Last week it was a wonderful and busy week for our team. We invited Dr. Will Thalheimer to provide a workshop about Learning Principles. Dr. Thalheimer is a renowned learning expert, researcher, speaker, and writer. We were so excited to have him with us!
During the workshop, we learned about the best practices when designing learning. These best practices are based on research and practical wisdom acquired during decades of work. Considering the business perspective is also critical to develop excellent learning experiences!
Here you can find 4 takeaways from the session!
1) Learners learn, but they also forget. We are all familiar with Ebbinghaus forgetting curve. Memory retention declines in time. As instructional designers, if we do not do something after the training, the learning curve will decline dramatically. The best way to avoid this effect is to provide performance training and performance assistance. This means designing a context for on-the-job application of learning!
2) One of the main takeaways was the power of context alignment. Research has shown that learning and remembering in the same context results in better learning results (Smith, S.M., Glenberg, A. & Bjork, R.A.). This memory trick works with rooms, odors, noises, and photographs. Having a realistic context is the key. Next time you need to study for a test, make sure to study in the same place as your exam will be happening!
3) Real practice is essential to foster learning (Jones, H. E.). There are endless studies that shown that practice with feedback does wonders, especially in stressful situations (Smith, A.M., Floerke, V.A.). There are many ways to exercise retrieval practice! You can use case studies, simulations, decision scenarios, hands-on practice, discussions, etc.
4) Spaced repetitions help! Instead of bombarding learners with continuous sessions, it is better to space/delay repetitions (Krug, D., Davis, T.B., Glover, J.A.). The more time, the better. A week is better than a day, and 20 minutes is better than 10 minutes. As an instructional designer, you can use the interleaving technique, which consists of including the content spirally (Bruner, J.). You can also use the before and after technique, presenting the topics before and after the main learning event.
We will be having another session with Dr. Thalheimer in a few weeks about learning impact evaluation. Stay tuned!
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