How We Learn: Storage & Retrieval Strength

" Learning is rooted very much in the mind’s ability  to 

extrapolate a broad range information linked to external stimulus..."

A common thread that affects learning and our comprehension is “How We Learn”. Funny, isn’t it - that this is perhaps the single most important factor in developing learning programs –yet it is the least understood and often least considered aspect of skill development and behavioural change.

 Learning programs, and in particular eLearning programs demand that an individual focus on a set of learning objectives we have set out for that learner. We seek to entrench comprehension and change behaviour through such learning programs. Most learning strategies within organizations and corporations are based on cost and availability of resources with little concern for long term implementation strategies and a need to validate learning.  Effective eLearning involves understanding how our brain works to store, recall and apply knowledge. If we don’t understand how that takes place and how we can best create an environment that will allow this to happen, how can we hope people will apply what they have learned.

Traditional classrooms and their learning strategies are built on historical experiences in organized learning regimens and do not create a connection between learning and understanding. The foundational learning strategies we currently use in most of our business learning environments date back to the 19th century. Experiential learning or the classroom based learning in a one to many environment is the primary means of teaching/learning.

This strategy is entrenched in teachers and learners who focus on a learning formula that suggests: creating a link between memorization, repetition and application equals comprehension and learned skills. It is my contention, based on the existing data sets resulting from many learning studies, that there is significant evidence that this is not the most effective way to teach or learn, however, it may be the cheapest. I wonder of cheaper is better if nothing is learned?

Learning is rooted very much in the mind’s ability to extrapolate a broad range information linked to external stimulus, thus creating links in our ability to store, recall and apply knowledge based on how that knowledge gets embedded.  Creating unique environments, delivering a message in a memorable way and allowing the learner to learn in a way that suites their abilities and capacity to paramount to learning. Check out the Godden & Baddeley study on the effects of context cues on recall.

Robert Bjork of UCLA and his wife, Elizabeth Ligon Bjork also of UCLA can be said to have developed the theory of “Forget To Learn” in the 80’s. The principle theory is this “Any memory has two strengths, a storage strength and a retrieval strength.”  

“How We Learn”, author, Benedict Carey, tells us that storage strength is just that, a measure of how well learned something is. It builds up steadily with studying and more sharply with use.”   He goes on to say, “According to Bjorks theory, storage strength can increase but never decrease”…and, “The brain holds onto only what is relevant, useful or interesting - or maybe so in the future.”   Casey tells us that “Retrieval strength…is a measure of how easily a nugget of information comes to mind. It too, increases with studying and with use.”

Retrieval strength can be a matter of how quickly we can bring things to mind, while storage strength is a matter of how familiar something might be. ELearning is affected by this learning philosophy. If an eLearning program, for example has 6 modules, and each is about 45 minutes long which we take only once, than the storage strength and retrieval strength are both low.

How do we improve on this? Each module can be followed up with questions. This serves as repetition of content and improves retrieval. Adding case studies and interactive scenarios helps improve storage strength as we apply and use the knowledge. We can further improve storage and retrieval with follow up meetings and one-on-one sessions that extend our learning of the concept, by creating a series of demands on our memory that recall and apply the principles learned.

Spreading out the learning process over a longer period of time, changing the delivery medium and varying the time and place in which we learn are all hall marks of eLearning. This creates an environment where the knowledge can become more embedded in our memory, improving our storage and retrieval strength and allowing us to recall information more readily. This is especially true if we continue to follow up and extend the learning process through a variety of additional learning opportunities. These complementary learning opportunities that complement eLearning can be simple and low cost including; group meetings, one-on-one simulations, learner surveys, reading assignments, learner feedback, follow up evaluation of implementation strategies, etc.  

ELearning is an ideal medium for knowledge transfer, but on its own it’s is far less effective. Learning strategies, that use eLearning as the primary learning medium, delivered over longer periods while including multiple learning opportunities and multiple mediums create the best outcomes.

elearning Wrong Thinking

Our company has been developing e Learning since the 90's, before it was ever thought to be "cool" or "effective" in training. During that time we have encountered many implementation strategies that bear close examination for their ineffectiveness and their inability to actually achieve any true measure of comprehension among learners. 

Most e Learning administrators ignored or overlooked the important lessons taught by traditional learning. For example, you must have an administrative infrastructure in place with allocated resources, its OK to expect results from learners, its OK to set high achievement levels in testing, and adult learning is a shared enterprise that includes learners, teachers and administrators. 

Here are a few e Learning thought processes that can potentially result in poor comprehension and boredom among learners.

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1. Our first priority is to try and buy the most seats for the lowest price
2.  Let’s focus on purchasing an LMS solution before we consider content 
3.  We’ll try and use content we already have. PowerPoint is better than nothing.
4.  Let’s be cost effective and buy off-the-shelf-content without evaluating its effectiveness
5.  Don’t bother involving learners in e Learning program design....that’s too complicated
6.  Isn’t self-paced e Learning fully automated? … no need to develop a management plan
7.  Do not make completion of the e Learning mandatory – people might complain
8.  Don’t set up a program to promote the idea of e Learning – it’s too much work and money
9.  Don’t include a firm completion date – I am sure it will be get done in due course
10.  I am managing the e Learning program,….I don’t have to actually take it myself
11.  Don’t track and include e Learning results in employee records – it’s too hard to put in place
12.  Training is important but it’s not core to our business or organization 
13.  Let's start our e Learning program with low cost mandatory learning 
14.  I’ll make the e Learning optional – that way it won’t be difficult to implement
15.  We already do workshops and conferences…e Learning isn’t that different 
16.  Let’s implement self-paced e Learning...and then we can set it up in a classroom
17.  We want a certificate e Learning program …but we should make it easy to get
18.  We can implement an e Learning program …no need to plan for any updates at this point
19.  Let’s create an e Learning program…I’m sure learners will participate without reward or encouragement 
20. Content is expensive ...let's see of somebody else has the custom knowledge we need

PS....fell free to respond with your own observations on e Learning implementation ....

