Why do Training Experts Say "Less is More"?
May 17, 2008 · Print This Article
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Prevent the Fire Hose Effect!
Picture it: You’re a student in a classroom. The instructor is throwing out fact after fact. At first, you listen intently, trying to grasp everything that’s going on. After about 15 minutes, your attention drifts. You try to attend, but your mind starts to wander. After trying to focus a few more times, you feel so overwhelmed (and possibly irritated and bored) that you just give up.
What happened?
You just experienced “fire hose training.” Did you like being on the receiving end? Are you drenched?
Hey, have some sympathy. The instructor was just trying to “cover the material.” (How many times have YOU used this line?)
Hosing learners down with information only drowns them. Here’s why.
The Mystery of Memory
Get a pencil and a piece of paper. When ready, stare at the number below for seven seconds, then look away and write it down. Ready? GO!
9217053
Check the number you wrote down. Chances are you got it right. Now try it again. Stare at the number below for seven seconds, then look away and write it down. Ready? GO!
4915082637
Again, check the number you wrote down. Did you get all 10 of the digits in the correct sequence? Probably not. Because the digits were random, you had to treat each digit as a single item, and your working memory just ran out of functional capacity.
So what?
Brain research shows that adults can only keep up to seven pieces of information in their working memory at one time. Furthermore, we can only hold onto each piece of information for 10-20 minutes unless we do something new with it (like physically using it, playing a game with it, or connecting it to other learning.) If something new is not done with the information, it will nearly always fade from working memory.
What does this mean for you as an instructor?
Strategy: Narrow the number of informational items in one lesson to fit students’ memory capacity limit. When you package lessons into several 15-20 minute segments, students are more likely to remember and maintain interest than in one longer, 40-minute session.
Does “Less is More” Mean I Must “Dumb it Down?”
NO!
The key to preventing fire hose training is to identify the material’s absolute “must knows.” Grant Wiggins, in describing his Backward Design approach to training, suggests that instructors ask, “What is it I hope that students will have learned, that will still be there and have value several years after the course is over?”
When you answer this question honestly, you discover the “meat” of your training. By converting this “meat” into learning outcomes, you’ve created your training’s structure. Now just include content that helps to achieve each of those outcomes. Don’t add anything more.
“Less is More” Allows More Time to Process the Information
Remember that adults learn best through active learning. By focusing solely on several “must-knows,” the instructor discovers that there IS enough time to do much more than just cover the material. Here is a short list of instructional strategies you can use to bring your lesson’s content alive. Remember that each of these strategies can be done in small groups to enhance cooperative learning:
- Hands-on activities
- Surveys
- Contests
- Case studies
- Drills
- Reflective writing
- Imagery
- Mind maps
- Jigsaws
- Field trips
- Brainstorming
- Role-plays
- Simulations
- Discussions
Fire Hoses are for Fighting Fires, Not for Training
No one wants to be drenched with information. If you want your students to change their behavior as a result of your training, this motto is for you:
Less IS More!
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