Benefits of Using Questions in Elearning Design

One way to improve a passive elearning experience is to replace an expository approach with one that is more inquiry-based. Expository learning is a traditional strategy that involves the orderly presentation of generalized concepts and principles followed by examples.

In an inquiry-type of design, you flip the script. You pose a question and invite learners to gather information to answer it. Or you pose a set of examples and ask learners to infer the concept. This is easy to do in a training session, but how does it work with eLearning?

Here’s A Simple Example

Expository Instruction

Below is an example of an expository approach providing instruction on common graphic formats. All the information is provided as statements, creating a passive learning experience. Learners must assimilate the information into their network of knowledge. If they don’t use this information quickly or don’t have the necessary knowledge network to assimilate it, it is unlikely that they will remember all three file types.

Question-based Instruction

An alternative approach below invites exploration because it uses a questioning strategy. Working in the context of a question creates an active experience. The learner must read, make comparisons, and evaluate information to answer the question.

Although typical workplace content is more complex than the example below, the learner gathers information for the purpose of answering a question. Rather than being presented with information, learners must use the information. Varying the instructional approach can help maintain attention.

Benefits of Question-based Instruction

When designed thoughtfully, posing questions that learners must answer has some benefits over the expository approach. In the classic book Instructional Message Design, the authors write that “Changes in the organization and presentation of content can stimulate the learner’s attention and curiosity. (Fleming and Levie, 1978).”

• Relevant and interesting questions arouse curiosity.
• Interactivity makes learning active and engaging.
• Starting with a question and seeking an answer is a natural way that people learn.
• Gathering information to find answers promotes independent thinking.
• Assimilating and using new information facilitates the construction of knowledge.
• Gathering information to solve a problem works in self-paced and collaborative learning.
• Using a variety of approaches to learning design can be motivating for many adults.
• Questions encourage creative approaches to learning design.

Examples of eLearning Designs with Questions

• Scenario-based learning: Present realistic scenarios in which participants must make a decision based on information they gather. These can be one-response scenarios or branching scenarios with varied outcomes.
• Concept identification: Present a series of examples and ask participants to infer the concept or principle that the examples demonstrate.
• Interactive case studies: Ask participants to identify which concept or principle the case study demonstrates. Or ask participants to identify the most effective strategy in response to a case study.
• Reflective question wrap-ups: At the end of an elearning session, ask participants to reflect on a question about what they learned. Then, ask them to email their response to themselves and the instructor or manager.
• Problem-solving: Present a complex problem and use questions to guide the learner through a solution for topics such as programming, healthcare and engineering.

Design Guidelines

Some would call a question-based approach discovery learning, but what I describe here is more structured and guided than open exploration. Question-based learning may be most appropriate for people with some skills and knowledge in the domain. Here are some design guidelines:

1. Meet the needs of the audience. When designing question-based learning, consider the audience’s abilities and knowledge of the subject matter. Ensure they will understand the questions and know how to solve a problem. Provide more assistance and structure to novices and decrease it for experts. Avoid the expertise reversal effect, which involves providing more assistance than is needed, increasing the demands on an expert’s working memory.
2. Provide guidance. It’s important to provide sufficient guidance during the learning experience, particularly for those less familiar with the topic. Due to the the limits of working memory capacity, a person’s cognitive resources can be taxed if there are too many details.
3. Select examples carefully. If you are asking learner’s to construct generalized concepts and principles, choose examples that have similar relevant attributes. Ensure your examples also have a wide variety of irrelevant attributes, which will help learners form broad and accurate generalizations. See Six Ways to Use Examples and Non-examples.

References

Fleming, M. and Levie, H. (1978). Instructional Message Design: Principles from the Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences (2nd Edition). Educational Technology Publications, 1978.