8 Learning and Development Models to Transform Training in 2026

Learning models are frameworks that describe how people learn and how training should be designed and delivered to help them do it. In workplace learning and development (L&D), the most effective models today blend learning in the flow of work, collaboration with peers and experts, practice, and AI-powered personalisation, rather than relying on courses alone.

Choosing the right mix matters more than ever. AI is changing which skills people need and how fast they need them. Employees have less time for formal training. And L&D teams are expected to prove that learning improves performance, not just completion rates.

In this guide, we break down the 8 types of learning and development models that matter most for modern workplaces, the classic frameworks they build on (from 70-20-10 to Kolb's experiential learning cycle), and how to choose the right combination for your organisation.

Key takeaways

• The 8 most relevant models for workplace L&D are: learning in the flow of work, AI-powered personalised learning, collaborative learning, peer-driven and SME-led learning, microlearning, immersive and practice-based learning, skills-based learning, and blended learning.
• Classic frameworks such as 70-20-10, Bloom's Taxonomy, ADDIE, Kirkpatrick and Kolb's experiential learning cycle still matter for designing and measuring training.
• Peer-driven and SME-led learning turn the expertise already inside your organisation into training, so courses stay relevant and up to date.
• Matching training to individual "learning styles" isn't supported by evidence. Offering varied formats is useful; labelling learners isn't

What are learning models?

A learning model is a framework that explains how people acquire knowledge and skills, and turns that into an approach for designing and delivering training. Some models describe how learning happens (such as Kolb's experiential learning cycle); others describe how to deliver it (such as microlearning or blended learning).

What are learning and development models?

Learning and development (L&D) models are learning models applied to the workplace. They guide how organisations build skills, onboard employees, and improve performance: what format training takes, who creates it, when people learn, and how results are measured.

Learning models vs. learning theories vs. learning styles

These terms are often used interchangeably, but they mean different things:

8 types of learning and development models for modern workplaces

1. Learning in the flow of work

Learning in the flow of work means giving employees short, relevant learning at the moment they need it, inside or alongside the tools they already use, instead of pulling them away for long training sessions.

It works because it matches how people actually learn at work: when they hit a problem mid-task. It also suits time-poor teams, who rarely have hours to spare for formal courses.

How to put it into practice:

• Break content into short courses that each answer one question.
• Make everything searchable from one place, including on mobile.
• Use integrations so employees can open a course from the tools they work in, such as their CRM.
• Let employees flag missing content when a search comes up empty, so you know what to build next.

Related: Find out more about workflow learning.

2. AI-powered personalised learning

AI-powered learning uses artificial intelligence to personalise what each employee learns and to speed up how training is created. Instead of one catalogue for everyone, each learner sees recommendations based on their role, skills, and progress.

AI is changing L&D in three main ways:

• Personalisation: adaptive recommendations that adjust to each learner's level and goals.
• Faster content creation: AI-assisted authoring that helps subject-matter experts turn their knowledge into courses in a fraction of the time.
• On-demand support: learner assistants that answer questions and point people to the right content.

AI also shifts what people need to learn. As AI tools take on routine knowledge tasks, training needs to focus more on analysis, judgement, and creativity: the higher levels of Bloom's Taxonomy (more on that below).

The key is to use AI to amplify human expertise, not replace it. AI can draft a course in minutes, but your experts still know what good looks like in your business.

Related: See how AI for L&D works in 360Learning.

3. Collaborative learning

Collaborative learning is an approach where employees learn with and from each other, sharing knowledge, solving problems together, and improving training as a group, rather than only consuming content created by a central L&D team.

It's the "20" in the 70-20-10 model, and it's one of the most effective ways to build a learning culture. People remember what they discuss and apply, and they're more engaged when training reflects their real work.

Ways to build collaboration into your programmes:

• Discussion forums inside courses, where learners ask questions and share examples.
• Cohort-based programmes that move a group through training together.
• Group projects and challenges that apply new skills to real problems.
• Communities of practice around a skill or role.
• Lunch-and-learns and other informal sessions where colleagues share what they know.

In 360Learning, collaborative learning is built into the platform through Academies, which bring together the people, content, and discussion around a topic or team.

Related: What is collaborative learning?

4. Peer-driven and SME-led learning

Peer-driven learning is when employees learn directly from colleagues. SME-led learning (subject-matter-expert-led learning) is a version of this where the people with the deepest knowledge of a topic, such as top performers, specialists, or experienced managers, create and deliver the training themselves, with L&D supporting rather than producing everything.

