How cooking classes can make you a better designer
As someone who loves to learn, I’m always taking some class or another. Recently my husband and I attended a knife skills class to keep our cooking skills sharp (see what I did there?). I’ve been involved with education and training for so long that a natural side effect is being inquisitive about the methodologies and strategies used by the instructor of the courses I take. Lately, I’ve been drawing inspiration from the real world and seeing how it can be applied to eLearning.
As we walked into the kitchen, the first thing we saw was a huge turkey in the middle of the table, surrounded by many very sharp-looking knives. You have officially gained the students' attention (per Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction). The instructor drew us in further by asking if we had ever struggled with carving a Thanksgiving turkey. There were many nodding heads, nervous laughter, and a few brave souls who admitted to a destroyed turkey or two. This instructor officially had buy-in for whatever he decided to teach us next.
He informed us that we would start the class by learning the hardest knife skill, carving. Then we would move on to tomatoes and, lastly, the simplest task of slicing bread. For each section, he stated the importance of using the right knife for the task, gave us knowledge about the knife used for the task, and demonstrated the procedure. It was a page from Ruth Colvin Clark (Developing Technical Training). At the end of the three mini-lessons, we would use what we learned to assemble a sandwich. I thought this complex-to-simple sequencing was interesting (as most classes take a simple-to-complex route), but it made so much sense for this class. By attacking the hardest part first, participants had an abundance of confidence to complete the less complex tasks. The hands-on “evaluation” of making a sandwich was a unique (and tasty) way to assess our knife skills.
The second half of the class was structured the same way except for teaching about one type of knife and then teaching us several situations in which we might use that knife. The part to whole approach went through the process of chopping different vegetables and herbs that led up to the final product of making homemade vegetable stock.
So what does all this have to do with Instructional Design? What I took away from this instructor-led class was three key questions to answer and incorporate into learning design:
How can I grab my learner’s attention at the start of the course?
What are some ways of structuring eLearning modules from complex to simple that could build learner confidence?
What types of engaging activities can be used to assess all procedures taught in the lesson sequence?