This month’s field note explores how thoughtful learning design can make ongoing learning feel more approachable and sustainable.

📓 Field Note: Learning feels more possible when it fits within the rhythms of real life.
📍 Sparked by: Short-form sessions and conversations about learning culture
💡 Big idea: Flexible learning structures can help adults sustain meaningful learning

I’ve been reflecting on time and how I spend the hours and minutes of my days. I’ve also had conversations with education leaders about how easily professional learning becomes something we “fit in” only after the work is done, rather than something woven into the work itself.

A few weeks ago, I participated in a Tech Coach EdCamp, where sessions were just 22 minutes long (which seemed to be an unusual length for a session.) For our GEG-NORTX meetups this year, we’re offering 30-minute, fast-paced virtual sessions.

I also think a LOT about my own learning preferences (see this recent newsletter), and previously, those formats were not the types of sessions I typically gravitated toward.

But one thing I’ve noticed about short bursts of learning is that they lower the barrier to entry. “Sure, I can find space for 20–30 minutes today.”

If I want to spend just 30 minutes learning something new this week, those short webinars feel doable. They honor my commitment to learning while also honoring the realities of a full schedule. If they’re recorded, I can also return to them when my energy and attention are available. (Although I still enjoy the socialness that comes from attending live.) And if the topic doesn’t resonate, I haven’t wasted much time.

So what’s changing for me? And how can these reflections help me refine the kinds of learning experiences I design for others?

The bigger conversation I continue to have with education leaders is this: How do we build a culture where learning feels sustainable, approachable, and possible within the realities of people’s lives?

In the ASCD article Yes, Principals Can Make Time to Read, Jenn David-Lang offers practical ideas for making time to learn through habit formation. She references strategies from Atomic Habits, including scheduling, accountability groups, and habit stacking.

These ideas made me think about learning culture in a different way. Maybe the challenge isn’t simply convincing people that learning matters. Maybe it’s also about designing opportunities that feel manageable and approachable in the first place.

When I worked in a role that required driving between districts, I listened to educational podcasts and audiobooks during my commute. The learning fit naturally into the rhythms of my day. That’s habit stacking or “pairing.”

Gretchen Rubin’s approach to habit formation is slightly different. One of her core beliefs is that “There’s no one right way to cook an egg,” meaning we each need to find approaches that work best for us.

For example, a common suggestion is to wake up earlier to make time for tasks like exercising, reading, or learning. Gretchen argues that if you’re not a morning person, forcing yourself into someone else’s ideal schedule probably isn’t sustainable. Instead, find the timing that works best for you.

The more I reflect on these ideas, the more I think they apply to professional learning design as well. Adults experience time differently depending on their schedules, responsibilities, energy levels, and seasons of life. When learning opportunities acknowledge those realities, participation can feel much more approachable.

Reflecting back on the summer of 2020 (😱), we designed learning in ways that acknowledged the realities of people’s lives, schedules, energy, and access needs. We experimented with flexible pathways because we had to, and in the process, many of us expanded our understanding of what professional learning could look like.

That flexibility also reminds me of something Tolulope Noah writes in Designing and Facilitating Workshops With Intentionality:

That idea has stayed with me because short learning experiences are often viewed as “less than” longer forms of professional learning. But maybe those smaller entry points matter precisely because they make learning feel possible.

In Rogue Leader, Rich Czyz writes:

What if thoughtfully designed learning opportunities don’t just support schedules, but also help people reconnect with their identity as learners?

So what can we design to help adults feel like learning is possible and sustainable again?

Learning cultures aren’t built only through encouragement or requirements. They’re also shaped by whether learning feels approachable within the realities of people’s lives.

One example of an experience that honors educators’ time is my friend Kristin’s “Summer Soak and Study.” This is the third year she’s hosted the experience for her team, but her goals have remained consistent:

This year, one of her goals is to emphasize the importance of the learning sciences, so the choice board includes resources connected to topics such as retrieval practice and cognitive load theory.

The options vary in both format and length of time, and the board can be accessed at any point throughout the summer. Kristin provides a due date and a required artifact of learning, but otherwise, participants have flexibility in how and when they engage.

She acknowledges the realities of summer calendars, family schedules, travel, and energy levels. Because of that, the experience feels approachable while still encouraging meaningful professional learning.

That design choice keeps bringing me back to this question:

How might flexible, approachable learning experiences help build stronger cultures of learning?

I’m under the impression, mostly from anecdotal evidence, that many professional learning experiences have become more rigid again. Workshop options tend to default to 60-minute, 3-hour, or full-day sessions. Conference sessions are often 45 or 90 minutes.

And that’s about it.

So how might we play with time a bit more? How might we create learning opportunities that help people weave learning into their existing lives and schedules?

A few ideas I’ve been thinking about:

Several years ago, Mesquite ISD created a series of “Need to Know in 90” videos for teachers. These short videos provided quick insights from district educators around topics new teachers often needed support with during the school year.

Dallas ISD developed flyers with layered options:
“If you have one minute, reflect on this question.”
“If you have three minutes, try this.”
“If you have five minutes, read this.”

All centered around the same instructional goal, but designed for different amounts of available time.

Those kinds of experiences remind me that thoughtful learning design doesn’t require everyone to engage in the exact same way or on the exact same schedule.

Sometimes building a learning culture starts by making learning feel possible again.

How do you make time for learning?

What types of timing, pacing, or formats work best for you?

Have you ever reconsidered a new time of day, length of time, or format for your own learning?

Noting, reflecting, connecting,
Kathryn

PS: If something here sparked an idea, please forward this post to an EduFriend who’s also designing professional learning. ✨

This newsletter is inspired by the idea of self-anthropology from Tiny Experiments by Anne-Laure Le Cunff. Just like field notes help researchers make sense of what they observe, these monthly reflections help me capture ideas, tools, and questions from my own work designing professional learning. I share them here in the spirit of experimentation, connection, and ongoing refinement.

🤖 AI helped polish this post, but the ideas, intention, curation, and care are all mine.