lifeandlearning

Can you recall a class that you took or a learning course that you had to go through that instantly grabbed your attention? What was it about the course that grabbed your attention like that? That was a learning Hook! What is a learning hook? A learning Hook is something that grabs the learner’s attention. Something that would make them instantly engage with the learning. So how can we go about developing a learning hook? Well, a learning hook can come from a number of areas. It could be talking about a current event. It could be talking about an ethical or moral dilemma. It could be talking about something that may have directly impacted the learner. It could even be a curious fact, or a mystery or an interesting story. For example, I was once teaching a sales and marketing course and prior to starting any course I usually try to   know my cohort as in, what would they like to do what is it that they find interesting and so on and so forth. So, during

Empathy maps are tools that are extensively used to get immersed in the user/learner’s world. T hey are generally used by and have been popularised by the  UX industry  but can be used in any industry that needs to understand its users/ learners. They are very helpful in enabling us to see the world from the user/learner’s perspective. Due to this I feel they can be effectively used when conducting needs analysis.  Normally when we are developing a business solution or a training program, we try to make it fit the user/learner’s requirements. We determine these requirements based on the cohort characteristics and some details provided by relevant stakeholders (management, HR etc.). However, rarely is any effort made to actually understand the needs and requirements of the end user/learner. Even the input provided by their manager may have bias and gaps in it. So how do you ensure you have a deep understanding of the user/learner. The answer is by building Em

Scaffolding In instructional/learning design we often use the term scaffolding. But what is it? Scaffolding is when we break up the learning or a concept into smaller chunks and support it with various activities that help in understanding and embedding what is being learned. Scaffolding also involves usage of different instructional techniques to gradually enhance learner understanding. The main aim of scaffolding is to make the learner comfortable with what they are learning. So, it should not be viewed as something that needs to be done out of compulsion or convention. Rather, it should be looked upon as the support that is provided to the learner that will make the learning process easier and more effective for them and enable them to apply the learning independently. But how is scaffolding done? Scaffolding is done every time the learner is provided with a tool or information that supports their learning. This may be a:          Clearly provided direction on

I have recently been reading up on Chatbots and how to utilize them in our learning solutions. Chatbots as a learning tool are gaining acceptance and traction very quickly certainly helped in part by the buzz around artificial intelligence. But there are still many people who either have not heard about them or do not have a good idea about what they can do. Chatbots imitate human conversation and are very good at troubleshooting routine tasks. I once purchased an anti-virus software but ran into some problems with its installation. So, I went to the company website to find out their customer care number or email. As soon as I opened their web page a little box popped up on the corner of my screen asking me if I needed any assistance. I said I did and described my problem and after a few queries received a solution.  After a couple of days, I started having trouble with another aspect of the program so again went to the website and again came back with a solution. The same

Today I want to talk about one of my favourite tools. Something that I came across more than a decade ago. Something equally true for a sage on stage teacher as it is for a behind the scenes instructional designer. Something so simple yet so profound. I am talking about Merrill’s first principles of instruction. David Merrill developed Merrill’s first principles and published them in an article back in 2002. The original article can be found here. These are various principles that are aimed at integrating and embedding the learning. Merrill's first principles of instruction Activate – In simple terms this principle is about linking the information presented to a learner to their pre-existing knowledge and experiences. For example, if the subject matter is about budgeting than asking the learner to think about their monthly budget would activate their knowledge and experience about budgeting in general. Then these general experiences and kno

Ensuring relevance of learning is without a doubt the single most important thing when designing/developing a course. Learners will simply not be able to gain anything from a course if it does not cater to what the learner wants to achieve. Relevancy in a course can be achieved by accurately determining course requirements (what is covered in the course and how the course will be done) and stakeholder expectations (how a learner wants to learn, how do they like to get feedback, course duration, medium, depth etc.) and then meeting them to the maximum extent possible. However due to a combination of situations, constraints and stakeholder demands this is easier said than done. The technique that I have used to make learning relevant is to gather as much information as possible from as many stakeholders (managers, learners, SME, customers etc.) as possible. Now given the short production times I am not always able to get as much info as I would like to have but I always try to ge