Making Learning Stick with the AGES Model
Picture this: You've just delivered what felt like your best training session ever. Participants were engaged, feedback scores were stellar, and everyone left energised. Then, three weeks later, you discover that virtually nothing stuck. Sound familiar?
If you're nodding your head, you're not alone. This frustrating cycle happens because we've been focusing on the wrong things. We obsess over content delivery and satisfaction ratings when we should be designing for memory. Without intentional memory systems, even your most brilliant content fades fast.
Here's the game-changing truth: learning isn't just about what you teach - it's about what sticks. And that's where the AGES model comes in.
What is the AGES Model?
AGES stands for four powerful memory triggers that your brain craves:
Attention - capturing and sustaining focus
Generation - getting learners to actively create and connect ideas
Emotion - making content personally meaningful
Spacing - distributing learning over time
Developed by Dr. David Rock and colleagues at the NeuroLeadership Institute, this framework brings together decades of memory science into something you can actually use. When you activate all four elements, you trigger the hippocampus - your brain's memory formation headquarters - moving information from short-term into long-term memory where it can drive workplace change.
Think of AGES as your brain's operating manual for learning. Instead of fighting against how memory naturally works, you're finally working with it.
Why this changes everything for L&D
Here's a sobering reality: A NeuroLeadership Institute audit revealed that despite high satisfaction ratings, participants couldn't recall key concepts just weeks after training. We've been measuring the wrong things.
Traditional training treats your brain like a filing cabinet - dump information in and hope it stays organised. But your brain needs the right conditions to flourish, and the AGES model provides those conditions.
Attention: Your brain can only maintain deep focus for about 20 minutes before wandering. Fight this natural rhythm, and you lose your audience - even when they're trying their best to pay attention.
Generation: When learners actively create, explain, or connect ideas rather than just absorbing, they build stronger neural pathways. This "generation effect" is like the difference between watching someone ride a bike and actually learning to ride yourself.
Emotion: Your amygdala functions as an alert system for your hippocampus, flagging what's important to remember. Positive emotions and personal connections trigger "priority storage" signals, making information far more likely to stick.
Spacing: Cramming is like trying to build muscle with one marathon workout - exhausting and ineffective. Your brain builds lasting memories through distributed training: spaced sessions with recovery time between. Sleep provides crucial recovery, while effortful recall after rest strengthens neural pathways and locks in learning.
When you design with AGES, you craft learning that sticks and transforms what people actually do, not just what they temporarily know.
Designing learning that sticks: Your AGES toolkit
Attention: Capture and sustain focus
Start every session by answering the question everyone's secretly asking: "What's in this for me?" Be specific. Instead of "Today we'll cover communication skills," try "By the end of this session, you'll have three techniques that can cut your meeting time in half."
Break content into focused 15–20-minute segments - think of this as interval training for the brain. During or between segments, shift gears completely: from listening to discussing, from individual reflection to group problem-solving, from serious content to moments of humour.
Create visual breathing room with engaging materials that highlight what matters most. And build in actual breaks - your learners' brains will thank you.
Generation: Make thinking visible
Replace "Tell me what you learned" with "Teach this concept to your partner in 3-minutes using only a whiteboard." When learners explain ideas in their own words, they're not just recalling - they're rebuilding knowledge from the ground up.
Design challenges that connect new concepts to existing experience. Ask: "Where have you seen this work brilliantly in your organisation?" or "What would happen if you applied this to your biggest current challenge?"
Use case studies that mirror their actual work situations. The closer the parallel, the stronger the neural connections between learning and reality.
Emotion: Create personal stakes
Stories are your secret weapon. Instead of starting with theory, begin with a real person facing a real challenge they'll recognise. Follow that journey from struggle to breakthrough and watch how quickly learners lean in.
Make content personally relevant by connecting it to their goals, frustrations, or aspirations. When someone sees how a skill could solve their actual problems or advance their career, engagement skyrockets.
Build opportunities for connection and collaboration. Learning alongside others creates positive emotional associations that strengthen memory formation - plus, it's simply more enjoyable.
Spacing: Distribute for durability
Resist the temptation to pack everything into marathon sessions. Design learning journeys that unfold over weeks or months. A series of focused 90-minute sessions will outperform an all-day workshop every time.
Plan strategic follow-ups: micro-challenges via email, peer accountability partnerships, or brief "booster sessions" that revisit key concepts. Each touchpoint strengthens the neural pathways you're building.
Use retrieval practice throughout your program. Quick polls, reflection questions, and "recall without looking" exercises turn learners' brains into active participants rather than passive recipients.
Bringing AGES to life: Facilitation that works
Attention in action
Set the stage from moment one. Create a focused, distraction-free environment and be crystal clear about participation expectations. Start with energy by sharing exactly how this learning will impact their daily work.
Design sessions with short, high-energy segments and micro-breaks every 15–20 minutes for reflection or small-group tasks. This rhythm prevents cognitive overload and maintains engagement throughout.
Watch the room like a hawk. When attention drifts, pause for a two-minute reflection, shift to partner discussion, or take a mindful breathing break. Your willingness to adjust shows you respect their cognitive limits.
Generation in real time
Replace slides with interactive challenges. Instead of explaining a concept, present a scenario and let them work through it together. Their "aha" moments will be far more powerful than anything you could tell them.
Make peer teaching a regular part of sessions. When someone grasps a concept, have them explain it to a colleague. This doubles the learning impact - for both teacher and their colleague.
Emotion throughout
Create psychological safety from minute one. When people feel valued and heard, they're willing to take the intellectual risks that drive deep learning. Share your own struggles and failures alongside successes.
Use humour appropriately, celebrate small wins publicly, and help learners see their progress. Recognition triggers positive emotions that enhance memory consolidation.
Spacing in practice
Even within a single session, revisit key ideas multiple times. Start with introduction, deepen through application, and reinforce through reflection. This micro-spacing strengthens memory encoding.
End every session with concrete plans for continued learning. What will they practice this week? How will they check in with each other? Make the spacing intentional, not accidental.
Your next steps
The AGES model isn't just another framework - it's a fundamental shift toward designing learning that actually works. Instead of hoping knowledge will transfer, you're engineering it.
Start small. Choose one upcoming session and consciously integrate each element. Notice what changes in your learners' engagement, retention, and application. Then build from there.
Remember: great learning design isn't about perfecting content delivery. It's about creating conditions where memory can flourish, and real change becomes possible. Your learners are counting on you to help them not just learn but transform. With AGES, you finally have the neuroscience-backed roadmap to make it happen.
Are you curious how AGES can elevate your next learning program? Explore our neuroscience-based short courses - designed to help your people learn, remember, and apply more.