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Learning Experience Design for Changemakers · July 15 · 16 min

Episode 007: Stop Teaching Everything: The A-to-B Rule Every Course Creator Needs — Why trying to teach it all is quietly sabotaging your learners.

You know your person and what you want to teach them — but do you know exactly where you're taking them? In this episode, Renee breaks down the second stage of the Roots to Canopy framework: turning your teaching sweet spot into one clear, reachable transformation, then mapping the milestones that get your learner there. In this episode: Why "teaching everything" (A to Z) exhausts you and your learner — and what to do instead How to define your "A to B": one specific, reachable transformation for this course or offer A simple exercise using your own journey to find your learner's next reachable point What a milestone actually is, and how many your learner's journey needs A full walkthrough: 3 milestones for a public-speaking course, from mindset to practice Why action-taking (not passive content) is what makes learning "sticky" How milestones make your own content decisions easier when building or revising a course Timestamps: 0:00 — The mistake that happens right after the roots stage 1:00 — Welcome back + recap of Episode 6 2:00 — A to B, not A to Z: why teaching everything backfires 3:00 — Finding your own A to B (a reflection exercise) 4:00 — What milestones are: the pit-stop metaphor 5:00 — The map metaphor: plotting your learner's journey 6:00 — The bridge-and-tunnel metaphor 7:00 — Case study: a public-speaking course's 3 milestones 9:00 — Why action beats passive learning ("sticky learning") 11:00 — A note on accessibility: how to use this episode if you can't pause 13:00 — Recap: A to B, milestones, and 10-minute chunking 14:00 — What milestones do for you as the designer 15:00 — Closing: what's next in the canopy + how to share your A to B Resources mentioned: Episode 6 — the Roots stage (finding your teaching sweet spot and your one person) [LINK TO EPISODE 6] If this gave you a clearer next step, follow the show so you don't miss Part 3. Want to share the A-to-B journey you landed on? Reply to any email from Renee with "podcast share" in the subject line — she reads and responds to every one. Not on the newsletter yet? Go to www.reneekoster.com/newsletter and sign up!

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You know your person and what you want to teach them — but do you know exactly where you're taking them? In this episode, Renee breaks down the second stage of the Roots to Canopy framework: turning your teaching sweet spot into one clear, reachable transformation, then mapping the milestones that get your learner there.

In this episode:

  • Why "teaching everything" (A to Z) exhausts you and your learner — and what to do instead

  • How to define your "A to B": one specific, reachable transformation for this course or offer

  • A simple exercise using your own journey to find your learner's next reachable point

  • What a milestone actually is, and how many your learner's journey needs

  • A full walkthrough: 3 milestones for a public-speaking course, from mindset to practice

  • Why action-taking (not passive content) is what makes learning "sticky"

  • How milestones make your own content decisions easier when building or revising a course

Timestamps:

  • 0:00 — The mistake that happens right after the roots stage

  • 1:00 — Welcome back + recap of Episode 6

  • 2:00 — A to B, not A to Z: why teaching everything backfires

  • 3:00 — Finding your own A to B (a reflection exercise)

  • 4:00 — What milestones are: the pit-stop metaphor

  • 5:00 — The map metaphor: plotting your learner's journey

  • 6:00 — The bridge-and-tunnel metaphor

  • 7:00 — Case study: a public-speaking course's 3 milestones

  • 9:00 — Why action beats passive learning ("sticky learning")

  • 11:00 — A note on accessibility: how to use this episode if you can't pause

  • 13:00 — Recap: A to B, milestones, and 10-minute chunking

  • 14:00 — What milestones do for you as the designer

  • 15:00 — Closing: what's next in the canopy + how to share your A to B

Resources mentioned:

  • Episode 6 — the Roots stage (finding your teaching sweet spot and your one person)

  • [LINK TO EPISODE 6]

If this gave you a clearer next step, follow the show so you don't miss Part 3. Want to share the A-to-B journey you landed on? Reply to any email from Renee with "podcast share" in the subject line — she reads and responds to every one. Not on the newsletter yet? Go to www.reneekoster.com/newsletter and sign up!


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