NetEd Design Education Design Framework Summary

 

I’d like to tell you a little about the NetEd approach to technology and training.

First and Foremost…

Is e-learning the answer? Sounds like a silly question coming from a group who wants to sell eLearning services… right? But, as training by definition is preparing someone to do something that they cannot currently do, it is prudent to ask yourself if lack of skills is the problem. Other barriers to work could include motivation, organizational culture, or lack of necessary equipment to get the job done.

With that out of the  way…

Successful training relies on factors both internal and external to the learner. Assessing these  and accounting for them in the training design is the key driver of success (or failure).  Primary questions that are central to training as a solution follow:

1. Are learning events equally effective for different skill levels?

2. What are the components of meaningful learning events.

3. How do we setup these successful learning events?

 

Let’s look at the answers and how these concepts affect our process.

Are learning events equally effective for different skill levels?

No. What works for a person at a low skill level will be non to counter productive for those at a higher skill level and vice versa, for different reasons. While this likely isn’t surprising news, observation of this fact is going to drive  strategies in terms of the overriding instructional architecture, the mode in which information is delivered, and the methods by which the information is presented to memory for processing. A novice will require a more directive or guided discovery framed lessons to compensate for lacking mental models and lack of a meta cognitive framework.  What does this mean for you in terms material design? Training geared towards the novice would be expected to have some of the following characteristics:

1. Prior knowledge activation  or, if the knowledge doesn’t exist, creation activities

2. Increased use of multi-media in terms of graphics, audio, etc.

3. Guided navigation and reference considerations such as glossaries and links to external sources

4. More practice  activities to build skills

Training geared towards the relatively advanced user will take advantage of the user’s existing schema and will not need as much attention on the points listed here.

Overall the strategy is to guide attention and focus on those facts, processes, etc. critical to successful outcomes. Motivation is important regardless of level, and must address the “What’s In it for me?” question that every trainee brings to the learning event with them.

What are the components of meaningful learning events?

Meaningful learning events are the goal of most training. Assuming applicability is confirmed through setting training objectives in the design phase, a learning event must clear to obstacles to qualify as meaningful:

1. The content must be just beyond the learners’ current abilities.
2. The content must be re-callable in the situations where it is needed by the learner ie the user must be able to pull it from long-term memory when needed.

Let’s dissect a simple learning event to highlight these components.

An experienced Word user who is learning to use Excel for the first time opens the program with the intention of learning how to perform arithmetic on two or more figures. They plug “1+2″ into a cell and press the Enter key expecting the cell to become populated with the digit 3, which does not happen. So, they do a quick search on the internet and find that they need to place an “=” sign before the figures to initiate an arithmetic function. Upon learning this, they are able to successfully utilize Excel functions.

Let’s analyze what just happen, as it provides us with a basis for creating  a meaningful learning event. The user’s prior knowledge of Microsoft Word provided the user with the ability to make assumptions of how Excel would work. This assisted the user up until the point where they actually tried to perform a calculation. However, this assumption did not hold with the calculation function, which meets our first criteria, the function was just beyond the learner’s current ability. This sets the  stage of a  learning event. When the user queried the internet for an explanation of how to correctly activate a function and found the answer, they were able to build a mental model of the calculation function procedure which enabled them to successfully complete the task. If the user does not perform this activity again for sometime, it is likely they will need to relearn the procedure at some later time, unless they write the procedure down for future reference. However, if they perform the procedure after learning it several more times, it will be stored in long-term memory with the user’s Excel mental models. Thus, we have the basis for job aids and practice.

Simple and successful, right? But often times, learning events are not successful. Under and overwhelming students can both be detrimental and motivation killing. In terms of underwhelming the students with material below current capabilities, this can actually interfere with existing mental models currently functioning correctly. Not to mention, in a word, its boring. In training terms, overwhelming the student with material far outside existing abilities saturates cognitive load to the point where nothing is retained and does not assist in building useful mental models.

 

How do we setup these successful learning events?

Successful learning events are built upon strategies that act as frameworks incorporating methods of facilitating incorporation of new material into long-term memory where it can be accessed when needed. These work through gaining the learner’s attention and focusing it on the material to be learned. As the user is learning, their cognitive load will need to be used efficiently and attention needs to be managed. If the user has existing mental models of the material, they need to be brought into working memory so that new information can be attached to these models. If they are new to the information and do not have existing mental models, the learning processes will need to be scaffolded sufficiently to maximize working memory and reduce cognitive load. Building mental models takes place through both implicit and explicit methods (I can explain this later). Once the mental models are built, assurance that the information can be accessed back into working memory when needed.

Implicit involves providing trainees with graphics that interact with memory, worked examples and questions about example steps designed to illicit deep thinking in the learner, personalized instruction, agent questions designed to illicit deep learning by the viewer, use of language which makes a connection with the learner, analogies, and process teaching which allows the learner to understand cause and effect relationships in the information being taught.

To learn more about contextualization and other contributing factors get in contact with us, and send us your inquiry.