lifeandlearning

In this blog post, i would like to talk about scenario based learning. Scenario based learning puts the learner in a real life scenario or in a situation/simulation that depicts real life as closely as possible. The central idea being that learner is put into a situation which requires them to consider a wide range of factors and take appropriate decisions. The advantage of this is that learners develop critical skills (and their confidence) that they would need in order to effectively do their job. Another advantage is that because the learning involves a particular context (one that the learner is likely to use in their actual job), the learner is able to better understand the learning and commit it to their long term memory. Scenario based learning is based on situational learning theory, which was first discussed by Jean lave and Etienne Wenger in 1991. Scenario based learning generally involves providing the learners with a narrative that introduces the learner to the scenario ...

In this post, i would like to talk about Minimalism. The minimalism theory was first introduced by JM Caroll. Minimalism is a task-oriented instructional approach that discourages passive reading or listening and encourages self-directed learning by exposing the learner to job relevant and realistic activities for effective learning experiences. The theory gets its name by "minimizing" the use of lengthy reading material or lectures. The principles of the Minimalism theory are: All learning tasks should be meaningful learners should be provided realistic tasks and projects as soon as possible learning instruction should permit (and encourage) self-directed reasoning and improvising by increasing the number of active learning activities training materials and activities should provide for error recognition and recovery there should be a close linkage between the training and the actual system The theory (and the instructional model based on the theory) exert...

I first came across the experiential learning theory a few years ago when I was doing my Masters qualification in Human resource management. To be honest I couldn't make much sense of it at that time. Part of it can be attributed to how it was presented to us learners and part of it, my own lack of enthusiasm in understanding it. There was barely any context around the concept which, in my opinion, caused it to come across as somewhat abstract in nature rather that something relevant and applicable. So what is experiential learning? Experiential learning can be described as learning that is gained by doing something and then reflecting on it. Although learning by doing things has been around since the time human beings have been able to communicate, experiential learning as a formal education approach has been articulated about 50 years ago. Its chief proponent has been David A Kolb who build upon earlier work done by Kurt Lewin and Jean Piaget. Experiential learning is impo...