Blog posts

Cognitive Task Analysis (CTA) is a family of psychological research methods for uncovering and representing what people know and how they think. CTA extends traditional task analysis to tap into the mental processes that underlie observable behavior, and reveal the <a href="https://www.globalcognition.org/cognitive-skills/">cognitive skills</a> and strategies needed to effectively tackle challenging situations.

Instead, the idea of the critical decision method is to get experienced professionals to describe some of the toughest challenges they faced. By using carefully crafted probes, the CTA interviewer teases out how these people assessed situations and made decisions in critical moments of their experience.

Scenarios can be implemented in actual simulations (where the world is actively modeled, and the consequences are calculated), or in branching scenarios where the relationships are hard-coded in the consequences attached to a decision.

scenarios give us contextualized practice, which research shows leads to better retention and transfer. With the right choices, the scenario is engaging and provides meaningful practice, which leads to acquiring new abilities.

<div data-breakout="normal"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-avnma"><span class="d0767"><span style="font-weight:700"><span>DAN: What makes learning through a simulation experience unique and meaningful?</span></span></span></p></div><div type="paragraph" data-hook="rcv-block26"></div><div data-breakout="normal"><p class="-Zro6 -ZADH IjV6v AnCKd _57WYp" id="viewer-d53db"><span class="d0767"><span style="font-weight:700"><span>CLARK</span></span><span>: As above, research says that contextualized practice (with feedback) is the best way to develop new abilities. They need to have a ’story’ setting: a context, then something happens that precipitates the need for a decision, and then the decision has consequences. That’s just a better-written multiple-choice question (please!), but if we drive the outcomes from a branching or simulation basis, this can lead to new decisions (they travel in packs!)</span></span></p></div>

Always lead with emotions when showing instead of telling.

<p id="ember38" class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph">Here are four ways chatbots optimize learning. They:<!----> <!----> </p> <!----> <!----> <!----> <!----> <p id="ember39" class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph"> <!---->1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Offer an opportunity to practice without judgement.<!----> <!----> </p> <!----> <!----> <!----> <!----> <p id="ember40" class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph"> <!---->2.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Promote mastery and retention of knowledge and skills.<!----> <!----> </p> <!----> <!----> <!----> <!----> <p id="ember41" class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph"> <!---->3.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Reinforce complex concepts with probing questions.<!----> <!----> </p> <!----> <!----> <!----> <!----> <p id="ember42" class="ember-view reader-content-blocks__paragraph"> <!---->4.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Provide quiet time for reflection.</p>

How, when, and why a reader is exposed to information in a narrative matters because it determines how the plot unfolds and impacts the audience's understanding and engagement with the story.<span class="white-space-pre"> </span>

Garvin, Edmondson, &amp; Gino wrote about learning organization <a href="https://blog.learnlets.com/2008/12/learning-organization-dimensions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dimensions</a>, and one of the four aspects of a supportive learning environment was “appreciation of differences”. I want to emphasize it’s not ‘tolerating diversity’, it’s&nbsp;<em>valuing</em> it! In exploring that space of solutions, the more diversity in the group, the more likely we are to cover a big range. (There’re caveats, of course, particularly that all have to share a commitment to finding an answer.) Homogeneity is the enemy here!