Impact of Branching Scenarios on E-Learning

In the quest of gaining maximum learner attention branching scenarios will become your ultimate ally. In a branching scenario the learners get their own choice of mapping out their learning path.?

Branching scenarios are very crucial, claims Bill Brandon (2021) as he stresses on its impact on the level of stimulus and cognitive development a particular learner can experience. The idea of a branching scenario stems from the concept of immersive learning and the strategies on keeping the learners engaged.?

Snegirev (2016) mentions that the branching scenarios make the strategy of microlearning even more interactive because in this case the learners get to decide their own path of learning.?

Mini Scenarios and Branching Scenarios?

Whilst discussing the relevance of microlearning we must cite the article of Whybrow (2015) where the author fantastically describes how mini scenarios, inside a course lecture, adheres to the concept of branching scenarios.?

The author states that mini scenarios are often designed to test the learners’ problem solving abilities thereby encouraging them to chalk their own learning curve. So according to Whybrow (2015) mini scenarios often facilitate a branching scenario because despite its overall effectiveness the former does not fully challenge the learners’ problem solving skills.?

For instance, in a mini scenario the learner does not have to determine his/her own path of learning because it is already set by the online educator or the online academy. For that reason, Whybrow (2015) believes that the learner does not contemplate on the consequences whilst dealing with mini scenarios, alone.?

However, if the mini scenarios are associated with a branching network wherein the learners get challenged for their own assumptions then they also think of the consequences of their actions.?

Advantages of Branching Scenarios

The idea of introducing a branching scenario within an e-learning setup is definitely a brilliant one. There are a number of way a branching scenario can really boost the learners’ cognitive abilities and also their individual level of confidence:?

• In a simulated branching scenario the learners can challenge their own assumption making skills?
• They can track where they have gone wrong and recover from the wrong choices without having to face any real life consequences?
• The learners get trained in dealing with perplexing situations which might arise anytime in their work environment?
• It is all about making a decision and then following it through thereby gaining more responsibility for their respective actions.?

That is why branching scenarios have been so popular in modern workplace learning.?

Branching Scenarios and Real Life Problem Solving?

Brandon (2021) implied in his article that the introduction of branching scenarios often enable the learners to get equipped with the real life problem solving abilities.?

In case of an organisational training, the online trainers can create branching scenarios which reflect the real life challenges of the organisations and test the problem solving and decision making skills of the learners.?

The idea of introducing a branching scenario is to understand how the learners can adapt to a real life problem and how they will choose to solve it. The brilliance of a branching scenario is that it stimulates a practical problem solving scenario in an online learning environment. In that way, the learners can also get used to the hurdles and decision making challenges they might face in their workplace.?

Branching Scenarios are Not Quizzes?

Snegirev (2016) in his article beautifully explains why a branching scenario differs from a quiz, in the context of an online learning environment. The writer points out to the fact that the quizzes are often predetermined and standardised for every scenario.?

That essentially means that the learners get the same set of questions irrespective of the manner in which they have answered the previous ones. However, in case of a branching scenario the learner needs to face consequences for his/her previous responses. It is definitely not a linear progression that they will be facing but rather it would be a sequence of challenges evoked from the point of one choice to the next.?

Branching scenarios are definitely one of the most dynamic and effective ways of engaging with the learners. It is one of the pedagogical methods which will definitely keep your learners motivated. However, on the flip side, designing a branching scenario is a time consuming process. You need to process a lot of information and analytics to design the entire thing.?

Reference

[1] Brandon, B. (2021). When Should You Use Branching Video Scenarios for eLearning?. Retrieved on 10th June 2021, from https://learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/when-should-you-use-branching-video-scenarios-for-elearning

[2] Whybrow, L. (2015). Branching Scenario eLearning: 5 Killer Examples, Retrieved on 10th June 2021, from https://elearningindustry.com/branching-scenario-elearning-5-killer-examples

[3] Snegirev, S. (2016). Branching Scenarios: What You Need To Know, Retrieved on 10th June 2021, from https://elearningindustry.com/branching-scenarios-need-know