Tempo and the Next Three Moments of Need

As I mentioned in my previous post, the five moments of learning need have been popularized by Mosher and Gottfredson. They are learning for the first time (New), learning additional (More), learning when need to remember (Apply), learning when things break (Solve) and learning when the world changes (Change).

Last time I focused on "New" and "More". This time I’m covering "Apply", "Solve" and "Change". Again I invite you to compare your learning delivery to this idealized standard.

The first two moments of need lend themselves to formal instruction methods, however the remaining three are best served by performance support delivery. The "Apply" moment of need is easily recognized by the learner saying something like, “I know we covered this in class, but I just can’t remember it now that I have to use it.” Likewise the "Solve" and "Change" moments of need occur out in the real world at a time when the situation demands the learner’s skilled performance. 

"Solve" means that something does not work as expected and now a problem has presented itself.  "Change" means that the something in the world has changed. Maybe it’s the process or the tools or the competition.

Each of these moments of need require a rapid response. All the foundational content is not needed. Just the steps that were forgotten are needed in the "Apply" case. Just the new steps are needed in the "Solve" or "Change" case.

Tempo users find that their set of tools give them this rapid response capability.  By building the right size modules, the Tempo catalog and chapter index can serve as a task oriented performance support tool guiding the learner to just the steps needed at the time.

When something breaks or the world changes, Tempo users can quickly create new modules or replacement modules and distribute them across the enterprise.

Tempo’s support of multiple mobile devices means that the Tempo users can access this new content on the fly when and where it’s needed. This is key to providing performance support capability.

How does your learning solution stack up? Does it provide support to learners at each moment of need? Can you re-use your content to provide both formal instruction and on-demand performance support? Can you deliver this content when and where your learners need it?  My Tempo clients tell me yes, they can.

Rick Darby is President of SEDATA, LLC , consultants specializing in video-centric Interactive Distance Learning and technology-based training.