The cognitive power of error

This week I chaired three very enjoyable sessions at Learning Technologies 2013. These were with cognitive neuroscientist Dr Itiel Dror talking about memory, Professor Stephen Heppell, discussing lifelong learning, and Associate Professor of Learning Technology Steve Wheeler, sharing his vision for future technologies. I like chairing sessions because they give me the chance to really immerse myself in the subjects, without any distractions for an hour at a time.

One theme recurred in all three sessions which I would like to explore further, and that is the increasing need to prepare learners for dealing with the unexpected. It's not difficult to teach rules and procedures - sound instructional practices will probably do the trick. But more and more often now there's no real need - you can simply supply all the required information as resources, for people to access as and when needed. But success and failure in the workplace is as likely to depend, not on the ability to apply rules, but the potential to make decisions in highly-variable and often unexpected situations. By definition, these cannot be predicted in advance and codified with rules. Instead, employees must be able to make decisions based on generally-applicable principles, which they apply judiciously to the particular situation.

Principles are essentially theories that explain cause and effect relationships, e.g. if I address someone by their name, they will like me better; if I try to concentrate on one job at a time, I will achieve more; if a project's running late, it's better that I tell the client sooner rather than later; in a coaching relationship, I should avoid giving advice; if I drink alcohol, it will impair my driving; if I eat too much I will get fat.

We probably make hundreds of decisions, large and small, each day, and in doing this we will be drawing - most likely unconsciously - on thousands of principles which we have adopted over the course of our lives. Many of these will have arisen from our own experience, some by observing the experiences of others, others through experiences deliberately set up by coaches and learning designers to encourage us to learn. In all these cases, the common element is experience. It is not enough to be told a principle; we believe it when we see it.

As Itiel explained in his talk, we are programmed to respond to bad experiences (or the bad experiences of those we observe). We are motivated to avoid this happening again. This is the cognitive power of error.

So, as our priorities shift from teaching rules and procedures, to teaching people how to make judgements based on principles that they really believe in, so our strategy needs to shift from instruction to discovery-based approaches. Our aim is not to set people up for horrible trauma, but to provide opportunities for mistakes to be made safely and with adequate opportunities for reflection.

How do we do this? Well how about work assignments, simulations, interactive scenarios, coaching? We have the tools and now is the time to start using them.  

Activities, resources and assessments - your flexible friends

I'm currently working with a client that is looking to assemble a curriculum of learning modules for thousands of NGO personnel working in developing countries across the world. These modules are just one element in a wider learning architecture that looks to develop a range of core competences through a variety of means - experiential, on-demand, non-formal and formal. The problem I have been set is to help them develop formal learning modules that can be used in a wide variety of contexts:

• Cohort-based, working to a timetable OR self-directed, with timing to suit the learner
• On an online basis OR face-to-face (particularly where bandwidth is scarce) OR some mixture
• With an emphasis on improving competency and confidence rather than on abstract knowledge
• Grounded in real-world experience and practice
• In three languages to start with
• With scope for local customisation

The client does not have the time to develop a whole range of alternative course designs in parallel, so we need to make sure the same basic ingredients will work with relatively minor adaptation in each context. Thankfully, the core educational philosophy and approach does not need to vary, just the mechanics.

My response is to design each module as a series of activities, resources and assessments, each of which can work on a self-directed or cohort basis, whether online or face-to-face:

• Discussions and other collaborative activities: These are easy to visualise for cohort-based courses, whether asynchronous (using forums and social media) or synchronous (in physical or virtual classrooms). It would be easy to just miss out this element for self-directed learners, but this would be second best. The trick here, I believe, is to have learners engage with their work colleagues (and perhaps even their family and friends) to ensure that have the opportunity to externalise their views and benefit from other perspectives. Another solution is to develop online interactions that allow learners to compare their responses with previous learners who have also taken the course on a self-directed basis (see New directions in self-study e-learning: social interactions).
• Interactive scenarios: These can be designed for self-study use or to be moderated by a facilitator in a group environment.
• Practical assignments: These can work perfectly well for self-directed learners, with work colleagues, line managers or online tutors engaged to check the results. With cohort-basedf courses, there is the additional option of peer-based review.
• Videos: Can be easily distributed online or offline, for individual or group use.
• Slide shows: These can be formatted for live presentation by a facilitator or with narration for individual use.
• Formal documents: Can be distributed as PDFs both for online use and for print-on-demand.
• Assessments: Because the emphasis here is on competence building and not knowledge-building, assessment is going to require more than quizzes, so we're probably talking an evidence-based approach based on real-work performance or, at very least, special assignments. Self-directed or cohort-based, the issues are the same.

So what about localisation? Well, one thing to avoid is lots of printed materials, for obvious reasons. And all of the resources need to be created using commonly-available and easy to use tools. Videos are a complication but they are also an increasingly important element, so there probably will have to be some re-voicing or sub-titling. Most importantly, the course structures will not be hard-wired - each territory can choose to employ the various ingredients in the format that works best for them, supplemented with their own materials as necessary. 

So is it possible to design for all contexts, without compromising on quality? I'll let you know how I get on, but in the meantime I'd also appreciate your tips.

The citizen journalists are taking over

Photographed near London Bridge station, yesterday evening.

I believe it!