Why Do Soft Skills Matter to Employers

Why do many employers still view training as superfluous, dispensable or peripheral to success? In this modern age where we have a cohort of young, educated people entering the workforce, the need for strategic  learning within companies and organizations is more important than ever.

Unorganized, on-the-job training remains the preferred method of preparing new hires and existing employees seeking to take on new responsibilities. Employers often cite the demands of day-to-day business as the primary reason that they just don’t have “time” and “money” to train and integrate employees into their workplace effectively.  They rely on the availability of skills in the open marketplace, planning that new hires will be able to step directly into the workplace and perform specific tasks.

In a broad cross section or companies and organizations I am hearing more and more that employees able to take on specific tasks, undertake increasing responsibility, work independently and conduct themselves professionally are is short supply. Employers are finding it increasingly difficult to hire specific skills for increasingly complex jobs. While the marketplace is producing a well-educated workforce, the largest part of entry level employees remain unemployed or underemployed, and as such, are not gaining experience and a practical knowledge of Soft Skills required in most workplaces today.

 The anemic employment rate is partly to blame, given the fact that in Canada and around the world the employment among young people is at epidemic levels.  Current average unemployment levels in Canada are hovering around 7.1% while youth unemployment is at about 13.5%.  This suggests that young people, and in particular, those new hires that employers are counting on to step right into their workplace are not getting the experience they need to transition their abilities into skills.

 Developing Soft Skills within this new cohort of entry level employees is increasingly important. As an example, a regional Labour Market Partnership Study ( Simcoe County)  has identified on-the job training and soft skills development as some of (over 2000, surveyed employer’s)  the most important concerns of businesses in meeting businesses future competitive and economic growth challenges.

What are Soft Skills and why do they matter? Soft Skills encompass topics like communications, leadership, problem solving and project management.  These skills provide a base of knowledge that allow employees to communicate effectively with co-workers, management and clients, understand their responsibilities in the life-cycle of projects, prepare to take on increasing responsibility and how to bring unique innovation and problem solving skills to everyday workplace challenges.

E Learning that teaches Soft Skills is designed to address many of these issues and provides learning in a way, at a time and through a medium that young learners can access readily and are familiar with. E Learning also addresses employer’s most pressing concerns by offering training programs that are flexible, accessible, cost effective and individual results can be tracked over time.

Most employers, whether they are willing to admit it or not, are not prepared to set up comprehensive learning in the workplace and often approach it with a patchwork of learning scenarios that may include costly meetings, presentations and workshops or poorly conceived eLearning that often amounts to nothing more than PowerPoint presentations.

Employers may not have the resources or commitment to understand the real value of learning in their organizations since the existing programs are cobbled together each year with no long term strategy and no clear understanding of the financial impact on their organization.   Only when a high-risk event forces action, or government intervention in monitoring compliance with workplace learning does an organization of company respond in an organized fashion.

I believe that Soft Skills development and in particular eLearning Soft Skills development can be an important cornerstone in an organizations success. It sets the ground work for employees to understand what is expected of them and helps fulfill their desire to grow, learn and take on new responsibilities and roles.

“Fulfilling an employee’s desire to grow and learn” is essential in the retention of good employees. It offers employees an opportunity to fulfill their ambition by understanding that there are opportunities for growth and advancement and as an employer you are willing to support them in their personal growth as well as their professional growth. It is a “win - win “scenario”, where the employer gets a motivated and an increasingly capable employee, and perhaps an innovative thinker, a leader that will contribute in a meaningful way to an organization's success in the future.

 If you want to learn more about soft skills online training or gain access to our unique Soft Skills eLearning program on Communications, Leadership, Project management and Problem Solving you can visit our web site at www.ycommunicate.com or contactus@ycommunicate.com or simply call 416-271-5259.

E-Learning – Focus on Content

While E-Learning has been around for awhile...most professed E-Learning experts have not been. They have evolved or re-invented themselves from technology based solutions such as selling/programming software or hardware. The marketplace is littered with such solutions with little or no thought to content.

Who is developing content and what expertise do they have? The answer is simple...few and little. Few developers have the capacity to synthesize complex E-learning content into meaningful information that can help change behaviour or teach new techniques. And there is little expertise in marshalling or repurposing media that will enhance comprehension.

My/our expertise goes back to interactive laser disc production in 1985 and the Interactive Design Workshop at the University of Nebraska. Myself and partner Doug Knipe worked together at Consumer Distributing to implement a more robust version of the Teledon project. Ostensibly it would allow Consumers’ shoppers to buy direct from a kiosk using a combination of laser disc imaging technology and the Teledon communication protocol.

Interactivity has changed; as has media technology, but the lessons learned on how humans interact with that technology have not. What it taught us was that technology was always secondary to an intuitive learning process and understanding how to synthesize typical dry text/graphic based content (PowerPoint) into behavioral learning is an art form.

" ...technology was always secondary to an intuitive learning process and understanding how to synthesize typical dry text/graphic based content (PowerPoint) into behavioral learning is an art form"

E-learning demands a team approach that includes skills in graphic design, scripting, video production, simulation design; audio production, illustration and perhaps the most important …project management. It is not a marriage of convenience between software/hardware developers and graphic design/video production companies!