About 10 years ago when I was initially studying to be a secondary school teacher, I remember coming across literature about learning styles.  So called experts surmised that learners can be categorized as auditory, visual or tactile/kinesthetic learners, who excel in environments where instructors lean on your ‘style’ more than others.  Many other theories around this have been developed, some with other styles added.  As a teacher, I have spent time in my classes doing activities which attempt to determine what styles lead to the best learning, as well as questioning students about what kind of style they prefer. From my own experience, I have determined that it is impossible to choose one style which results in the most success for any learner, and most often people choose what style they prefer, rather than what results in the best learning. 

  • Do we really know the best way that we learn? 
  • In a workplace context, what is the best learning ‘style’ which promotes skill building for those who don’t have time to attend face to face training sessions?

For LRNT 526, our group has chosen to delve deeply into video based learning environments, and in particular TED Ed animation approaches in order to evaluate how using video could apply to micro learning environments and training in the private sector.  As an adult education instructor over the past 10 or so years, I have focused on workplace related learning, and have helped students gain skills needed to obtain employment, as well as developing online training materials for industry.  Most of the eLearning environments I have been involved in the design of have used a mix of reading and video modalities.  I am very interested in seeing how video, the use of narration, and the design of animations can promote learning for those looking to upgrade skills or learn new ones for work.

When looking back at literature reviewed in previous courses as part of the MALAT program, it appears that there are a variety of opinions on the merits of video based learning design when compared to other learning approaches.  Wong, Leahy, Marcus and Sweller (2012) feel after reviewing literature on the subject that there is “no inherit benefit of animations over static graphics” (p. 451).  Within video based learning itself, Merrill (2002) feels that a combination of text and graphics may result in reduced learning capacity, while an audio and graphic combination can promote more effective learning. 

As I was brainstorming about what aspect of video based learning to focus on, cognitive load came immediately to mind.  I am always cognizant of not overwhelming my students with too much information all at once when creating learning environments.  In working environments where what staff need to learn can be directly applicable to tasks they need to perform, as well as knowledge being essential to creating a safe environment, reducing cognitive load on working memory must be considered.  As part of this course, I want to dig deeper into how the setup of animation/video based learning can impact cognitive load and the ability to retain and apply knowledge at work.  Thomas (2010) feels that “the presentation of content in well structured multimedia format enables to reduce the cognitive load and enhance the cognitive processing” (p. 237).  I want to find out more about what specifically can be done when structuring video based learning environments to reduce this load and promote this retention. 

Some questions I want to consider:

  • Do videos and visual animations as learning tools promote retention in working memory, and how can this form of learning be evaluated in terms of cognitive load?
  • What forms or combinations (text, narration, images, demonstrations etc.) of learning design using video promote the most retention and least cognitive loading?
  • What is transient information loss, and how can it be reduced in the design of animations?

 

References

Merrill, M. D. (2002). First principles of instruction. Educational Technology Research and Development, 50(3), 43–59. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02505024

Thomas, P. Y. (2010). Learning and instructional systems design. In Towards developing a web-based blended learning environment at the University of Botswana. (Doctoral dissertation).

Wong, A., Leahy, W., Marcus, N., & Sweller, J. (2012). Cognitive load theory, the transient information effect and e-            learning. Learning and Instruction, 22(6), 449–457. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2012.05.004

 

 

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