When you click on an eLearning video, is the first thing you do to check how long it’s going to take? Most of us have been conditioned to do this by boring, ineffective, and all around bad instructional videos. Here are 5 tips to make better instructional videos for your training.
Have you ever been told that the way you’ve been doing something for years is actually the wrong way? And have you ever tried to correct that and run into the overwhelming power of muscle memory? Then you’ve experienced the flaw with the oft-cited phrase “practice makes perfect”. Research has shown again and again that it’s just not true. But it’s close. Instead, the more accurate phrase is “perfect practice makes perfect.” So how do we get our trainees to practice perfectly, especially when they are first learning?
You sit through a PowerPoint, or watch a video. It purports to impart some new skill or knowledge on you, and then sends you out into the world. Only for you to forget everything the next day. And that makes sense. No one ever learned to ride a bike by watching a video. No, they learned by practice. Lots and lots of practice.
Tell me if you’ve been here: you submit something to your boss, and they tell you that you did it wrong. But you’ve been doing it that way for years. You probably felt frustrated, embarrassed, maybe even a little betrayed. If only you had gotten that feedback earlier, you would have done it right. But you didn’t get that feedback.
Think back to your teachers in elementary schools. There's probably one or two that stick out, right? Your training is probably the same way - you probably have one or two stellar trainers that you wish could train every employee. But with only so many hours in the day, they can only train so many.
Video games are one of the largest media entertainment products in the world right now. But what if video games were used as a training tool? That's exactly what James Baldwin did with F1 racing games, and now he drives F1 professionally.
Think back to the last time you learned something on your own. How did you do it? Did you read a book? Watch a YouTube video? Just dive right in? Chances are, you didn't do a multiple choice test, print off a certificate, and call it good. With all the different ways of learning, why do companies train using one of the least preferred learning methods?
There is no question about the necessity of training. But according to a Forrester report, 40% of employees and managers are not satisfied with their on-the-job training. So when does training become unnecessary?
According to Training magazine, companies set aside 16% of their budgets to train staff. This is often because training has become the go-to solution for business problems. After all, a 30 minute PowerPoint presentation is easier than addressing difficult, core issues. However, this can lead to what we call “first gear training” where companies put in a lot of RPM’s but don’t get very far.
Even if you’ve never heard of normalization of deviance, you’ve certainly experienced it. Ever seen someone with a full cart in the express checkout lane? Or seen someone switch lanes without using a blinker? Normalization of deviance is how unsafe or rule-breaking behavior slowly becomes tolerated. And it can be deadly.
A lot has been cancelled due to the COVID pandemic. Sporting events, in-person meetings, stable supply chains, and Broadway plays. Some of these are a step in the right direction - we here at CrossBraining welcome the work-from-home revolution. Others can feel like a step back. But one thing deserves to stay cancelled: old training methods.
Think of the last time you wanted to learn a skill. How did you do it? You probably sought out information, spent your free time learning, and found ways to practice. In other words, you pulled the knowledge to you. Contrast that with your most recent training experience. Did someone push knowledge onto you, perhaps with a lecture or PowerPoint? Learning science says one of these approaches is much more effective than the other.
You can learn a lot by just looking at your training. These are some warning signs that your training might be ineffective.
When you were learning to ride a bike, did you use training wheels? This is called scaffolding, and it’s a well-known aspect of how humans learn. Scaffolding is breaking skills up into smaller, interlocking chunks that build on each other.
When you were learning to ride a bike, did you watch a quick video, answer some multiple choice questions, and call it good? Obviously not, but that’s how a lot of “video learning” is done.
Your training probably isn’t working. 70% of employees say they don’t have the mastery needed to do their jobs1. What’s more, you probably know that your training isn’t working, because according to McKinsey only 25% managers think that training measurably improves performance2.
Are you CPR certified? If someone needed CPR right now, would you know what to do? If so, awesome! But if you’re like most of us who are CPR certified, it’s strange that despite being “certified”, we probably couldn’t do CPR correctly. That’s because we’ve equated competency with a checkbox. But competency is much more than that.
Every firm wants competent employees. And if you listen to any earnings call, you’ll likely hear a CEO say that their workforce is a competitive advantage. But how do they know?
So the multiple choice question is in the middle of the video instead of the end. Now the user is interacting with the video, right? So this training is interactive… right?
We’ve all endured the bloodborne pathogen video. The one where you hit play before stepping away to do laundry. And then you guess on a bunch of multiple choice questions until you get them all right.
Colleges and Universities across the nation have seen the benefits of simulation in health education. When we think of Simulation Labs, it’s important to remember that simulation can take on many different forms: standardized patients, low and high-fidelity simulation models, homemade simulation models, and even simple roleplaying. Although some programs have the funding to invest in state-of-the-art labs, others may need to start small by getting creative.
The technology available to health science programs has grown exponentially. Simulation Labs are at the top of that list, with both 2 and 4-year colleges investing extensive resources into building effective Sim Labs. However, COVID-induced social distancing, tech requirements, and equipment scarcity can make it difficult when there are a number of students who need to use the equipment.
I remember a drawing class for my Interior Design program during my first year of college. I was not a good artist at all (which is why I chose Interior Design instead of fine arts). And although I tried my best and kept practicing and practicing, I struggled to draw human structures. Hands, eyes, noses; I couldn’t draw them well, But I did improve by the end of the semester. Unfortunately, the professor didn’t grade on improvement, he graded by comparison. Specifically, he the final drawings for the class and put them next to each other. The best ones got an A and the worst a D. I ended up with a D in that class. I was a 3.8 GPA student before that D. Needless to say, I was devastated and ended up leaving that college (fortunately I did find my calling!).
