Author Archive
Rap Your Message!
Posted by: Nancy Kiplinger in Just for Fun, Try it! on November 18th, 2009
Two YouTube video clips show that learning complex content can be fun. Watch the videos by clicking on the links below. Can you see yourself teaching like this?
New Poster Theme: Frugality in Teaching and Learning
Posted by: Nancy Kiplinger in Best Practice, Instructional Design, Teaching on August 13th, 2009
How does the concept of frugality apply to teaching and learning?
For me, it is about being economical while being effective–that is:
- using sound instructional practices that have been empirically proven to produce learning,
- focusing on the knowledge and skills learners need to do their jobs and protecting learners from cognitive overload, and
- producing instruction and instructional materials that are engaging.
Likely there’s not much in the previous sentence that instructors would disagree with, yet many continue to rely on unproven concepts (or misconcepts) when designing instruction. For example, many instructors waste time and effort because they believe they must consider and design for multiple learning styles. Others try to fit the notion of a learning pyramid (learners remember 10% of what they hear, 30% of what they see, 50% of what they do, etc., etc.) with the way they develop and deliver instruction. Still others adhere to the belief that we learn best from formal instruction.
Persuasive arguments are made against these and other learning myths in Parts 1 and 2 of an article by Wallace Hannum of this university entitled Training Myths: False Beliefs That Limit the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Training Solutions. Part 1 has been available for several months in the TLS literature racks in the 3rd-floor break room or next to the mailboxes on the 4th floor. Part 2 was published in July, and you can find copies of it and Part 1 in the literature racks. While you’re there, please notice the latest TLS poster on the theme of frugality and let us know what you think.
I encourage you to read both short parts of this article and then weigh in with your thoughts. Or, drop by for a friendly debate or a conversation about really works since mythical concepts don’t.
Micro-lectures: A Cure for Content Bloat
Posted by: Nancy Kiplinger in Try it! on March 18th, 2009
These Lectures Are Gone in 60 Seconds
You’ve heard of mini-lectures. Now come micro-lectures. This article from The Chronicle of Higher Education espouses a daring idea: Cut a 60-minute lecture down to a 60-second chunk for online audiences. Think it can’t be done? Click here to read how some instructors are doing it. Go ahead, we dare you…
Here are some additional examples of what other people and organizations are doing to get messages across in a short amount of time:
Petcha Kutcha (pronounced pet-chach-ka; Japanese for “chatter”). The only rule: 20 slides, 20 seconds each = 6:40 minutes. It forces one to be concise.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGaCLWaZLI4&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NZOt6BkhUg&feature=related
http://meetingsnet.com/checklistshowto/more/meetings_minilectures_learning/index.html
A 90-second micro lecture example: http://chronicle.com/media/video/v55/i26/microlecture/
An example of a narrated Powerpoint presentation (3.5 mins): http://www.slideshare.net/ethos3/storytelling-101
A website devoted to short how-to videos. (cluttered, and you have to wait through a movie trailer, but it illustrates that you can convey good, *focused* material in 2 minutes. http://www.5min.com/Video/How-to-Plant-Small-Seeds-99747505
UNC-CH’s YouTube home. ( This one shows videos grouped under categories by groups or topics. We might consider having our own site.) Click on the “playlist” link to see the videos. http://www.youtube.com/user/UNCChapelHill
UNC-CH School of Medicine site. Click on the “Patient Stories” playlist. (We could do something like this based on local government lessons from the field, etc.)http://www.youtube.com/user/uncmedicine
In One Ear and Out the Other
Posted by: Nancy Kiplinger in Just for Fun on March 18th, 2009
Cate Cunningham and I are both interested in how human memory works. Cate sent me an entertaining and enlightening article from The New York Times about why [most of us] have difficulty remembering jokes. The article also provides insight into processing and recall capabilities of the human brain, all of which is helpful if you are designing education and training experiences. Click here to read In One Ear and Out the Other.
Diagnose and Remedy Presentation “Issues”
Posted by: Nancy Kiplinger in Presentations on March 5th, 2009
A lot has been written about effective presentations, effective use of PowerPoint, and connecting with your audience. Still, well meaning people who know their content well, continue to dismay audiences. Here are three of my favorite resources that identify some common presentation issues and suggest remedies:
The Truth is….You Gave a Lousy Talk http://chronicle.com/jobs/news/2007/12/2007122101c.htm
Death by PowerPoint http://www.slideshare.net/thecroaker/death-by-powerpoint
Presentation Zen http://www.betterppt.com/powerpoint_live/video/intelligentpres.htm
Then, if you want more how-to, practical guidelines, read SOG’s Planning Your Presentation at the School of Government, a guide for outside presenters (and SOG instructional faculty, too), as well as Making PowerPoint Work for Your Audience.
Case studies and role plays
Posted by: Nancy Kiplinger in Presentations, Uncategorized on February 25th, 2009
Looking for help writing case studies or role plays?
The best guidance I have found so far is short and helpful and comes from an article by Turning Point (not to be confused with the classroom polling software we use), a program at the University of Washington in Seattle. The article is called Collaborative Leadership: Introduction, Overview, and Resources (Facilitator’s Guide). You can find the guidelines as follows:
- case studies, pages 7-9
- role plays, pages 10-11
View the .pdf version of the article, or visit a TLS literature rack to pick up a copy (3rd-floor break room or next to the 4th-floor mailboxes).
Poster Theme: Less is More
Posted by: Nancy Kiplinger in Did you Know?, Instructional Design on February 19th, 2009
Cognitive overload is the unfortunate by-product of too many topics and too much content or information. When it comes to training and learning, less is usually more. Read more about this in the following snippet, excerpted from Hannum, WH, Training Myths: False Beliefs That Limit the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Training Solutions, Part 1, Performance Improvement Journal, Volume 48, Number 2, February 2009.
Less is More
More content does not equate with better training, more learning, or improved performance (Mayer, Bove, Bryman, Mars, & Tapangco, 1996). In fact, as training content grows, learning and performance may suffer. Increased training content not only increases the length, and thus the costs, of training initiatives. It also adds an extra burden for the learners. They have to sort through, figure out, comprehend, and understand the additional content. Learners find it difficult to decide… Read the rest of this entry »
