About
The Laws of Learning is a passion project—an attempt to gather and make sense of what centuries of thinkers, decades of researchers, and countless teachers and learners have shown us about how people actually learn.
I’m Nathan Taylor, a San Francisco–based educator and learning designer. For nearly twenty years I’ve worked with schools and nonprofits to design learning experiences, coach teachers, create media, and build programs. Across these roles, I keep returning to the same puzzle: what makes learning stick? Why do some experiences fade while others transform us?
This site is my way of connecting the passions that have shaped my career—pedagogy, learning, and design. The “laws” are not commandments or formulas. They are principles distilled from the messy intersection of fields that all study learning: cognitive science, education, psychology, anthropology, sociology, and philosophy. Imagine a complicated Venn diagram of learning, with the overlapping contents reimagined as ten clear and practical guideposts for anyone designing learning experiences.
My hope is that these laws serve both as inspiration and as tools—for teachers, coaches, leaders, and anyone who takes seriously the craft of helping others grow.
Let’s Work Together
If you design learning experiences — as a teacher, L&D professional, or school leader — or if you’re simply curious about how learning really works, I’d love to connect. We can swap stories, wrestle with big ideas, and co-create solutions that make learning more active, inclusive, and meaningful.