Kindle Singles - a sign of the times

I read a lot in the course of my work - blog posts, reports, books, magazines - but in reality I'm just skimming at great speed, looking for highlights. I can't remember the last time I sat down and properly studied any piece of non-fiction. Why is this? Well, it could be that, like so many people, I'm just too busy, but it's just as possible that my brain has re-wired to adjust to a change in behaviour brought about by the abundance of material that I just have to read. As Nicholas Carr suggested in The Shallows:

'As particular circuits in our brain strengthen through the repetition of a physical or mental activity, they begin to transform that activity into a habit ... Once we've wired new circuitry in our brain we long to keep it activated.'

However, I do enjoy 'proper reading' when it comes to fiction. I don't allocate much time to it - typically just sitting in bed - so, as an extremely goal-oriented person, I get very frustrated at my slow progress. There really are so many great books to read and so little time.

So what's the answer for an occasional but enthusiastic reader who likes to get to the end of tasks so they can 'tick them off'? Kindle Singles. These are primarily short stories that you can read in one or two sittings but look just like full-size books in your Kindle library. It's an exercise in self-deception but one to which I have succumbed, downloading five or six of them to get me started.

If Nicholas Carr is right and we find it ever harder to allocate sustained time to concentrated study, perhaps books will go the way of music. Just as so many people now just download tracks one at a time, rather than purchase whole albums, perhaps fiction will be consumed in the same way. Purists will be horrified, but if that's what people want ...

A formula for successful online distance learning

This Wednesday I hosted the first in a series of webinars in which winners of the 2012 E-Learning Awards present their projects and describe how they set about achieving their successes. This is the second year of these webinars and I'm delighted to be involved, primarily because I find the projects so inspirational. It's a bit depressing when you come across dull e-learning, so when you see how it really can be done it puts a spring back in your step.

In this first webinar we concentrated on the Best Online Distance Learning category and we were lucky to have both the Gold and Silver winners taking part:

1. Willow DNA, working with the Institute of Practitioners in Marketing (IPA), the UK's professional body for advertising, media and marketing communications agencies: In response to a survey that showed that 56% of IPA members wanted to study through online distance learning, Willow helped the IPA to develop an online route for members to gain the IPA Foundation Certificate. Some 1500 members are now studying online, with 691 passes to date. Most impressively, the IPA has seen a 200% increase in enrolments in their Foundation Certificate.
2. Growth Engineering, working with Aggregate Industries and the Institute of Sales and Marketing Management (ISMM), to offer 19 ISMM qualifications entirely online to 400 sales people and sales managers at Aggregate. The programme has saved Aggregate �500K in training costs, while achieving an unprecedented 98% pass rate.

It was interesting to find out the factors that Willow and Growth Engineering felt most contributed to the success of their programmes:

Not dull e-learning: Willow's programme replaced what was some pretty horrible page-turning. And, as Juliette Denny of Growth Engineering was proud to proclaim: 'We are the arch enemies of dull learning.'

Learner journeys: Both organisations set out their programmes as highly-flexible but cohesive learner journeys, making use of rich blends of different resources and activities. Willow used a diagnostic tool to help learners filter out material that would be of less value to them. Growth Engineering encouraged learners to analyse and reflect on their own experiences in order to generate insights.

Use of scenarios: Growth Engineering made a big use of interactive scenarios to develop sales skills: 'We don't ask you what you know, we ask you what you would do.'

Use of video: Willow made a big use of video in their programme and felt it made a big contribution. Willow's Lisa Minogue-White made an interesting observation about video production values. She felt really simple, home-made pieces-to-camera worked fine when the speaker was passionate about what they were discussing. At the other extreme, really professional videos also worked well. What she didn't rate were home-made videos that tried to mimic professional video techniques.

Gamification: Growth Engineering worked hard to gamify their offering using badges and leader-boards and this really seemed to pay off with a sales audience. According to Juliette, gamification is 'the best thing ever'.

Social: Willow made it easy for learners to connect live with other learners who were online at the same time and Lisa felt this was 'incredibly valuable'. There were some 10,000 posts for a single intake of the Foundation Certificate.

All in all, a potent mix for delivery of online professional qualifications and plenty of evidence for a move from the same old, same old. Well done to both of these organisations.

Do as you would be done by

It's the time of year for resolutions. In fact, as I type, it's already 2nd January, so it's already the time for regrets as most resolutions are already broken, but I'll stick with the theme. For the past few years, my resolution has been to take the football less seriously, as my emotional state is so often determined by the run of results of Brighton and Hove Albion FC, but this time it's different. For 2013, I will endeavour to 'do as you would be done by', not in any karmic sense, but as a designer of learning solutions.

As a designer, there's a real risk of under-estimating your audience. The key, I believe, is to put yourself in the shoes of your potential users; not to try and second guess what it feels like to be them, but to imagine yourself in the same situation. Think, what would I want, given the same tasks to perform and the same starting position?

You patronise your users when you believe them to be less intelligent, perceptive or deserving than you. In the 1960s, brutalist architecture was highly fashionable, but would you ever find an architect living in one of these soulless concrete blocks? Of course not. They're living on elegant Georgian terraces. It's the same when, as an instructional designer, you design information-heavy, tell-and-test e-learning for your target users, when you would be horrified to have to use anything like this yourself.

A little bit of care is needed in putting this into practice, because you probably do not have the same tasks to perform or the same starting position as your potential users. You may do a very different type of work. You may be an expert in what you are teaching. Perhaps the secret here is to think back to times when you have had to learn something comparable and with the same amount of prior knowledge. What helped or hindered you to bridge the gap? If you had your time again, what would you have done differently?

So next time you're putting together a design for learning, think twice. Don't get forced into the same old top-down approaches that work on the assumption that every learner is an idiot and a lazy one at that. Do as you would be done by.