Evidence-Based Methods of Instruction A Guide for Professionals in Training

Recommendation

Many professionals are misinformed about which training approaches are effective and which are ineffective. Expert in instructional design Ruth Colvin Clark dispels training myths. To replace the techniques she discredits, Clark provides various research-based alternatives to educators. Learning experts turn to Clark for their own development, a citation from her colleagues that urges getAbstract to promote her well-researched views to teachers, training materials creators, e-learning specialists, and training managers.

 

Take-Aways

• Training methods that work are selected by professionals based on evidence that can be verified.
• Many popular training regimens are unsuccessful, according to a wide range of studies.
• When it comes to a person’s learning style, there is no such thing. Adapting instruction to fit a student’s ‘learning style’ is a waste of time and energy.
• Students’ positive course evaluations are rarely an accurate predictor of how much they actually learned from the course.
• Think about your pupils’ knowledge of the subject before you begin teaching.
• Students may not retain material simply because you deliver it to them.
• Monitor how students’ memories and brains function. The term “grounded brain-based instruction” should be used.
• Your goal as a teacher is for your students to pay attention, be interested, and apply what they learn.
• Visuals aid in comprehension.In order to assist students in quickly acquiring valuable work knowledge, use “immersive learning.”

 

What’s the Evidence?

Recent, reliable scientific research findings are exploding long-held myths about training:

• “Learning styles”– Different styles of learning simply do not exist, so don’t organize your instruction to accommodate supposed varying kinds of learners. Instead, focus on the extent of knowledge that students already have about your subject. New students need more directed learning, while experienced students benefit more from open teaching.
• “Media panaceas”– The “psychologically active ingredients” of your instructional materials matter more than the technology you use. You should provide “learner-centered” rather than “technology-centric” instruction and training.
• “The more they like it, the more they learn”– Favorable student evaluations of courses and instructors actually are not significant. Research shows no parallels between student course ratings and actual learning. To determine the effectiveness of your course, test students and measure their work performance to see if their skills have improved.
• “Stories (games or you-name-it) promote learning”– Your students’ level of knowledge matters; educational games, gimmicks or fads do not. Before implementing a new training method, ask these questions: “What are the core features of the latest cool trend?” And, “How can I best adapt the new practice to the culture, staff and constraints of my organization?”

“Unlike medicine, agriculture and industrial production, the field of education operates largely on the basis of ideology and professional consensus.” (US Department of Education)

Research findings with “practical significance” should be sought out. The more data you have on the same experiment, the more accurate your conclusions will be. This gives you the ability to draw conclusions about the subject matter as a whole from a variety of studies. Educators now have access to important findings from more than two decades of study on what works and what doesn’t in the realm of education and training. “The best instructional modes and approaches to use in your training” can be based on this evidence. Even however, statistical evidence is simply one consideration when making a decision about how to instruct students. Budgetary and time limits, accessible technology, and even office politics are among the other factors to consider.

Teaching with the Brain in Mind

Plan your lessons based on “grounded brain-based teaching” principles. The right-brain, left-brain hypothesis has long since been invalidated. “Proven mental learning mechanisms” should be your focus. Consider the concept of “active processing” in working memory. Students can only hold on to “five or six chunks” of information at a time in their minds. For visual and auditory information to be processed, your brain uses a “dual channel” system, whereby your memory engages different systems. Automaticity” is how long-term memory hardwires tasks that people practice over and over again. Teaching should be organized around these four objectives:

1. “Focus attention”– Students who are not paying attention cannot learn.
2. “Engage learners to promote processing”– Practice exercises and informative graphics enable memory and retention.
3. “Manage mental load”– Memory can only handle so much information, so “less is often more.” Do not overload your students.
4. “Engage learning transfer via retrieval”– This involves moving knowledge from long-term memory to working memory via memory cues that the instructor provides.

“Instructional Architectures”

It is not a guarantee that students will learn if you lecture to them. Students need to be actively participating in their education. To learn something, we must first “acquire knowledge, develop procedural abilities, and develop strategic skills” (thinking creatively about a specific problem). These three instructional structures can help students learn more and achieve their goals:

1. “Show-and-tell architectures”– Lectures that include PowerPoint are useful educational tools for conveying facts and processes. They are less useful for developing “job task proficiency” or “behavioral skills” and do not help students think about the information presented. Such systems are the least effective way to secure students’ attention.
2. “Stair-step architectures”– These involve explanation, followed by a demonstration, followed by practice, followed by feedback. This method is “tell, show, do and correct,” an effective process for helping novices develop basic job skills. It requires maximum guidance from the instructor.
3. “Immersive architectures”– This is “problem-based” design. It is effective for learners with advanced knowledge. According to the evidence, a relatively hands-off approach enables students to develop strategic skills more rapidly than they might on the job. These methodologies develop critical thinking and involve “autonomous problem solving.”

