Category 18 · 10 frameworks

Learning & Skill Development

Evidence-informed methods for learning faster, remembering more and keeping your skills relevant.

70-20-10 Model

Morgan McCall, Michael Lombardo and Robert Eichinger, Center for Creative Leadership A guideline suggesting that most development comes from on-the-job experience, a smaller share from relationships with others, and the least from formal training. The ratios are a rule of thumb from research with executives, not a precise formula. 02

Deliberate Practice

K. Anders Ericsson; Peak (with Robert Pool) Focused, effortful practice on specific weaknesses just beyond your current ability, with immediate feedback. It differs from simple repetition, which tends to plateau. 03

Feynman Technique

Named after physicist Richard Feynman; the four-step method was popularised by later writers rather than set out by Feynman himself Test your understanding by explaining a concept in simple language as if teaching a beginner. Gaps in your explanation show exactly what you need to relearn. 04

Spaced Repetition

Based on Hermann Ebbinghaus's forgetting curve research; the Leitner box system by Sebastian Leitner Review material at increasing intervals, just as you are about to forget it. This strengthens long-term memory far more efficiently than cramming. 05

Retrieval Practice

Research by Henry Roediger and Jeffrey Karpicke; summarised in Make It Stick (Brown, Roediger and McDaniel) Actively recalling information from memory, through self-testing, strengthens learning more than re-reading. The effort of retrieval is what makes it work. 06

Bloom's Taxonomy

Benjamin Bloom and colleagues; revised by Lorin Anderson and David Krathwohl A hierarchy of learning levels: remember, understand, apply, analyse, evaluate and create (revised version). It helps you check how deeply you know something. 07

Four Stages of Competence

Noel Burch, Gordon Training International (sometimes wrongly attributed to Abraham Maslow) Learning moves through unconscious incompetence, conscious incompetence, conscious competence and unconscious competence. Knowing your stage helps you expect the discomfort that comes with it. 08

Ultralearning

Scott H. Young, Ultralearning An aggressive, self-directed approach to learning hard skills quickly, built on nine principles including metalearning, directness, drill, retrieval and feedback. It favours learning by doing the real task. 09

Learning in Public

Popularised by Shawn Wang ('swyx'), essay 'Learn In Public' Share what you are learning as you learn it through notes, posts, talks or code. It speeds up feedback, reinforces memory and builds visibility in your field. 10

T-Shaped Skills

Term generally credited to David Guest (1991); popularised by Tim Brown of IDEO Combine deep expertise in one area (the vertical bar) with broad working knowledge across related areas (the horizontal bar). This lets you collaborate across disciplines while still being the expert in something.

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