Kaha Create offers five Exercise Styles that transform your recorded sessions into structured learning experiences. Each style uses a different pedagogical approach - a teaching framework - to help your learners apply what you've shared in ways that matter to them.
Think of Exercise Styles like different tools in a toolkit. Some help learners practise skills. Others guide groups to learn together. Some support reflection, problem-solving, or personal growth. Choose the style that matches what you want your learners to do after they've watched your content.
Here's a guide to help you choose the right Exercise Style for your content:
Act-to-Learn: Build Skills Through Practice
Use this style when: You're teaching a practical skill or technique that learners need to try hands-on.
How it works: Learners try the skill in their own context, reflect on what happened, and plan how to improve next time.
Example: A health educator records a session on wound care. Learners try the technique on a training model, think about what went well and what was tricky, then plan their approach for the next time they help someone.
Best for: Skills training, professional development, hands-on learning
Act-to-Connect: Learn Together as a Community
Use this style when: You want to build shared knowledge and collective growth within a group or community.
How it works: Learners share their own perspectives, learn from each other through reciprocal learning (ako), and commit to actions together as a group.
Example: A kaitiaki (guardian) records a session about mahi (work) scheduling for seasonal activities. Learners share their own timing and methods, map out how different approaches work together, then agree on a shared seasonal calendar their whānau will follow.
Best for: Community building, collaborative problem-solving, knowledge exchange, whanaungatanga (relationship building)
Act-to-Solve: Address Real Challenges
Use this style when: Your learners face a specific challenge they need to work through systematically.
How it works: Learners break down their problem, research evidence-based solutions, and create an implementation plan they can actually execute.
Example: A school principal records a session about managing parent communication during crises. Teachers identify the specific barriers they face, research what other schools have found works, then create their school's communication protocol.
Best for: Problem-solving, process improvement, policy development, addressing real workplace challenges
Act-to-Grow: Develop Professionally
Use this style when: You want learners to reflect on their own practice and make intentional changes in how they work.
How it works: Learners think back on their own experience, analyse what they learned and how it connects to your content, then commit to one specific change in their practice.
Example: A manager records a session on giving effective feedback. Team members think back on a time they gave feedback, analyse what they learned from it, then commit to one specific change in how they'll give feedback going forward.
Best for: Professional growth, reflective practice, personal development, behaviour change
Think about your learners: Who are they? Are they learning a new skill, coming together as a community, solving a problem they're facing, or reflecting on their work?
Trust the framework: Each Exercise Style is built on proven learning approaches (Kolb's Experiential Learning, ako, problem-based learning, and others). They're designed to help people move from watching to doing.
Questions?
If you're unsure which Exercise Style is right for your content, take some time to think about what you want your learners to do after they've watched your session. The style that matches that action is the right choice for you.
