What Does It Really Mean to "Educate"?

When we talk about education in this framework, we’re not just referring to loading people up with information they’ll never use (and promptly forget). If we dig into the origin of the word “educate,” it comes from the Latin “to lead out.” It is the process of transforming someone and leading them to the next step in their journey. Xpan’s learning framework focuses on creating that “aha!” moment when everything clicks. It’s about people picking up new skills, seeing things from fresh perspectives, and understanding complex concepts in life-changing ways. Education is an important step toward empowerment.

How Do We Make It Stick?

Meaningful engagement is crucial to making learning stick. We make sure that there is a deep connection between the content being taught and the context in which a behavior, attitude, or skill is to be performed. We design experiences that lead to people being better equipped in their day-to-day lives—be it at work, home, or play.

Education has to go beyond piling on facts and information. Information is not instruction. We create experiences that connect with the audience on an emotional and intellectual level, opening minds to different viewpoints and encouraging genuine curiosity. When done right, the impact of this approach is measurable—whether through skill mastery or the ability to apply new knowledge confidently in real-world scenarios. We measure more than just completions and passing scores. (Though those data have their place.) We look for ways to transform workplaces that solve real-life problems for organizations, teams, and individuals. Let’s look at some of the tools we use.

A Framework for Learning: Bloom’s Taxonomy

All good instruction begins with learning and performance goals. Effective learning goals must be actionable and measurable. However, learning differs in complexity based on the context. Bloom’s Taxonomy is an excellent framework to help us identify actionable goals for different levels of complexity—from simple to complex, from concrete to abstract. We focus primarily on the cognitive domain in the taxonomy and use the following categories.

1. Remember: This is the level of knowledge. Basic facts and information needed at the workplace such as policies and compliance requirements.
2. Understand: At this level, we expand on the “why” of facts and information. Why is this important? Why should someone care?
3. Apply: The most effective learning is when someone can apply what they have learned to real-world situations. Imagine learning de-escalation strategies in a customer-facing role and actually being able to put it into practice.
4. Analyze: Analysis builds on application and goes beyond applying procedure, going into problem-solving. Say a zero-emissions bus is out of service and must be fixed. How do you approach the issue?
5. Evaluate: Often the focus of our academic partnerships, evaluation deals with justifying a position or decision, having been informed by an analysis.
6. Create: This is the most abstract level of the taxonomy, where learners produce new or original work. Someone tasked with creating a new team or set up a leadership pathway is operating at this level.

This framework helps us align our efforts to create a tailored solution that best addresses the problems your organization or team may be facing.

A Framework for Performance: Mosher and Gottfredson’s Five Moments of Need

Workplace training often results in downtime and costs for the organization. Depending on the role and performance goals, training can often be delivered in the flow of work, avoiding interruptions in the tasks at hand. Mosher and Gottfredson identified Five Moments of Need in our work lives where we could use some help.

1. Learn something new: Imagine you’re a new manager and need to learn about the organization’s performance review policies.
2. Learning more: On your managerial journey, you learn the most effective ways of coaching your team.
3. Applying what you’ve learned: Now you’re ready for your first coaching session but need some last-minute refreshers on the concepts you’ve learned.
4. When things go wrong: During your coaching session, the employee reveals some information that is a potential ethical issue.
5. When things change: Upon investigating the ethical issue, the organization updates certain policies and procedures.

While the “learn more” and “learn new” are often the targets of organizational L&D, we use this framework to offer more holistic solutions, keeping learning practical and relevant, while supporting your organization’s performance remain seamless with minimal disruption.

Unforgettable Learning Experiences: The Knowledge Experience

At Xpan, we use these frameworks and others (because we’re continuously learning ourselves!) to create a solution that works just right for your organization. We situate the instruction in contexts that are familiar to your learners and encourage them to apply what they learned in spaces where it’s safe to fail. Failure leads to practice; practice leads to proficiency; which in turn leads to fluency. This approach is the crux of what we call KX, or the Knowledge Experience.

KX is supported by three pillars: Culture Experience (CX), Learner Experience (LX), and User Experience (UX).

• CX: Using examples and language that resonate with the culture of your organization makes learning feel personal and relatable. We focus on the language, values, and even locations that permeate your organization to make your learners sit up and take notice. For instance, we once recreated a client’s rail facility in 3D to situate railyard safety training.
• LX: Engaging, emotive content that highlights the why of what you’re doing and helps you do your job better is a key component of the Knowledge Experience. Scenarios and story-telling make our experiences more than just your run-of-the-mill “click next” slideshow.
• UX: Today’s learners are more and more tech-savvy. While digital contexts and adoption vary from one organization to another, we make sure to build our experiences so that they are easily accessible and frustration-free, regardless of whether you are in an office, using a mobile device, or somewhere in Africa with questionable internet access.

By focusing on meaningful, engaging content that evolves with learners, we empower them to confidently tackle whatever they may face at work, at home, or at play. Education isn’t just about “knowing stuff”; it’s about transformation, adventure, and lifelong growth.

Ready to level up? Let’s get learning!

Bringing it all Together

The Engage, Educate, Empower framework is a transformative approach to learning and development. By capturing their attention and engaging learners, providing valuable and relevant knowledge, and empowering individuals to apply their skills, we can build a knowledgeable and capable society. Aligning with the KX philosophy of cultureX, learnerX, and userX, this framework enhances workforce development, student education, and public knowledge. Ultimately, contributing to continuous learning, innovation, and societal progress creates a legacy of knowledge that outlives its originators. 

As we explore upcoming blogs in this series, we invite readers to engage with the content, share their thoughts, and join us on our journey of lifelong learning and empowerment.

Contact Xpan to learn more about how you can engage, educate, and empower your learners today!