The document discusses how the commonly cited 70-20-10 model for learning and development is a myth. It originated from research in the 1970s on executive development that found 75% of learning came from challenging assignments, mentoring and coaching, and 10% from formal coursework. This was simplified to the 70-20-10 model that is still widely used today. The document argues we should move past this model and other myths, and take a more evidence-based approach to learning design that incorporates what research actually shows about how people learn best.

1. IT’S TIME TO DITCH
70/20/10 … AND THE
OTHER L&D MYTHS
TOBY HARRIS, SOLUTION ARCHITECT, FILTERED
@TOBY_FILTERED

2. @toby_filtered
L&D vs
knowledge
@toby_filteredPhoto by Elijah Hail on Unsplash

3. @toby_filtered
70%
on the job
20%
mentoring &
coaching
10%
formal learning

4. assignments, other people, coursework, adverse
situations and personal experiences (outside
work). Since we were teaching a course about how
to develop effective executives, we could not use
the adverse situations (can’t plan for or arrange
them for people) and personal experiences outside
of work (again, can’t plan for them). Those two
categories made up 25% of the original 16
categories. That left us with 75% of the Lessons of
Success for the other three categories.
So the final easy-to-communicate meme was: 70%
Learning from Challenging Assignments; 20%
Learning from Others; and 10% Learning from
Coursework. And thus we created the 70-20-10
meme widely quoted still today.
SOURCE: http://www.forthillcompany.com/70-20-
10-origin-research-purpose/ (correspondence cited
in blog post, ’70-20-10: Origin, Research, Purpose’
by Cal Wick, 10 August 2016)
@toby_filtered
Photo by Jake weirick
on Unsplash

5. 'We should never assume that the
relatively easy acquisition of
biologically primary knowledge
outside of formal education is due
to the lack of formal guidance. The
difference in ease of learning
between the two contexts is due to
their evolutionary difference, not
due to the instructional procedures.
Minimal guidance in educational
contexts decreases ease of learning’
John Sweller
Working Memory, Long-term Memory, and Instructional Design’
Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition 5 (2016), 360-367 (p. 362)
BIOLOGICALLY
PRIMARY
KNOWLEDGE
• LISTENING
• SPEAKING
• SOLVING
PROBLEMS
• PLANNING
• THINKING
• LEARNING
SECONDARY
DOMAIN-SPECIFIC
KNOWLEDGE
• READING
• WRITING
• EDUCATION
• WORKPLACE
TRAINING
• CULTURAL ACTIVITY
@toby_filtered

6. Photo by Carli Jeen on Unsplash
Feedback - we know that written feedback works better than scores
Learning through concrete examples works better than abstraction
People learn better when the experience contains surprise and variety
People need regular breaks to learn. And they need to sleep
(Sources summarised in Pedro de Bruyckere, Paula A. Kirschner & Casper D. Hulsof, Urban
Myths About Learning and Education (London: Elsevier, 2015), pp. 86-92)
@toby_filtered

7. Photo by chuttersnap on Unsplash @toby_filtered
RUN YOUR LEARNING LIKE A LAB

8. @toby_filtered

9. https://learn.filtered.com/magpie-for-ld @toby_filtered

10. References
On 70/20/10
• Chapter 21, ‘Assignmentology: The Art of Assignment Management’ in Michael M. Lombardo and Robert W. Eichinger, The Leadership
Machine, Lominger International, 2007) Third Edition, (pp. 314-361)
• Cal Wick, ’70-20-10: Origin, Research, Purpose’,10 August 2016, http://www.forthillcompany.com/70-20-10-origin-research-purpose/ (
On what we know about learning
• John Sweller, Working Memory, Long-term Memory, and Instructional Design’, Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 5
(2016), 360-367
• Chapter 2 (Myth 3), ‘Myths about Learning’ and ‘So, What Exactly Do We Know about Learning’ in Pedro de Bruyckere, Paula A. Kirschner &
Casper D. Hulsof, Urban Myths About Learning and Education (London: Elsevier, 2015), pp. 36-39, pp. 86-91
• Paul A. Kirschner, John Sweller & Richard E. Clark, ‘Why Minimal Guidance During Instruction Does Not Work: An Analysis of the Failure of
Constructivist, Discovery, Problem-Based, Experiential, and Inquiry-Based Teaching’, Educational Psychologist, 41(2), 75–86
https://www.ou.nl/Docs/Expertise/NELLL/publicaties/Why%20minimal%20guidance%20during%20instruction%20does%20not%20work.pdf
On measurement
• Lex Donaldson, ‘Evidence-Based Management Using Organizational Facts’, The Oxford Handbook of Evidence-based Management (2012)
https://www.cebma.org/wp-content/uploads/Donaldson-EBMgt-Using-Organizational-Facts.pdf
• Jeffrey Pfeffer; Robert I Sutton, ‘Treat Your Organization as a Prototype: The Essence of Evidence-Based Management’, Design Management
Review (2006), 17 https://www.cebma.org/wp-content/uploads/Pfeffer-Sutton-Treat-your-Organization-as-a-prototype1.pdf
@toby_filtered