It's the most scalable way to capture the knowledge that off-the-shelf content can't: how your products work, how your best people sell, how your sites run safely. And because experts are closest to the work, they can update courses as soon as something changes.

Why it works:

• Relevance: training reflects real processes, tools, and customers.
• Speed: experts can build and update content without waiting for a central L&D production queue.
• Credibility: employees trust advice from people who do the job.
• Retention of knowledge: expertise is captured before people move roles or leave.
• Recognition: experts gain visibility and development of their own.

How to launch an SME-led learning programme:

1. Identify your experts. Look for top performers and go-to people in each team, and ask managers who others turn to for help.
2. Start from a real need. Pick a business problem, such as slow onboarding or a new product launch, and ask experts what new hires most need to know.
3. Give experts easy tools. A simple authoring tool, templates, and AI assistance let experts create a short course in hours, not weeks.
4. Let L&D coach, not produce. L&D sets standards, reviews quality, and helps experts structure content for learning.
5. Open the feedback loop. Let learners react to courses, flag outdated content, and ask experts questions directly.
6. Recognise contributors. Celebrate experts publicly and build their contributions into performance and career conversations.

In 360Learning, any employee can be invited to create courses with the built-in authoring tool. Learners can react to courses, ask questions in course forums, and request new content when something is missing, so experts always know what to create next.

Related: How to engage subject-matter experts in L&D and peer learning.

5. Microlearning

Microlearning delivers training in short, focused units, typically 2 to 10 minutes long, that each cover a single concept or skill. Learners build expertise over a series of modules instead of in one long session.

Microlearning fits around busy schedules and works well on mobile, which makes it a natural choice for frontline and deskless employees. It also supports retention: spreading learning over time and revisiting key points with short quizzes helps knowledge stick far better than a single long session, an effect known as spaced repetition.

Tips for effective microlearning:

• One objective per module.
• End each module with a quick question or task to check understanding.
• Space modules out and revisit key points over days and weeks.
• Combine with other models: microlearning is a format, not a full programme.

Related: Get inspired with these microlearning examples.

6. Immersive and practice-based learning

Immersive, practice-based learning lets employees build skills by doing, in realistic but safe settings, rather than by watching or reading. It's an active learning approach that closes the gap between knowing something and being able to do it under pressure.

Common formats include:

• Roleplay and simulations for conversations such as sales calls, customer complaints, or giving feedback.
• Video coaching, where learners record themselves practising a pitch or demo and get feedback from a manager or coach.
• Virtual labs and sandboxes for technical and software skills.
• On-the-job assignments that apply training to real work, with a coach checking in.

Repeated practice in different situations builds confidence and faster recall, which matters most in high-stakes moments.

7. Skills-based learning

Skills-based learning organises training around the specific skills employees need, rather than around job titles or course catalogues. It uses skills data to spot gaps and recommend learning that meets each person at their current level.

As more organisations move towards skills-based hiring, talent management, and internal mobility, skills-based learning connects development directly to business needs. It helps you answer: which skills do we need, who has them, and how do we close the gap?

How to get started:

1. Define the critical skills for each role or team, starting with a few priority areas such as AI literacy.
2. Assess current levels through self-assessment, manager input, or practical tests.
3. Map learning content to each skill and level.
4. Track progress and update your skills framework as the business changes.

The quality of your skills data determines how well this works, so keep it validated and up to date.

Related: See how 360Learning Skills connects learning to skills.

8. Blended learning

Blended learning combines online and in-person (or live virtual) training in a single programme. It's often described in terms of asynchronous learning, where people learn at their own pace through online courses and recorded content, and synchronous learning, where people learn together in real time through workshops, live sessions, and discussions.

Blended learning is less a model in its own right than the way most organisations bring the others together. A strong onboarding or leadership programme might combine self-paced microlearning, an SME-led course, a live workshop, and practice with a coach.

Choose the blend based on the skill:

• Knowledge (policies, product facts): asynchronous online courses and microlearning.
• Applied skills (selling, coaching, technical tasks): practice, roleplay, and feedback.
• Behaviour and culture change (leadership, values): live discussion, peer groups, and on-the-job application.

Related: 6 examples of asynchronous learning and hybrid learning with 360Learning.

Foundational L&D frameworks to build on

The models above describe how to deliver learning. These classic frameworks help you design, structure, and measure it. Most are decades old, but they still underpin effective training today.

