cets 2015 reilly starting with the questions first

Starting with the Questions First: Using the latest brain science to build adaptive eLearning

Tom Reilly – VP, CompTIA Learning

Copyright (c) 2015 Thomas J. Reilly. All Rights Reserved.

Disclaimer

I am not:

Brain Scientist

Psychometrician

Educational Psychologist

I am:

Instructional Designer

Knowledge Base Architect

LMS Developer

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The Why

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Mis

sio

n

Skill the IT workforce to compete in the 21st Century global job market.

Ch

alle

nge

Diverse audience, including blue collar trades, white collar career changers, multi-tasking millennial students, international….

Op

po

rtu

nit

y Passing a technology certification exam is often the first foot up the career ladder toward the middle class and away from minimum wage poverty.

1 million unfilled technology jobs

8 million unemployed


The Solution & the Obstacle

Generic, one-size fits all text reference

1500 pages

300+ Acronyms

Hundreds of review questions

7 pounds of heck

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No googling! 90-question, 90-minute closed-book test

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4 things we are Learning about Learning

1. Are humans good at multi-tasking? We don’t Multi-task, especially during learning. We can really only focus on one thing at a time and we require repetition and visual cues together to reinforce learning

2. Does cramming work? Learning spread out over time drastically increases knowledge retention. Spacing is important

3. Are engagement & emotion really important? Game play helps to exercise (and motivate) our mental muscles. It increases engagement, motivation, and confidence. All this creates emotion which is a powerful learning trigger. Where there is strong emotion, there is learning

4. Do people remember text or images better? Our brain prefers images to text. Including images increases learning by as much as 50%

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---Prim

ing---


Wait, What? The War for Attention

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Why the brain science matters (“What’s in it for you” slide)

Because your core mission is to help learners

succeed: in the course, on the job, and in their lives

If you could provide:

50% decrease in training/study time to competency

80% knowledge retention after 12 months

Would that be meaningful?

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Why start with the questions first?

“I don’t know anything yet”

While it seems unconventional, research has shown that testing prior to studying is a much more effective way to learn.


To have rich adaptive learning, the course design & learning algorithm must work together to exploit key learning triggers and serve up course adaptations in real-time

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5 TAKEAWAYS: These are 5 learning triggers that you can employ in your eLearning courses, even without a learning algorithm.


Data. Recalibrate Please Using data analysis to re-calibrate and adapt the course in real-time

Use of a learning algorithm can analyze learners’ data in real-time to determine when users have hit their short-term memory limits.

The learning algorithm evaluates inputs such as how often a response is selected, confidence, question time, and question mastery time to determine whether a question is too simple or too difficult and the learner’s initial knowledge.

The ability to analyze learner responses for confidence allows the algorithm to identify & focus on subjects of particular difficulty but also to move quickly through subjects they already know.

All the data captured by the learning algorithm can also be made available to the learner or a manager via analytics dashboards to help quickly spot areas where the learner or a whole cohort of learners is struggling and needs remediation.

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Learning algorithm analyzes learners’ data, including confidence, in real-time and recalibrates to provide optimal learning & retention


Priming the Learning Pump Using priming to create a framework for memory

Priming provides learners with a preview of the content to be learned through a short set of questions & visual cues, prompting the learner to better absorb and recall the information.

Learners form deeper associations with the content and navigate new information with confidence and a point of reference.

This prevents novices from becoming overwhelmed by a deluge of new information, particularly complex, technical information.

Priming creates a mental framework for easier memory accessibility and recall.

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The priming process increases learner’s retention of new knowledge by creating a mental framework for easier memory accessibility and recall.

Related: The Testing Effect primes learner attention


Spacing, Everyone Spacing learning intervals and presenting feedback

Long-term memories must undergo a consolidation process – termed synaptic consolidation – before becoming being retained.

Spacing introduces information to learners over optimal intervals and gives the brain’s working memory time to:

– Encode

– Associate

– Forget

– Re-Learn

– Store the new information

Presenting new learning at timed intervals (6-8 questions) helps the brain process and store the information more effectively because the earner’s brain is given time to perform synaptic consolidation – without overload.

At the end of these brief learning intervals, it is the perfect time to introduce feedback and additional content that helps learners better understand the correct answer and why the other answers were wrong.

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Cramming doesn’t promote long-term retention or bicycle safety, but spacing gives the brain’s working memory time to encode and store the information in long-term memory.


Repetition & Visual Cues

Repetition is a key to long-term memory instantiation.

Our model shows that once a learner has answered an assessment question correctly & confidently twice in a row, the knowledge is pushed to long-term memory = mastery

As a course designer, this means you don’t have to spend time reviewing this information any further.

Presenting course information alternately with and without a visual cue ensures the cue provides a memory aid but not a crutch to long-term recall.

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Repetition of the course information and visual cues pushes the knowledge to long-term memory and out of the course.

What visual cue did I use on the Spacing slide?


Confidence & Emotion

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Managing the degree of difficulty and dynamic improvement elevates dopamine levels and activates the multiple areas of the brain responsible for new memory formation and learning.

Functional MRI scans of the brain confirm that when these areas are activated concurrently, learners experience heightened engagement and store more information in long-term memory.

Confidence is another key learning trigger. When a learner self-identifies long-held confidently held misinformation (red zone), emotion is created and the learner quickly recommits the correct information to memory.

Capturing the learner’s confidence level as part of the assessment process activates emotion and increases long-term memory storage.


Engagement & Dopamine I said, Good Day, Sir!

Taking a cue from video games, Learner engagement is key to getting learners to progress through a course.

Like video games and apps, assessment-based learning uses key motivational triggers such as a sense of progression, risk, achievement, and curiosity to contribute to optimal dopamine levels -- without overwhelming learners.

These regulated dopamine levels create a positive feedback loop, which encourages further success through progression and combats abandonment & fatigue.

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Assessment-based learning encourages a sense of progression, risk, achievement and curiosity – just like video games – to contribute to optimal dopamine levels

Psychometric reports show that >90% of learners that begin a module, complete a module and 60% go on to complete the entire course.

Adaptive Learning Demonstration

Call out the learning triggers that you see employed

Level up Video – How many classic video games can you spot

https://youtu.be/d5Qos11wkq8

QUESTIONS Closing slide

cets 2015 reilly starting with the questions first

Presentations & Public Speaking