UDL checkpoint 3.4 stresses the importance of students being able to transfer their learning to new contexts. Every educators has had a student who is “book smart” - they do well on tests and seem to have a strong understanding of the material. That is, until they have to apply it to a real life situation. As we know, real-world scenarios can be full of ambiguity and uncertainty. We may be able to perform a task and have the same outcome 100 times, but all of a sudden, that next time, everything changes. Students need to be able to use critical thinking skills both in their academic programs and once they move into their career.
Whether you teach STEM, Health Science, or English Composition, it is important to create lessons where students see obvious benefit. Too often, students are given busy work. They know when this is happening, and it can cause them to grow suspicious toward the learning process. But when students are given ownership over their learning, they will not only be more motivated, they will retain the material better. According to the UDL guidelines Checkpoint 7.2, you can do this by determining ways to improve relevance, value, and authenticity.
The three main concepts behind UDL are 1) providing multiple means of engagement, 2) representation, and 3) action and expression. UDL encourages faculty to provide a variety of methods in which students can both learn the material and prove their learning. One area of UDL focuses on comprehension and how the instructor can guide information processing and visualization.
Universal Design for Learning is a teaching framework developed based on decades of scientific research on how humans learn. CrossBraining was built on this framework so that teachers can unlock UDL’s potential in their classroom. In this series, we will delve deep into UDL and how CrossBraining’s platform uses it to drive learning.
We don’t need to tell you that student engagement is important. But we can share some research-backed best practices on how to make lessons and projects more engaging.
Many Health Science educators have found the benefit of having their students create a portfolio of their work. These portfolios generally include certifications, skills checklists, documentation of skills performed during labs, and other items demonstrating what they have learned in their program. In addition, some may require students to create a LinkedIn page to assist with their search for employment in the field. With CrossBraining, students can take this to another level by showing themselves in action and demonstrating actual performance of these skills.
One of the challenges faced with Nursing and EMS educators right now is the limited number of students allowed in lab at one time due to COVID. In some states, the regulations require that labs only 4 to 6 students at one time. However, skills like IV insertion, intubation,and the like still require an instructor to assess and evaluate the student in person (and generally on a simulation dummy). This creates the need for more faculty, more scheduled lab times, and a higher overheard cost. CrossBraining can help alleviate these stressors.
Few of us grew up with video in our schools, so it can be difficult to imagine how to use it. So we thought we’d share some awesome ways that you can use video in your classroom.
Academic Integrity now consists of six fundamental pillars: Honesty, Trust, Fairness, Respect, Responsibility, and Courage. We have discussed the first four in previous blog posts and will now discuss how they culminate in responsibility and courage. Just like the previous values, these are not just what we should expect from our students, but what we should display as faculty as well. We have a responsibility to our students to provide them with the knowledge and skills to be successful in their education and future career. We need to have courage to think outside the box and go the extra mile to make this happen. When we demonstrate this dedication to our students, they will reward us with the same.
When the Medical Assistant program at Jackson College in Jackson, MI had to go online, the faculty were at a loss as to what to do with the numerous lab skills the students needed to learn to meet program accreditation requirements. Fortunately, the MA Program had implemented Crossbraining a few months prior, so put it fully into action.
Whether you are teaching fully online in Winter semester or you are able to hold limited face to face labs, it is time to start getting prepared. Planning is key to ensuring your students not only learn the material presented, but are engaged in a remote environment. Here are some tips to get you started.
Previously, we discussed Honesty and Trust, which must be reciprocal in an effective learning environment. But Academic Integrity doesn’t just encompass the actions and behaviors of the student. Faculty must also adhere to the fundamental values of Academic Integrity in their classroom to assist in the success of their students. This is done by setting clear expectations, incorporating impartial grading procedures, and providing students with the ability to demonstrate their knowledge in multiple modalities. “Fair, accurate and impartial evaluation plays an important role in educational processes, and fairness with respect to grading and assessment is essential to the establishment of trust between faculty and students,” states the International Center for Academic Integrity.1 Additionally, not all students learn the same way, so it is important that we as educators provide them with the opportunities to learn and demonstrate their knowledge with various methods. This differentiation allows the instructor to provide ways to learn that align with students’ readiness, interests, and learning preferences.2
Last week we discussed the pillar of Honesty in Academic Integrity. The ICAI states, “When honesty if established as a value it allows for and encourages the development of trust.”1 This week we will be discovering how trust can provide a platform for your students to flourish in their learning. Initially, when we think about trust, the first thing that comes to mind somewhat relates to our last discussion on honesty. Do I trust my students? Are they honest in their academic pursuits? But that isn’t the true basis for trust in the classroom. Instead, it is about the student trusting us as educators. Only by creating an environment of trust can we build a foundation in which students are able to learn and grow.
This blog series will be discussing academic integrity and what we as educators can do to ensure academic integrity in our classroom, both in face-to-face and remote learning environments. The International Center for Academic Integrity (ICAI) refers to five pillars or fundamental values in relation to academic integrity. They are: honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility1. The Center recently added a sixth value, which is the quality of courage. Each post will provide an in-depth look at each fundamental value and how this applies to our courses and programs.
You’ve got your semester planned out and labs ready to go. Students are registered and looking forward to getting into labs and getting that hands-on experience, when overnight, you are told that all classes have to be put online... and your heart stops. Students need to be able to perform skills and as an instructor, you need to be able to effectively assess their progress. Labs cannot be taught online.
As institutions have shifted to online learning – whether by choice or not – Inside Higher Ed has collected some data on the pitfalls of online education during the pivot. The top three concerns? Engagement, feedback, and access.
There’s something about seeing yourself on camera. And according to research it can help you improve your performance. As educators look for better ways to assess skills, research like this offers actionable insight.