AI is transforming work habits – How do adults learn best?
Unlearning is the hardest form of learning! This sentence has been on my mind often lately as AI has required us to adopt new ways of working. This change affects a wide range of industries and roles. As a learning specialist, it has been great to see that organizations have widely recognized this challenge even before the requirements introduced by the EU AI Act.
EU AI Act and AI skills – what is this about?
AI literacy is one of the key requirements of the EU AI Act. It means that those deploying AI systems must ensure that their personnel have sufficient understanding of the possibilities and risks of AI systems, as well as the ability to use them safely and ethically.
Employers must provide training and guidance on the use, operation, and risks of AI systems. This helps employees understand how AI works and how it can be used responsibly. And because AI technologies develop rapidly, the regulation also requires employers to provide continuous training so employees can maintain and develop their AI literacy.
Would you like a comprehensive overview of the EU AI Act? Also explore our info package: EU AI Act – Why the regulation concerns every organization.
We have already delivered the AI literacy and capability required by the AI Act to thousands of customers — and the number continues to grow as the use of AI expands.
How does an adult learn — and truly internalize what they’ve learned?
Development is accelerating, and it’s tempting to hope that learning could accelerate too — that there might be a magic trick to help everyone acquire the needed skills as quickly as possible. But learning is still a process that requires work, interaction, and repetition. Most importantly, it requires experiences of success and feedback that reinforces learning.
It’s appealing to think that an effective learning and professional development strategy is simply publishing a bunch of videos in the intranet and hoping everyone watches them when they have time. Unfortunately, your own muscles don’t grow by watching others exercise.
Videos definitely have their place in learning and work well as part of a larger whole. We have long and extensive experience as learning experts and training providers. Based on our experience and the feedback we receive, we know that meeting people, learning together, problem solving, and receiving personal feedback are essential for real learning.
Our pedagogical model is a promise to customers
We deliver all the learning elements mentioned above as part of our training services. In designing our trainings, we rely not only on the expertise of our learning professionals but also on the 70:20:10 model developed by Professor Allen Tough back in the 1960s.
According to the model:
- 70% of learning happens by doing and solving real challenges.
- 10% of learning happens through formal training and instruction.
- 20% of learning happens through interaction with others and sharing experiences.
This same distribution is applied within each training module — meaning the focus is on interaction, practice, and problem solving. It is also important to assess learning and systematically collect feedback. Continuous development is built on evaluation and feedback.
We are professionals in adult learning, and we know that commitment to learning — and the joy of learning — arises through interaction and meaningful encounters.
The blog’s author:
Marianna Halonen specializes in leading learning transformation, personalizing learning, and ensuring the accessibility of educational technology. She is a Prosci Certified Change Practitioner. Marianna has extensive experience in the education sector, having worked as a teacher in both Finland and Germany, and later with educational technology at the Finnish National Agency for Education. Before joining Sulava, Marianna spent 12 years at Microsoft’s education team as a pedagogical expert.
