Design for How People Build Skills

Book 3 of 3 in the Learning Design Essentials Library

Even in an AI‑driven world, skill development remains essential for people. Expertise is required not only to evaluate and apply AI outputs, but also to use AI thoughtfully in building human proficiency. Access to information alone has little value without the skills and judgment to apply it effectively.

Design for How People Build Skills shows how to design learning that builds real, measurable skills—not just knowledge. Drawing on research and real‑world practice, Julie Dirksen provides a practical framework for developing skills that transfer to the job and adapt to changing conditions.

Key Topics Covered:

• Defining Skills That Matter: Learn how to identify true skills and distinguish them from knowledge or procedures.
• Designing Practice and Feedback: Create practice sequences, rubrics, and feedback loops that drive growth and fluency.
• Transfer and Context: Design learning that supports performance across tangible and variable work situations.
• AI and Skill Development: Use AI to enhance coaching and feedback while keeping human judgment central.

In this book Julie builds on the concepts discussed in her other books, Design for How People Learn (understanding learning) and Talk to the Elephant (creating behavior change), by addressing the next challenge: how to design learning that develops skills and capabilities that can be practiced, applied, and improved in real-life contexts. She addresses the gap between knowledge and skill and outlines the stages of skill development from novice to expert.