learning-design
Talk to the Elephant: Design Learning for Behavior Change
Julie Dirksen 2024 13 references
Apply Julie Dirksen's behavioral design framework — COM-B diagnosis, Behaviour Change Wheel intervention mapping, and BCT selection — to design learning that actually changes behavior, not just knowledge.
behavior-change instructional-design com-b bct-taxonomy learning-design habit-formation motivation
Overview
The Core Framework
- The knowing-doing gap is not a knowledge problem. People know what to do and still don't do it. Information delivery (training) addresses only the rational Rider; the emotional/habitual Elephant drives most behavior.
- Diagnose before designing. Use COM-B (Capability + Opportunity + Motivation → Behaviour) to identify which of six root causes underlies the behavior gap. Training addresses only two of six.
- The three-level decision chain: COM-B diagnosis → select from 9 Behaviour Change Wheel intervention types → select specific BCTs from the 93-item taxonomy.
- Every system is perfectly designed to get the results it gets. Behavior is produced by the surrounding system — not individual character. Training individuals without addressing the system produces temporary compliance that decays.
- Change is a process, not an event. Design for the full arc: Considering → Planning → Making the Change → Maintaining. Match interventions to where learners actually are, not where you wish they were.
Quick Lookup
| Situation | Do This | Avoid This |
|---|---|---|
| Behavior gap despite previous training | Run COM-B — training rarely fails on knowledge; check Opportunity and Automatic Motivation | Prescribe more/better training |
| Need to motivate learners | Make consequences Significant, Immediate, Tangible, Likely (Elephant-accessible) | Abstract future benefits (career, compliance, statistics) |
| Behavior collapses after training ends | Design Maintaining-stage support + habit-formation BCTs | Assume one training event creates durable behavior |
| High course scores, low behavior change | Measure actual behavior; diagnose Automatic Motivation and Opportunity gaps | Accept satisfaction/knowledge scores as behavioral evidence |
| Senior staff resist the change | Use BCT 13.1 (Identification as Role Model) — acknowledge their actual influence | Mandate compliance; argue the case |
| Behavior requires discretion, not just compliance | Target identity and values (Ch. 12 BCTs) | External regulation / coercion |
| Environment creates the problem | Apply Big Red Line Test; fix environment (BCT 12.1/12.2) | Train people to navigate a broken system |
The Key Insight
"Your Rider is vastly outnumbered and outgunned. For every one neuron your cortex has, your amygdala has ten." — Julie Dirksen, Chapter 1: Talking to the Elephant
References
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