Carr Knowledge

It's not clever... it's science

Carr Knowledge produces results for large-scale organizations using Brain-centric Design (BcD). BcD is the neuroscience method for presenting information with deep understanding. BcD produces astounding results because it is the product of decades of peer-reviewed research in areas of cognition and psychology that align learning with how the human brain works and how people learn. It bridges the gap between education and neuroscience to provide a plan that works for every single business, every single time.

Brain-centric Design is a replicable, scientific pedagogy you and your training team can employ to reduce training time, decrease attrition, and increase retention. .

BcD consistently delivers in Fortune 100 companies, in Silicon Valley, in agricultural applications, and in game-changing cognitive strategies in business learning classrooms across the globe. All kinds of corporations have been successful with this method. We’ve had success with industry leaders in

• High-stakes engineering
• International banking organizations
• Large-scale medical and health facilities
• Global retail and manufacturing icons

It's not clever... it's science

FASTER TRAINING TIMES, BETTER RESULTS

...for new hires
BcD facilitators and Brain-centric Instructional Designers (BcIDs) have helped trainers take new hires that were meeting their target performance goals in 18 months and reduced that to 12 days. That isn’t a typo. But the best news for the corporate execs who have contracted BcD teams is their improved bottom line, which often begins with BcD “self-funding” engagements—the savings in budgeted time pays for the corrective action to cognitive training. We’ve found the time spent learning and applying BcD pays for itself many times over.

...in call centers
We’ve gone into call centers and reduced attrition to zero within the first 12 months. That’s because when we present, learners retain 100% of the information. With BcD, nothing is forgotten because learners are invited to think critically about their position, enabled to transform from a routine expert to an adaptive expert, engaged to adopt a growth mindset, and helped to understand enough to know where to find the answers they need.

...for specialized experts
We’ve even used BcD with a large airplane manufacturer to help highly specialized and trained engineers completely relearn their jobs within months. After working with us and using BcD, both trainees and trainers end up liking their positions more.

...significantly reduced attrition
We installed BcD within a Fortune 50 company and their traditional 14-week training course was shortened to just over 7 weeks. Before BcD, attrition rates were high. After BcD, trainees were promoted to top positions and fell in love with their jobs, and attrition naturally disappeared. With thousands of trainees per year costing the business tens of thousands of dollars each to train (and you must multiply that further if you factor in rehiring and retraining), the business now saves millions every year. Not only are there huge cost savings, but its customers consistently offer positive feedback.

WHY WE WORK

These results aren’t surprising…at least not to us. Many corporations employ training that is too long, inefficient, and only partially successful. On the ground, that translates into preventable mistakes, a large number of retakes, time lost being unproductive, and high attrition rates. All these items are excruciatingly expensive, so it is no wonder that training and development departments have a bad rep.

In retrospect, it’s easy to predict that using a model of teaching that delivers information the way the brain likes to receive it would produce results. That’s because this isn’t guesswork. It’s not based on anecdotal evidence or a gut feeling.

It’s not clever…it’s science.

WHAT WE DO

BcD delivers these results by inviting new learners to become cocreators of the learning space as “intelligent novices.” An intelligent novice understands the content well enough to ask complex, focused questions. The ability to produce meaningful queries places them on the road to becoming critical thinkers. BcD encourages them to actively problem-solve every step of the way.

Facilitators who are successful with this method have reported that learners who are typically recalcitrant, disruptive, or unable to give their full focus to the work are often the first to engage with the material. At the same time, learners who are usually soft-spoken and quiet find their voice, feeling confident enough to speak out and take charge of their learning.

BcD is more than a tool. It is a way of structuring a thinking process so that large quantities of information are rendered accessible through easy, digestible chunks that make sense. What’s more, BcD mitigates cognitive overload and facilitates the understanding of new material. Your content remains the same—BcD simply gives you the principles, methods, insights, and key resources to adapt it to a learning paradigm that works for all learners. In addition, BcD cultivates an active professional learning community that shepherds the changing face of your information over time. In other words, it’s adaptable. No matter the structural changes inside the organization, regardless of management issues that are outside your control, and whether the information presented undergoes dramatic change, BcD will always work.

TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE?

At times, we hear initial disbelief about this methodology from corporate trainers. They say, “If you knew the kinds of students I was tasked to teach, you would never suggest this kind of methodology.” But a few weeks later, they show up with a very different message: “How could we have missed this for so long?” It’s true. People are doubtful at the prospect of shifting from a traditional way of learning (the way it always has been) to a brain-aligned and magnificently simpler way. Why the mistrust? Why the hesitancy?

In actuality, we shouldn’t be alarmed by their reaction. They act exactly the way our brains are designed to behave. If something is unfamiliar, our brains grow new structures before they can accommodate the new method. But guess what—as soon as the structures are built, we never go back.

People have a hard time believing that learning can be fun. Corporate trainers often think that their classrooms will become too out-of-control if the students are having fun. Some trainers worry that the class will take too much effort on their part. They are always surprised that the learners quickly assume control over their own learning, in essence making their jobs easier.

We also hear objections like, “We have way too much content and too little time to use BcD!” On the contrary, BcD immediately cuts down time to market—usually by more than 50%. Trainers from all industries report that their learners learn more—at a faster rate and with astounding retention.