5 reasons why our current systems of learning are broken – and how to fix them
Reda Sadki’s writing explores how systems of learning matter when tackling complex challenges across global health, humanitarian aid, and education.
Over twelve years of articles on his blog, he has built a cohesive argument for why our current systems of learning are broken and how we might fix them.
Since 2016, his work at The Geneva Learning Foundation has demonstrated how to turn such rethinking into new ways to learn and lead in the face of critical threats to our societies.
Here are five themes that define his work.
1. The failure of traditional systems of learning and the peer learning alternative
One of Sadki’s most persistent arguments is that the humanitarian and global health sectors are addicted to ineffective models of training.
He questions the “workshop culture” that flies experts around the world at great cost with little measurable impact.
He argues that this “sage on the stage” model assumes knowledge flows only one way: from the expert to the ignorant practitioner.
He is equally critical of digital replacements that merely replicate this dynamic.
In Why gamification is a disaster for humanitarian learning, he warns that dressing up behaviorist drills with points and badges does not foster the critical thinking needed in crisis zones.
He expands on this in Experience and blended learning: two heads of the humanitarian training chimera, arguing that “transmissive” learning fails to prepare professionals for volatility and complexity.
Instead, Sadki advocates for peer learning networks where practitioners teach and learn from each other.
As he explains in What learning science underpins peer learning for Global Health?, the goal is not to transmit information but to foster the “co-creation” of new knowledge that is directly applicable to local contexts.
2. Epistemic justice: valuing communities as systems of learning
Sadki frequently uses the philosophy of Donald Schön to distinguish between the “high ground” of theory and the “swampy lowlands” of practice.
He argues that global health suffers from “epistemic injustice” – a systematic devaluation of the experiential knowledge held by local health workers.
In Knowing-in-action: Bridging the theory-practice divide in global health, he makes the case that the gap between global guidelines and local reality can only be bridged by recognizing frontline workers as knowledge creators, not just recipients.
He challenges the hierarchy that dismisses local insights as mere “anecdote.”
In Anecdote or lived experience: reimagining knowledge for climate-resilient health systems, he proposes a new framework where the collective stories of thousands of health workers shape a new, rigorous form of evidence.
In Critical evidence gaps in the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change, he points out that the most rigorous science can miss the vital signals that only those working in communities can see.
3. Artificial intelligence as a co-worker
While many in education view Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a threat to integrity or a tool for cheating, Sadki frames it as a transformative partner.
He argues that we are entering a new epoch where AI will not just be a tool we use, but a “co-worker” we collaborate with.
In A global health framework for Artificial Intelligence as co-worker to support networked learning and local action, he outlines how AI can support the “human” parts of learning – such as feedback and synthesis – without replacing human agency.
He explores the profound shifts in how we will interact with technology in The agentic AI revolution: what does it mean for workforce development?, describing a future where “AI agents” handle coordination, freeing humans to focus on judgment and ethics.
He pushes this further in Why YouTube is obsolete: From linear video content consumption to AI-mediated multimodal knowledge production, suggesting that AI will fundamentally change how we consume information, moving us away from linear formats like video lectures toward dynamic, interactive knowledge creation and retrieval.
4. Learning culture as the driver of learning systems
Sadki insists that learning is not an event but a culture.
Drawing heavily on the research of Karen E. Watkins and Victoria Marsick, he argues that an organization’s “learning culture” is the single best predictor of its ability to adapt and perform.
In Learning culture: the missing link in global health between learning and performance, he explains that without a culture that supports inquiry, dialogue, and risk-taking, even the best training programs will fail.
He identifies specific weaknesses in current systems, noting in Why lack of continuous learning is the Achilles heel of immunization that health systems often prioritize task completion over the continuous learning necessary to improve those tasks.
This theme connects deeply to leadership.
He argues in What is the relationship between leadership and performance? that true leadership is not about authority but about fostering an environment where learning can happen at every level of the hierarchy.
5. New ways to bridge the gap from policy to action
Finally, Sadki focuses relentlessly on the “know-do” gap, the disconnect between global policy and local implementation.
He argues that guidelines often fail because they are designed without the input of those who must implement them.
In Why guidelines fail: on consequences of the false dichotomy between global and local knowledge in health systems, he dissects how the separation of “thinkers” (global experts) and “doers” (local staff) dooms many initiatives.
He offers concrete examples of how to close this gap, such as in The Nigeria Immunization Collaborative: Early learning from a novel sector-wide approach model for zero-dose challenges, where thousands of health workers used peer learning to identify root causes of vaccine inequity that central planners had missed.
This theme emphasizes that the solution is not more “technical assistance” from the outside, but better mechanisms to unlock the problem-solving capacity that already exists within communities.
Beyond learning: a new operating system in global development
Taken together, these themes provide the specifications for a new operating system in global development, one that moves beyond the limitations of the models of today.
- Sadki’s work challenges the sector to recognize its most undervalued asset: the collective intelligence of the health and humanitarian workforce.
- By dismantling the barriers between the “high ground” of policy and the “swampy lowlands” of practice, his framework constructs a learning ecosystem where artificial intelligence amplifies human connection and local insights continuously refine global strategy.
- This evolution—from episodic workshops to continuous, networked problem-solving—offers a pragmatic path to close the persistent gap between investment and outcome.
In a resource-constrained world, unlocking this latent capacity is not merely an ethical choice, but a strategic imperative to build systems resilient enough for an unpredictable future.
#blendedLearning #epistemicJustice #learning #learningStrategy #peerLearning #workshopCulture
Wilfred Rubens
Reda Sadki
Julia Lee
Katja Politt
SLpB
Zentrum für Mediales Lernen
DigiLLab
Svenja Guhr