Resources
One theory at a time.
Classic theories of learning — how people learn, why it sticks, and the conditions that make it possible.
Kirkpatrick · evaluation · four levels · 6 min read
Kirkpatrick's Four Levels of Evaluation
In 1959, Donald Kirkpatrick proposed that training evaluation has four levels — reaction, learning, behaviour and results. Six decades later, every serious evaluation framework still starts here.
Kolb · experiential learning · learning cycle · 6 min read
Kolb's Experiential Learning Cycle
David Kolb argued that learning is not the acquisition of knowledge but the transformation of experience. His four-stage cycle — experience, reflect, conceptualise, experiment — remains the most widely cited model of how adults learn.
Argyris · Schön · double-loop learning · organisational learning · 6 min read
Argyris & Schön's Double-Loop Learning
Chris Argyris and Donald Schön distinguished between learning that corrects actions within existing assumptions and learning that questions the assumptions themselves. The difference explains why some programmes change behaviour and others don't.
Edmondson · psychological safety · team learning · 6 min read
Edmondson's Psychological Safety
Amy Edmondson found that the best-performing teams were not the ones that made fewer mistakes — they were the ones that reported more. The difference was psychological safety: a shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking.
Senge · learning organisation · five disciplines · systems thinking · 7 min read
Senge's Learning Organisation
Peter Senge argued that the organisations which will truly excel in the future are those that discover how to tap people's commitment and capacity to learn at every level. His five disciplines describe what that takes.