Author Bill Cushard explores ideas from new research on adjustments to traditional course structures to improve learning and potential implications for software training.

by Bill Cushard

As most of us have experienced, traditional learning begins with attending a class and watching a lecture, followed by an assignment of some kind related to the topic covered. With modern learning technologies, the lecture could be a webinar, a pre-recorded video, or even an eLearning course. But the principle and order remain: 1) learn concept; 2) apply concept. Even in a flipped classroom model, the process is lecture first, activity second.

The assumption of a traditional learning model is that people need to learn the material from an expert before they can apply. "Practice what you've learned." Understandable. But if it is true that we learn from experience, why don’t we start with the activity?

The Real Flip: Activity First, Lecture Second

New research from Stanford provides evidence that learning improves if an activity comes before a lecture. The study found that students who engaged in an activity (exploring a model of a brain using a pen to manipulate and explore a neural network) performed 30 percent better than students who read first.

"We are showing that exploration, inquiry and problem solving are not just 'nice to have' things in classrooms," said Paulo Blikstein, Assistant Professor of Education and director of the study. "They are powerful learning mechanisms that increase performance by every measure we have."

This makes sense, and we know intuitively that people learn best by doing and through experience. Yet somehow we manage to design learning experiences with a lecture first and an activity second. It turns out we should allow people to explore an activity on their own to activate prior knowledge of a subject.

But does it work for other topics in other environments?

Perfect for Software Training

Since this study was done in higher education, using a physical model of a brain’s neural network, it's easy to question whether the results are generalizable to other topics and environments. It turns out, it does. In fact, the authors of the study state that their result shows evidence that there may be applications “in any field where teaching demands visualization and exploration of complex systems.”

Sounds like software training, to me. When people learn software, they explore screens, click links, and maybe even read help pages from time to time. Yet, software training is designed in the traditional model of lecture first and activity second. The evidence in this study makes me wonder whether software training should begin with activities to perform tasks in the software before any concepts are taught.

What if software training classes began with activities to explore and use the software before the lecture? Would you find that more useful? Do you think you’d learn more effectively? Tell us what you think in the comments below.

About Bill Cushard

Bill became a training guy early in his career when a group of 20 new hires showed up and there was no trainer. When HR came looking to find someone to do the training, Bill yelled, "I'll do it!" He has been a trainer ever since.

Bill has built and led training organizations and eLearning projects at service organizations like E*TRADE, Accenture, and TimeWarner Cable.

He is the author of a blog, The LX Designer, where he shares knowledge on enterprise learning and is active on Twitter in the learning and training space.