learning a brand new set of skills for a different role in your organization.
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Resource

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A resource is any material that is available in our environment.
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Responsive

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Responsive refers to the accessibility and adaptability of a website across devices, including computers, tablets, and mobile devices.
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Retrospective

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A retrospective is when employees review a project after it is completed to discuss what went well and what could be improved for the next project.
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SAM (Successive Approximation Model)

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Created by Dr. Michael Allen, the Successive Approximation Model (SAM) is an instructional design model based on ADDIE but is considered agile because the design and development stages are each iterative.
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SCORM (sharable content object reference model)

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SCORM stands for Sharable Content Object Reference Model and is a set of technical standards for eLearning that allow eLearning to communicate with the learning management system (LMS).
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SME (subject matter expert)

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A subject matter expert (SME) is a person who holds a deep expertise in a particular subject.
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SOW (statement of work)

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A statement of work (SOW) is a legally binding document that defines a project's work requirements.
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Scaffolding

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In learning, scaffolding refers to delivering information gradually and with less support with the overall aim to increase understanding and autonomy.
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Scenario-based learning

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According to Ruth Colvin Clark, scenario-based learning is an instructional environment in which participants solve carefully constructed, authentic job tasks or problems.
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Scope

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Scope refers to the boundaries for a project's goals, tasks, and deadlines.
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Segmentation

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In learning, segmentation refers to the way complex information is broken down into smaller parts to be presented.
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Self-Determination Theory

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Self-Determination Theory states that people are motivated to change by three psychological needs: autonomy (the need to feel in control of their life), competence (the need to master their environment), and relatedness (the need to make connections and feel belonging).
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Self-directed learning

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Self-directed learning is an educational approach where learners choose their own lessons, curriculum, activities, and more.
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Sentiment analysis

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Sentiment analysis is the computational assessment of a piece of text to determine the attitude: positive, negative, or neutral.
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Service design

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Service design is a branch of design focused on the creation and/or improvement of services provided to a customer, user, or employee.
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Skill

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A skill is the ability to do something well.
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Skill gap

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A skill gap is the difference between the abilities needed to do a job and the abilities an employee possesses.
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Skills framework

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A skills framework defines the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for every role within an organization so the organization can have a shared understanding of the skills expected.
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Soft skills

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Soft skills are non-technical skills that include how people work and how they communicate with others.
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Solutioneering

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Solutioneering is coming up with a solution to a problem before the root cause of the problem is identified.
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Spaced repetition

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Spaced repetition refers to the process of repeatedly reviewing information on a set schedule to improve retention.
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Sprint

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A sprint is a short, defined period of time during which tasks are completed and deliverables are developed.
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Stakeholder

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A stakeholder is a person who has an investment in or will be impacted by something. For example, a client is a stakeholder in your project.
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Steering committee

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A steering committee is an advisory group that oversees and manages progress on an organizational project and makes decisions about the direction of the project.
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Stock

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Stock refers to something available for use or sale. In learning and development, you might hear terms like stock photos, stock videos, or stock assets, which refer to multimedia assets that can be used for learning projects for free or for a fee.
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Storyboard

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A storyboard is a visual representation that uses panels for descriptions, dialogue, and illustrations or images. They are used to design a learning experience and present the idea to stakeholders.
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Strategy

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Strategy is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term goals. In learning and development, strategy can refer to how the learning and development team is staffed, the processes they use to create learning projects, or the ways in which learning is communicated to the audience.
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Structured learning

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Structured learning refers to a learning experience that is designed using instructional methods that follows specific objectives and a specific path.
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Style guide

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A style guide is a set of standards for the writing, formatting, and design of documents or learning experiences.
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Succession planning

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Succession planning is the process of identifying talent within the organization and upskilling them so that they can fill critical leadership roles when someone leaves.
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Summative assessment

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A summative assessment is a planned, structured assessment at the end of a learning experience, often used to check for understanding and progress toward learning goals so that the instructor knows if the learning experience was successful.
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Synchronous learning

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Synchronous learning is where learners participate in the learning experience at the same time.
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Systems thinking

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Systems thinking is a holistic way of looking at a problem that examines the big picture and how things are connected and interrelated, as opposed to breaking something down into its parts.
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Talent acquisition

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Talent acquisition refers to the screening, sourcing, identifying, interviewing, and hiring of candidates within an organization and any processes related.
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