Last week, our Director of Marketing, Rena Saltsman had the opportunity to speak with Claire Schooley, a connection we made a few weeks back through #HRTech. Today, we want to take the time to really highlight Claire and her blog, especially her piece titled The Waning Life of SCORM. In this particular blog, she revolves her argument heavily around a model known as the 70/20/10 Model which we’re discussing heavily in our own blog on the matter.

About Claire

For those new to the consulting world, Claire Schooley Consulting is based out of Berkeley, California and was founded/ led by Claire Schooley herself! According to Claire’s “About” page on her site, she “has over 25 years of experience in education and corporate people development focusing on learning, recruiting, and performance.”

Basically, Claire is a powerhouse in her industry with the proper tools and knowledge to drive the consulting world forward! Her expertise gives her a unique outlook on the business world and its successes and failures. Claire has set out on a mission to help other organizations whether they struggle with their ”identity, on-boarding, development, or engagement.” For more on her mission, click here to read about exactly what she strives to do.

What is SCORM?

You may be wondering “what is SCORM?” The best source for all things SCORM is their website, scorm.com where you can find detailed information about the system. Basically, SCORM is a way of “constructing Learning Management Systems (LMSs) and training content so that they work well with other SCORM conformant systems.” This is mainly for those who are “involved in online computer based trainings, distance learning, or eLearning.” It falls under the category of a Formal Learning system on the 70/20/10 Model in the coming paragraphs.

The 70/20/10 Model

The 70/20/10 Model is something that is crucial to both Claire’s views on SCORM as well as formal learning. Each number accounts for a percentage of learning and where/how we learn as humans. The model was created by Charles Jennings, a well-established author at the 70:20:10 Institute who has invested a lot of time and energy into how individuals learn.

First, let’s break down the model. The number sequence is actually a ratio and a reminder that “people learn most from working and interacting with others in the workplace, hence the 70+20”. In his video titled “The 70:20:10 Myth by Charles Jenkins”, he states explicitly that this model is a framework and a tool for companies to use to better understand learning and also “expand the remit of learning and development into the workplace.” Jenkins believes that “organizations have been investing heavily in learning that matters the least-the formal learning.” Claire believes that SCORM is on the way out due to its heavy focus on that remaining 10%, the formal learning. If you look at part of the ratio, it’s broken up like this, Experiential Learning (70%), Social Learning (20%), and Formal Learning (10%).

To quote Claire, the Experiential learning “comes from experiences doing our jobs, or taking on new tasks, and reflecting on challenges and what needs to be done”. The Social Learning comes from “conversations with others, sharing information, networking, feedback, and mentoring.” The smallest bit, Formal Learning, comes from “structured courses like classroom events, and eLearning Courses.”

What does this mean? Simply put, companies are spending most of their learning and development money on courses designed to target your Formal Learning, even though that only accounts for 10% of what you (an employee) learns. Claire references 360 Learning’s Engagement Learning Platform which refers to a conflicting model called the “90/10” because one may argue that Experiential and Social learning are more important and impactful than the learning we experience when we are in a Formal setting.

The 70:20:10 Institute believes that their model is highly practical and varies from office to office; however, Formal Learning always seems to finish last. Keep in mind, structured learning is incredibly important, however, many people learn more from their experiences or social situations, rather than a more formal environment. The Institute wants this model to “strengthen the synergy between them [the learning systems], so the 70, 20, and 10 solutions are mutually reinforcing.” For companies focusing heavily on systems such as SCORM or other Formal Learning systems, it’s important to note this model and take into consideration that their employees may respond better if the learning in the office is more experiential or social than strict formalities.

What’s the Solution?

Because more and more problems are occurring as time goes on with SCORM, Claire suggests a new experience at the bottom of her blog known as xAPI (Experience API) which, “can track any observable or recorded activity”. Such activity includes “conference attendance, social media, job performance, books or articles read”, and more.

For more information on Claire Schooley’s stance on SCORM, she linked Amy Rouse’s blog, which is another great source to back up Claire’s claim and make you think a bit more about SCORM. Her blog also details more information about xAPI, if you’re interested! Be sure to check out Claire’s full blog post here for her full argument.