The 70-20-10 model

The 70-20-10 model suggests that around 70% of workplace learning comes from on-the-job experience, 20% from interactions with others, and 10% from formal training. The ratios are a rule of thumb rather than a precise measurement, but the message holds: courses alone won't build skills. Pair formal training with stretch assignments, coaching, and peer learning.

A practical way to apply it is through learning sprints: pick one specific outcome, such as building generative AI prompting skills, and design a short burst of learning that mixes practice, peer exchange, and a small amount of formal content.

Bloom's Taxonomy

Bloom's Taxonomy ranks learning objectives by complexity, from remembering and understanding up to applying, analysing, evaluating, and creating. Use it to write clear course objectives and to check that training reaches the level the job requires.

In the AI era, Bloom's matters more, not less. As AI tools handle more recall and summarising, people need training that builds the higher-order skills of judgement, analysis, and creation.

Kolb's experiential learning cycle

David Kolb's experiential learning cycle, set out in his 1984 book Experiential Learning, describes learning as a four-stage cycle:

1. Concrete experience: doing something or having an experience.
2. Reflective observation: reflecting on what happened.
3. Abstract conceptualisation: drawing conclusions and forming ideas.
4. Active experimentation: trying out those ideas in practice.

For L&D teams, the cycle is a useful design checklist: does your programme give people an experience, time to reflect, a concept to hold on to, and a chance to try again? Practice-based learning, coaching, and on-the-job assignments map naturally onto it.

Kolb also proposed four learning styles (converging, diverging, assimilating, and accommodating). The cycle has stood the test of time better than the styles; see "What about learning styles?" below.

ADDIE

ADDIE is the most widely used instructional design process. It stands for Analyse, Design, Develop, Implement, Evaluate. Use it to structure course creation, especially for larger programmes. Many teams now run it in faster, iterative cycles rather than strictly in sequence.

Merrill's principles of instruction

David Merrill's principles of instruction say effective learning is task-centred, activates prior knowledge, demonstrates the skill, lets learners apply it, and helps them integrate it into their work. They're a quick test for whether a course will actually change how people work.

Kirkpatrick's four levels of evaluation

The Kirkpatrick model measures training at four levels: reaction (did learners value it?), learning (did they gain knowledge or skills?), behaviour (do they apply it on the job?), and results (did it affect business outcomes?). Plan your evaluation at the start of a programme, starting from the results you want.

What about learning styles?

Learning style models such as VARK (visual, aural, read/write, kinaesthetic), Kolb's learning styles, and the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument sort people into types based on how they prefer to learn. They're popular, and many people do have preferences.

But research has found little evidence that matching training to an individual's preferred style improves how much they learn. A widely cited 2008 review by Pashler and colleagues concluded there was no adequate evidence to justify building training around learning styles.

What does help is matching the format to the content, and offering variety:

• Use visuals for things that are visual, such as processes, data, and spaces.
• Use practice for skills people need to perform.
• Use discussion for judgement calls and culture.
• Give learners several ways to engage with the same material, rather than labelling them as one type.

Related: Explore the evidence behind other approaches in our 9 learning theories guide.

The right learning model start with your L&D maturity

No single learning model fits every organisation. The right mix depends on the skills your business needs and on how mature your L&D function is today.

The L&D Maturity Model helps you assess where you stand across five levels, from least to most impactful:

The model assesses seven themes, including learning strategy, leadership, content, and metrics, and you may be at different levels for each. Work through the self-assessment to see where you stand and get practical next steps for moving up a level.

Take the free L&D Maturity Model assessment

How to choose the right learning and development models for your organisation

The best L&D strategies don't pick one learning model; they combine several, chosen for the skills the business needs. To build your mix:

1. Start with the business problem. Which skills or performance gaps matter most this year?
2. Match models to the type of skill. Knowledge suits microlearning and the flow of work; applied skills need practice; culture and leadership need collaboration and discussion.
3. Use the expertise you already have. Peer-driven and SME-led learning keeps training relevant and lets L&D scale without producing everything centrally.
4. Design and measure with the classics. Use Bloom's for objectives, ADDIE for structure, and Kirkpatrick for impact.
5. Check your maturity. Pick the next step that's realistic for where your L&D function is today.

Bring every learning model together with 360Learning

360Learning is an AI-driven LMS and LXP that supports all eight models in one platform. Subject-matter experts create and update courses with AI-assisted authoring. Collaborative Academies bring people and knowledge together. Adaptive recommendations personalise learning. And skills data, mobile microlearning, and integrations bring training into the flow of work.

More than 2,500 organisations use 360Learning to upskill from within. Book a demo to see how it works.