Learning By Doing: The Most Efficient Training

Knowing how rather than just knowing is the whole point of employee training. The rapid evolution of processes and employment mobility today call for continuous training, accessible without the constraints of place and time.

Despite advances in techniques and digitalization aiming to reinvent training, learning models often remain stagnant. Trainers, shaped by traditional classroom environments, still depend on passive pedagogy, where learners absorb theory but struggle to apply it in practice. This gap leaves learners unsure of how to translate knowledge into action.

To address this efficiency issue, the Learning by Doing method is increasingly prevalent in modern training programs.

Learning by Doing: A classic practice

“For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.”

We owe this quote to Aristotle, the wise philosopher who, in ancient times, advocated what would later become, Learning by Doing. It is indeed one thing to receive information by listening, and another to put it into practice in real life. Learning by doing is a simple concept, emphasizing the need to apply experience and action, over pure theory.

This idea came to fruition both in the industrial age, in the automotive and aviation sectors, and in new educational methods at the start of the 20th century, as seen for example in the Montessori methodology. For Maria Montessori, abstract concepts are not absorbed: “what the hand does, the mind remember”. A child must integrate new concepts in a tangible and real way, by touching, weighing, and experiencing what they are taught. But it was not until the 1980s that Learning by Doing was implemented into business strategies, encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation, in particular by economists such as Kenneth Arrow and Robert Lucas.

In recent years, Lean Management has gained traction across organizations of all sizes. By leveraging the daily practices of all employees, it aims to optimize resource-intensive processes and achieve peak performance.

Learning by Doing: Why does it work?

When listening, the human brain can only maintain the optimal level of attention for up to 10 minutes. Beyond that, attention plummets, even if the subject is interesting. Reading and listening… are simply no match for doing.

Practice, over theory, invokes two key factors:

• Risk: Doing means taking a risk. The risk of making a mistake, of course, but also the risk of failure and of confronting one’s intellectual limits, often under the supervision of an expert whose role is to correct the practice. Though to err may be human, the human brain does not like to fail. Put in a situation of failure, we are better able to remember our error and correct it after the fact.
• Emotion: In trying and doing, we experience an emotion which we associate with the action. Embarrassment, joy, stress, surprise… these emotions are effective markers of the creation of a memory associated with the practice. 

The evidence is clear: our retention rates reveal that we remember a striking 75% of what we do, while a mere 5% sticks from passive listening alone. This stark contrast reveals the power of Learning by Doing thanks to its ability to truly embed knowledge.

This method is based on one key principle: repetition. There’s no shortcut—memorization requires repeated exposure. Just as we learned childhood poems by heart or rehearsed lines for a play, technical learning follows a similar pattern. However, it comes with an advantage: diversifying your practice methods and settings boosts understanding. Practical exercises encourage flexible thinking by applying concepts through problem-solving or tackling case studies, helping you engage more deeply with the material.

But Learning by Doing is also effective thanks to the mimicry that this method requires. It’s scientifically proven: when we listen to a lesson or speech knowing that we are going to have to repeat the action right after, the brain prepares itself accordingly. Neuroscience has shown that the idea of immediate practice activates the same areas of the brain as if you were already practicing a skill. The result: increased and optimal attention.

Learning by Doing applied to digital

Digital online training is widely acclaimed today by professionals in a wide range of companies. What are they looking to achieve through these trainings? The acquisition of new skills directly applicable in their daily tasks, in dynamic formats, and at low cost.

If we take the example of software adoption, the theory will not be of much help in learning processes. Active practice enables us to adopt the right habits within the context of change management.

Learning by Doing in action with MOOCs

MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) provide a diverse array of educational tools and activities that foster experimentation and hands-on practice. Breaking away from the stereotype of passive note-taking in front of a screen, modern MOOCs offer:

• Skill-Based Learning: Centered on achieving specific expertise objectives through practical application.
• Tool-Based Learning: Utilizing case studies and role-playing to promote collective participant engagement.
• Problem-Based Learning: Emphasizing repeated exercises, quizzes, and activities to enhance problem-solving skills, with a focus on learning from mistakes to retain information more effectively.

Examples of Learning by Doing

Learning by Doing has numerous applications. Here are a few to inspire you:

1. Augmented Reality: At GRDF, trainees use connected glasses to learn welding techniques under pressure, mastering the correct sequence of actions with a seamless integration of virtual and real elements.
2. Practical Discussions: In language learning, students present topics of their choice in the foreign language and engage in discussions with classmates, enhancing their conversational skills.
3. Serious Games: Employees tackle realistic problem-solving scenarios, making this method particularly effective for training in management or time management skills.

The Lemon Learning method

Company training focuses mainly on digital support and good command of internal software tools. At Lemon Learning, our software approach leverages interactive guides, directly integrated into the tools with which employees already work. Content is added to existing business software, to guide employees step by step towards good digital practices.

The Learning by Doing method seamlessly integrates into users’ daily routines, empowering them to access specific guidance exactly when needed to solve a problem or answer a question. This approach fosters greater autonomy and efficiency, transforming your employees into proactive agents of change management within your company.

Incorporating the Learning by Doing model into your corporate training offers significant advantages. Enhance practical skills, boost creativity, and foster innovation within your team. This approach, focused on active engagement and hands-on experience, leads to deeper knowledge retention and prepares employees to tackle real-world challenges more effectively. Emphasizing practical learning not only strengthens problem-solving skills but also encourages continuous growth and adaptability in a constantly evolving workplace.