notebook ongoing observations · 2026
chapter · field notes

notes from the field.

An ongoing collection of field observations. What I notice about human behavior, learning, and design in the wild. Think anthropologist's notebook meets learning design lens.

  1. 01

    Observations from workplaces, classrooms, and the spaces in between where real behavior happens.

  2. 02

    Reflections on the gap between what training teaches and what people actually do.

  3. 03

    Design patterns, behavioral nudges, and ideas worth testing.

the log · 12 entries

latest observations.

  1. A Claude Code skill that turns any codebase into a course.

    Build first, understand later. Tested the codebase-to-course skill by Zara Zhang. As a learning designer, this one got me.

  2. Learning starts with copying someone else's process.

    That's not theft. That's how every skill you've ever built began. Stop gatekeeping titles. Stop gatekeeping knowledge.

  3. Five fixes. Not about prompting better. About building a system.

    Which one are you starting with? Systems thinking, applied to the AI workflow problem most teams keep trying to patch.

  4. Most teams added AI on top of the old workflow. Nothing actually got removed.

    That's why the productivity boost didn't materialize. The legacy steps are still there, and you layered a new one on top.

  5. Preparation isn't the opposite of innovation.

    It's what makes innovation stick. Companies arrive with energy and good intentions, but no plan, no stakeholder alignment, no constraints.

  6. Anthropic proved AI has functional emotions. What that means for feedback.

    Same scenario. Same learner response. Three completely different coaching outputs depending on emotional state.

  7. The metrics that actually tell you behavior changed.

    Completion rate is not on this list. That's the point. Which one does your team actually use?

  8. The AI verification burden is real.

    You saved time writing. Now you're spending it reviewing. The bottleneck just changed locations.

  9. Five moves for your next stakeholder conversation.

    Save this for the next time you're walking into a meeting where no one's aligned. Which one does your team skip most?

  10. MD files, skills, agents. AI through an L&D lens.

    Once it clicks through an L&D lens it makes total sense. Sharing everything as I figure it out.

  11. What L&D is actually talking about this week.

    AI hype fatigue, fake content, a role identity crisis, and the most human skill in our field that nobody is talking about.

  12. Most corporate training doesn't change behavior. It just gets completed.

    There's a difference, and it matters. My name is Emily Green, founder of Caboodle Design.

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