Graphics

Most training professionals rely more on words than on graphics. They might benefit from reversing that ratio. Research shows that properly used visuals enhance learning. This is particularly true for students who are unfamiliar with the lesson content. “Decorative visuals” are graphic items that have no relevance to the text and interfere with learning. The best types of graphics to aid learning are:

• “Organizational” – These depict qualitative topic relationships, as seen on an organizational chart.
• “Relational”– These depict quantitative topic relationships, like on a pie chart.
• “Transformational”– These depict “changes in time or space,” such as a chart showing different stages of an operation.
• “Interpretive”– These depict “unseeable relationships,” and include images that make “abstract concepts tangible,” such as “a graphic of molecules.”

“When you go to the doctor, you expect her to be well-informed, versed in the latest medical research and current best practices. As training professionals, our customers expect and deserve the same.” (Frank Nguyen, American Express)

While visuals can enhance learning, the majority of images require explanation. That is the trainer’s job and art. Research demonstrates that an audio (speech) form of explanation is more effective than a text (print) form. Keep your explanations short. Explaining visuals with both text and audio impedes learning. As with most things, this recommendation has notable exceptions. Text explanations for visuals work better for non-native speakers, for students with strong experience and for unusual terms and reference content.

Get Social

Humans are social beings. Always include a “social presence” in your instruction to promote increased mental processing. This involves personalization, such as including avatars in all of your e-learning activities. Assume the role of host when you teach. You will achieve better results if you speak conversationally and in a friendly manner (for example, using first- and second-person references). Use this approach for all instructional activities. Use social media in a deliberate manner. Such tools are helpful, but you do not want them to become a distraction or to divert the attention of your students.

“Because everyone has been to school, everyone considers themselves an expert in training.”

The brain can only handle so much, hence this central rule of training: “Material covered is not material learned.” Do not present too much information during training. People’s brains work best when they are not overloaded. Don’t include factoids and other material that relates to your subject but has little to do with your educational goals. Research shows that anecdotes distract and thus inhibit learning. Keep your explanations concise. The simpler your visuals, the better. If you want students to learn procedures, dynamic visuals are best. Music in the background detracts from learning.

Make Use of Examples

More examples or more practice: which is more useful as a teaching tool? It takes more time to get students involved in practice tasks than it does to give examples. Researchers found that pupils who practiced more were twice as likely to make mistakes as those who got more examples. Always incorporate questions in any “worked-out examples” in order to keep students interested. One caveat: Research shows that “novice learners” benefit from examples, but “experienced learners” benefit from “practice assignments.” Develop examples that closely resemble the workplace when teaching basic tasks. “Strategic tasks” including social skills such as administration or teaching can be learned through computer-animated examples.

“All learning benefits from feedback.”

When used appropriately, practice exercises improve performance. Practice always involves some form of overt learner response. The best practice is deliberate and focuses on particular gaps in students’ skills. Effective practice exercises require students to use their acquired knowledge to handle work tasks. Extensive practice can help learners develop “automaticity” in performing a job – for example, landing an airplane. How much practice is enough? That depends on the consequences that ensue if the student makes mistakes. If consequences are heavy, a maximum of practice becomes necessary. Students also need extended practice for highly complex work tasks.

“We learn geology the morning after the earthquake.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

On the other hand, students need less practice if they have job aids – like handout sheets – to boost their performance. Research indicates that you should break up lessons with numerous practice sessions instead of saving practice exercises for students to attempt all at once, such as at the end of the class. Mix up your practice exercises by type. Always offer feedback so students will know why their practice responses are right or wrong.

“We teach the way we were taught.”

Many PowerPoint training presentations offer minimal returns for the time spent showing them. As an alternative, create audio format “principled presentations” to deliver information in a physical or virtual classroom. Present engaging, visual, “concise and focused” material. Work to foster the students’ “psychological processing” and engagement with “social presence” and relevant examples. When you present, use a checklist. Arrive early, test your technology, arrange your handouts and give your students a friendly greeting. Have a backup plan in case something goes wrong.

Creating “Stair-Step” Lessons

Stair-step lessons work best for novice learners. Behavioral psychologist B.F. Skinner explained how to institute a stair-step lesson: Start out with simple tasks and move to complex ones; divide tasks into discrete steps; offer directions as often as necessary and give students direct feedback and positive reinforcement. Include practice exercises for each topic. Offer these three steps:

1. “Introduction”– Discuss the class’s desired outcome, the lesson road map and the relevance of the information. Prompt students to engage (subconsciously) with knowledge that already is in their long-term memory by, for example, including questions about prior lessons.
2. “Support topics”– Refer to your themes as you explain the steps in each task.
3. “Lesson task”– Present topics in discrete portions with a tell, show and try approach.

Immersive Learning Environments

One study determined that spending 25 practice hours with an “immersive computer-based troubleshooting simulation” increased the expertise of technicians with two years’ experience to equal that of technicians with 10 years’ experience. Multimedia presentations enhance “immersive lessons.” These lessons have four elements:

1. Specific “work-authentic” problems that provide a context for learning.
2. Guidance to help students solve the issue at hand. The need for this diminishes with student experience.
3. Feedback to students about the solutions they develop.
4. Opportunity for students to reflect, not only on their solutions, but also on their mistakes. Avoid overloading students with too much information.