CDLA · Module 1 — Performance consulting and action mapping

Design for adults — or they will resist

Why, prior experience, ownership, and bolted-on resistance — adult framing that feeds action maps, not topic dumps.

About 14 min

Practice in the lesson player

Sorting, matching, quizzes, and the module gate stay behind a free account so scored answers are not public. The teaching notes below are the same cited curriculum.

What this lesson covers

  1. 01

    Workplace learners are not empty vessels

    Knowles’s andragogy is not a personality quiz. It is a design warning: adults arrive with a job identity, prior success and failure, and a scarce attention budget. If your module cannot answer “why this, why now, why me?” in the first screens, they will click through — or quietly refuse the behavior you hoped to change.

  2. 02

    Four adult design moves

    Need | What you do in the map

    Why | Open with the business metric and the job moment — not the company history.

    Prior experience | Activate what they already do; correct only the gap — do not re-teach the obvious.

    Ownership | Practice choices and preferred paths they will own on the floor — not passive slides “about” them.

    Bolted-on resistance | If content is not on the action map, cut it — adults spot decoration instantly.

  3. 03

    Same topic, two framings

    Bolted-on course: “Welcome to Customer Empathy 101.” · Twenty slides of definitions before any decision. · Experts treated as novices; no job stakes.

    Adult-ready map: “Repeat contacts rose 18% — here is the close you will rehearse.” · Decision first; minimum info after the try. · Acknowledge prior skill; target only the gap action.

  4. 04

    Bridge into Gilbert and Moore

    Adult framing does not replace diagnosis. If the environment is broken (Gilbert), no amount of “inspiring why” fixes the tool. If the goal is not designable (Moore), adults will smell the topic dump. Use andragogy to write the opener and the practice tone — then keep diagnosing.