This is because the knowledge to perceive shapes and spaces in a certain way has been stored in our brain as a schema.

Our brain’s information processing is based on a number of cognitive functions such as sensory memory, working memory, and long-term memory. Schemas come under long-term memory. Continuously repeating a task commits the knowledge to our working memory. It is important to remember that information is constantly being processed in our brain across all these memory functions.

Constructivism

The belief in constructionist theory is that knowledge is constructed or built upon past experiences and ideas. This takes into account the personal motivations and learning that an individual has had, acknowledging their uniqueness.

This means that every person has a different process for constructing schemas in their brain and a different interpretation about it.

The role of an instructor in such a case is more of a facilitator, rather than a direct supplier of knowledge. This places the learner at the center of the learning model. The idea that knowledge is not directly absorbed differs the objective notion of simply transferring learning.

In such an environment, how the trainer facilitates knowledge becomes very important, as does the nature of knowledge being imparted. There need to be open-ended questions and the opportunity for learners to reflect on concepts imbibed. Typically, smaller group activities are favored in such an approach.

What learning theory should your instructional design approach adopt?

So which of these learning theories should influence your approach to instructional design.

The answer is, it depends.

Dale H. Schunk, in his book Learning Theories, talked about some of the questions that instructional designers and decision makers need to look at when making such a decision:

How does learning occur? What are the factors that influence learning? What role does memory play in the learning activities? How is knowledge transferred during learning activities? What types of learning are best explained by the theory?

Michael Hanley, discusses this very subject in his article on aligning learning theory with instructional design, where he has reference table for what theory can work in which scenario:

Developing a system for instructional design

If we look at the seeds for instructional design, a structure starts to emerge in the research for military application of instruction during the Second World War. In an effort to develop training material for the large number of troops, considerable research and study into the principles of instruction and learning was carried out.

The research focus in these studies was on leveraging human behavior by influencing their experiences via technology and learning material.

This still holds true as the main aim for online learning or e-learning today.

The cone of experience

Edgar Dale’s cone of experience, which looks at the concreteness of instructional methods was one of the early results of study into this area.

Edgar Dale’s cone of experience. source: wikipedia

The levels of the cone are based on the how many senses are involved in learning. So as the number of senses involved go up, the retention of learning and knowledge also increases.

This framework also gives a glimpse into the influence that learning activities have on learning outcomes.

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Benjamin Bloom and his team comprising of Max Englehart, Edward Furst, Walter Hill, and David Krathwohl published a framework for categorizing learning goals, which came to be known as Bloom’s Taxonomy.

This laid down a framework which emphasized not just remembering learning, but inculcating the abilities to analyze and evaluate concepts picked up in learning. Bloom and his team identified three domains that influenced learning:

Cognitive — how learners think

Psychomotor — what learners do

Affective — what learners feel

Over time this framework has been revised by the original authors and other researchers, so that the following activities have been identified as comprising each domain:

Cognitive

Remembering Comprehending Applying Analyzing Synthesizing Evaluating

Psychomotor

Perception Set Guided response Mechanism Complex overt response Adaptation Origination

Affective

Receiving Responding Valuing Organizing Characterizing

Significance of Bloom’s Taxonomy

Bloom’s Taxonomy continues to be a mainstay in the study and design of instruction even after all this time, mainly because it establishes some important relationships and concepts in the development of learning materials.

Goals for instruction need to be established early on so that both instructors and learners are aware of the purpose of learning and training.

A concrete framework for developing and designing instruction helps the process.

Having a framework helps instructional designers plan and choose the right method for delivering instruction.

It helps create a sound system for evaluating and assessing the outcome of learning activities and learner performance.

Provides a platform to gauge whether learning activities have brought learners closer to the objectives set out to achieve.

Gagne’s Nine Steps of Instruction

Robert Gagne’s work in developing instructional design laid the basis for many instructional design processes and models that are used today. Gagne’s principles of instructional design or nine steps of instruction is considered to be a check list of things to cover when designing and developing learning material.

The nine steps of instruction are:

Gain attention

Using a stimulus to gain the attention of learners so that they are engaged and committed to learning. An introduction which engages the learners right from the start is one way to achieve this.

Explaining to the learners how relevant the online training or course is can another good way to gain their attention. Things that will matter to them include how efficiency is improved or time saved, especially in the case of corporate e-learning solutions. For e-learning training for students in the K-12 context, using custom learning design to frame thought-provoking issues can help.

Establish a learning objective

Establishing a learning objective gives the learners a concrete goal to work towards. It will give them an idea of what they are trying to accomplish and organize their ideas around it, also providing motivation.

Research has indicated that achievement can be raised by 34 percentile points if an objective is in place, and even more when learners have a sense of control over their learning outcomes.

Stimulate recall of prior learning

Linking new knowledge that the students are about to acquire with previous things they have learner helps. This is also the basis of the constructivism theory mentioned earlier. Knowledge is easier to absorb when it is built on previously known concepts and past experiences.

Visual mapping of new concepts to prior learning helps build a mental schema in the learner’s mind. Note-taking has shown to be one of the more successful practices in this regard, and hence, is widely encouraged.

Present the material

When learning material is presented to learners, it has to be done in a way so that impact and retention is maximized. Bloom’s taxonomy and Dale’s cone of experience provide good reference models in this regard.

Breaking down the material in smaller pieces and in an order that aligns with learning objectives is important. Using media and examples is also a good strategy.

Provide learning guidance

Giving learners an indication of the desired outcomes help them calibrate their approach appropriately. This can be done via examples, case studies, and modelling various learning strategies like concept mapping, visualizing, role playing.

Modelling the right examples and non-examples helps learners acquire knowledge more effectively. It also gives them encouragement and facilitates thinking along the same lines.

Elicit performance

At this stage, learners get a chance to practice and demonstrate the knowledge they have acquired. Once they internalized the knowledge, it is important for them to be able to elicit it at the right time and in the right way. This also increases their confidence and validates the effort they have put in to learning activities.

In order to help the learner to elicit performance, learning material should consist of recall strategies, deep-learning questions, help them attach context to content and delve into details of the content.

Provide feedback

Feedback needs to be specific in nature, as well as confirmatory and corrective. This way the learners know what they did right and wrong.

Feedback is a constant loop and not something that should come right at the end of the e-learning course or training module. So, it is important for courses to have feedback inserted at the right places during instruction.

Assess performance

One of the main functions of instruction is to provide assessment tools so that learners and instructors can gauge how successful learning activities have been in helping learners reach the objectives that had been set at the beginning.

Assessment modules not only need to test for prerequisites and endpoint knowledge, but have to be inserted at appropriate gaps. There will be some variance in form and timing depending on the needs of the course.

Enhance retention and transfer to the job