The research* shows that much of what we do in our conference education is actually counterproductive. (*See partial list of research and books at the end of Dangerous Assumptions Part 1 post.) We spend too much of our conference time on delivery of information. The web is a better information delivery model than our events. … [Read more…]
It’s a very dangerous assumption. We assume that if our speakers are talking, our attendees must be learning. We equate telling from the stage with audience education. Telling does not equal learning. We’ve placed a value on experts talking instead of a value on attendees’ learning. It’s backwards thinking and it’s one of our conference’s … [Read more…]
Your conference is spreading the cult of myths, traditions and rituals. How so? What do you mean? You ask. Providing conference education is not as intuitive as it seems! Science shows that there is a right way and a wrong way to design, deliver and implement conference education. Unfortunately, most conferences ignore the science. Instead, … [Read more…]
The empirical research on how we learn and remember shows that… …Most of what we know as truth about learning is nothing more than wasted effort! The learning opportunities that we offer to our customers and members are based on outdated theory, lore, past experiences and gut instincts. And the empirical evidence says much of … [Read more…]
We all believe in myths. Some of us don’t know that our own personal beliefs are actually based on fiction. Some of us hold on to our own personal experiences as supporting evidence of our beliefs. We don’t realize that our realities are often grounded in confirmation bias. We fail prey to the adage, “But … [Read more…]
Most conference organizers see attendees as consumers of the conference’s information. Little thought is given to seeing attendees as active participants in their own learning and experience. 8 Myths That Restrict The Attendee Experience Here are eight conference presentation myths that you should avoid. Myth 1: The lecture or panel best serves all conference attendees. … [Read more…]
Conventional wisdom regarding traditional conference education is well-intentioned and misguided. Our accepted beliefs about what does and doesn’t work in conference sessions are universal. We’ve always done it this way and no one has complained so it must be working. Today, cognitive neuroscience has created a new standard of proof. Most of what we thought … [Read more…]
Where does creativity come from? No, it doesn’t come from the strike of lightning bolt or a handful of hallucinogenic drugs. Although the movie Gothic depicting English Romantic poets Mary Shelley and Lord Byron taking drugs on a rooftop in the midst of a thunderstorm might lead you to think so. Dramatic, yes! And far … [Read more…]
How much do you learn from your sight? Most scientists agree that about 75% of your learning occurs through your vision. Looking To Learn Consider infants. They pick up behavior traits by observing people around them. They process and interpret facial expressions and gestures. From a quick glance, they can tell if their parents are … [Read more…]
Meeting professionals are long overdue to retire learning style myths in favor of evidenced-based education. (So are ASAE and the Convention Industry Council-CIC-which promotes unscientific learning styles in the CMP Handbook!) It’s time for conference organizers to bridge the gap between learning research and practice. It’s time to bring the research into the conference planning for … [Read more…]
