Learning involves a complex interplay of cognitive processes that engage learners actively with the material. Understanding these principles can transform your learning offering, making them not only more effective but also more enjoyable for your learners.
Here's a breakdown of some key cognitive processes involved:
- Attention: We can't learn if we're not paying attention. Our attention spans are not the same as a gold fish and our attention spans are not getting shorter - those are pop psychology myths to channel us towards more tik tok style content. The truth is people pay attention to what is meaningful and helpful for them. Think about your learning design through this lens so you capture and maintain learners' attention by providing meaning. Of course dynamic and engaging content helps with dual coding and reinforcement stimulating their interest and focus on the subject matter.
- Perception: Learners interpret and make sense of the information presented to them through various sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, and tactile cues. There is no such thing as 'learning styles' so best practice is to use varying forms of content presentation and delivery.
- Memory: Learning of course leverages memory processes, such as encoding, storage, and retrieval to help learners retain and recall information effectively. Activities that require learners to actively manipulate and apply knowledge enhance memory consolidation.
- Comprehension: Learners engage in deep processing of information, striving to understand concepts, relationships, and implications. Activities prompt learners to generate explanations, make connections, and solve problems, fostering comprehension.
- Critical Thinking: Cultivate critical thinking skills by encouraging learners to analyse, evaluate, and synthesise information. Through discussions, debates, and problem-solving tasks, learners develop the ability to assess the validity of arguments, identify biases, and formulate reasoned judgments.
- Metacognition: Learners develop metacognitive awareness by reflecting on their own learning processes, monitoring their understanding, and adjusting their strategies accordingly. Provide opportunities for learners to set goals, monitor progress, and regulate their learning activities.
- Feedback Processing: How do we know how we're doing? Feedback on performance enables learners to assess their understanding and identify areas for improvement. Timely and informative feedback enhances learning outcomes by correcting misconceptions, reinforcing correct responses, and guiding future learning efforts.
- Social Interaction: Learning often involves collaborative activities that promote social interaction and peer learning. Through discussions, group projects, and collaborative problem-solving tasks, learners benefit from diverse perspectives, constructive feedback, and shared expertise.
- Emotion Regulation: You might question what role emotions play in learning. Well due to the link between emotion and memory it's key to think about how a learner will feel when they are experience your learning offering. If you can create an emotional link to your learning it is more likely to be remembered when it is needed most.
- Transfer and Application: What we all want to see right! Transference of skills back into the real world of work. By providing opportunities for learners to apply what they have learned in authentic situations through simulations, case studies, and role-playing exercises, learners develop transferable skills that are applicable beyond the learning environment.
These cognitive processes work together to support interactive learning experiences that are engaging, meaningful, and conducive to deep understanding and skill development.
Interactive and immersive learning incorporates elements of gameplay into learning activities to create engaging learning environments. They enhance engagement by creating dynamic and interactive environments where learners are active participants rather than passive recipients.
This heightened engagement leads to better retention and recall of information.
Secondly, immersive learning allows learners to apply theoretical knowledge in practical scenarios, bridging the gap between learning and real-world application.
This experiential aspect promotes deeper understanding and skill mastery.
Overall, the immersive nature of interactive and immersive learning creates a more effective and enjoyable learning experience, driving both motivation and performance.
If you have a particularly sticky learning challenge you just don’t know how to solve give me a call, I’d be happy to help, it’s what I do.
