March 2019 – CHALLACON

Using Cognitive Hacks for eLearning

I remember the first time I heard someone speaking a language other than English. I was eight years old. My family and I were visiting Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza, and we had stopped by the Classic Cup Café to have a refreshment. As we sat together on the patio, I heard the people at the table next to me speaking a different language. I loved that experience.

As I studied other languages, I have often used the Pimsleur method since I have had great success with this program. One of the secrets to Paul Pimsleur’s methods is that he designed the courses to include cognitive shortcuts in order to maximize retention. These shortcuts can be utilized in any form of education, including eLearning.

Among the many techniques or hacks people can use to better remember information is spacing. Spacing utilizes “spaced” repetition in order to achieve maximized memorization. Instead of focusing on the same concept/topic/idea for a set period of time (e.g., rout memory), you would focus on the subject then focus on something else. After a set period of time, you would need to recall the previous information.

I utilize spacing when I am designing fact-heavy material. For example, as I design training on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), I will present a fact (e.g., “HIPAA was enacted in 1996 and provides data privacy for safeguarding medical information”), move on to something else (e.g., my company has a 99.97% HIPAA compliance rate; there are various HIPAA additional rules including the Privacy Rule and HITECH; etc.), and then focus back on the original information in the form of a short survey question. I will continue doing this until I get to the end of the module, in which I will have a graded measure. Typically, learners will do well on this measure due to the spacing of information.

Another hack I use in complex topics involves the elearner to “train” someone else. This hack promotes information retrieval. While it is easier to do in a classroom or lecture-based course, there are some interesting ways to do this in instructional design. I prefer to have the learner write out the main components or learning objectives in a way that a 5-year old could understand it. This focuses the learner to engage with their creative faculties. This can be challenging for many, but it does go to demonstrate if the learning objectives have been met. What I have done in the past is for the learner to write their answer in a private forum. After I review/grade it, I then make it public for other learners in the class to see.

There are so many other cognitive hacks that can be used. What have you had success with?

Brainstorming in the Private Sector: Using CIA Tradecraft in Real Life Scenarios

Most of us in the learning development world either fall directly under Human Resources (HR) or have a tenuous connection to this department. For me, I am directly under the HR Director. This allows me to better function as I have a support system of HR professionals behind me. It also provides me the opportunity to strategize with them on organizational concerns.

At the beginning of the 2019, we in HR were asked to outline new ways to 1) decrease turnover and 2) identify measurable goals for 2019. For the last six months or more, I have been looking for interesting ways to incorporate my former experience and education into the private sector. CIA’s Tradecraft primer has over a dozen analytical techniques that have potential to be utilized in private sector environments.

From the primer, brainstorming appeared to be the most logical first method on generating new ideas. It is tagged as “an unconstrained group process designed to generate new ideas and concepts” (pg. 27). The guide further outlines several suggestions:

1. Everyone is equal in this process.

2. Attempt to remove any biases or long held assumptions.

3. Prohibit nay-saying.

4. Schedule the exercise between 60 to 90 minutes.

5. Visibly record the ideas.

6. Include an “outsider” to the process.

I scheduled out 60 minutes (#4) on everyone’s calendar. I provided some relevant background on the brainstorming process to our CEO’s administrative assistant (#6), who also agreed to take notes (#5) and moderate (#3). The HR team has always functioned as a team (#1) and we did not already have any significant biases (#2) on these topics. Here is how it worked:

The first topic involved examining how the company can reduce turnover. Some of the major points were to provide future/new employees with more information in order for them to better understand the job before beginning; help managers become better leaders; conduct follow-up with new employees after several weeks on the job; and, standardize team processes

The next portion involved creating measurable strategic goals for the year. As HR, we do not often have the ability to measure output like operations does. However, we did come up with several suggestions, including a check-in for new employees; training for managers; and offering professional etiquette courses.

While this was our first time using the structured brainstorming approach, I have worked with smaller groups to do this for developing out learning objectives or novel training approaches. The possibilities are endless.

Have you or your company ever used brainstorming to come up with some ideas? How did it work for you?

3 Tricks to Overcome the Imposter Syndrome in Instructional Design

Have you heard of imposter syndrome? Originally coined by clinical psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes in 1978 (Clance, 1985), the term describes the self-doubt that they are underqualified. People experiencing the imposter syndrome often feel they do not deserve the respect or recognition they receive. Instead of attributing success to knowledge or skill, these individuals incorrectly attribute it to good timing or luck. The imposter syndrome was originally thought to only occur in women, but researchers have found these feelings also impact men at equivalent rates.

Self-doubt is hard to overcome. (pixabay)

For many instructional designers or learning/development professionals, we often utilize our own knowledge, understanding, and experiences to build out courses and lessons. We may not be experts in project management or performance management, but we are able to leverage our understanding to make these subjects trainable. Many of us also must train others in person or online. While we may be subject matter experts, our knowledge does not always prevent us from feeling underqualified.

These self-doubts may manifest themselves when in the planning phases for instructional projects. We may often over prepare for meetings with experts, stakeholders, or clients. We may mentally rehearse our response when someone asks about our credentials or challenges our design methodology. It can be overwhelming.

So, how do you overcome these feelings? Here are three tricks to overcome the imposter syndrome.

Authentically represent yourself and your knowledge. In Hamlet, Polonius says “This above all: to thine own self be true…” This is great advice to follow in all aspects of your life, but especially when attempting to overcome the imposter syndrome. Whether you have a PhD or a high school diploma, you are in an instructional design role for a reason. Whatever your background or experiences, you will do better in life if you are authentic about your skillsets.

As a word of clarification: There is a phenomenon called the Dunning-Kruger effect in which, eventually, a person with more knowledge becomes humble about their knowledge. Being humble is different than the imposter syndrome.

Have articulable backup. Having quantitative support is always better than not. Utilizing pre- and post-training measures to document improvement can showcase your instruction’s reliability. Having subject matter experts complete your training and give you critiques can increase your instruction’s validity. Knowing both and how to articulate both can be the difference between a new contract and a hard pass. This will help you demonstrate your worth when faced with imposter syndrome doubts.

Utilize your support network. We all have both friends and colleagues. Use them. If you are really having a bad day or really being impacted by doubts, talk to them. Their encouragement is often what is needed to help you overcome these fears.

Have you experienced imposter syndrome before? How did you handle it?