How Can eLearning Promote Skill Development?

How Can eLearning Promote Skill Development?

Learning is a multi-faceted process consisting of three broad categories: knowledge, skills and attitudes. While gaining knowledge and developing essential attitudes are simpler components of eLearning, acquiring new skills is more complex. The origin of this relationship lies in experiential learning. 

With the digital world incessantly expanding, the question remains: How can eLearning include experiential training? This article aims to provide an answer. First, let’s explore some context for experiential learning.

Experiential learning

There is a vast difference between learning about a task and being able to perform it. The latter is the result of experiential learning. After a student has read and understood the theory of a task, they need to experience it in a practical context. In doing so, they are able to apply the information to their own lives. For example, you wouldn’t be able to change a car’s tyre after simply reading an article about it. You need to be involved in the full process, probably several times, before you can confidently and successfully perform the action.

The main purpose of learning is to develop the ability to carry out what you have learnt. In this way, experiential learning is a fundamental tool that elevates a student’s abilities and growth.

For eLearning to fully encompass this component and ultimately enable students to develop skills, we need to consider certain steps. These steps are an adaptation of those defined by Sprouts, with baking as a case study. To set experiential learning into motion, you need to complete the following process.

1. Set up an experiential environment

Most educational topics have a clear environment in which you need to perform. If you need to learn how to bake scrumptious muffins based on a recipe, you would set up a kitchen with the necessary ingredients and equipment. By following the recipe, you experience the knowledge. There may be elements that seem straightforward in the recipe but are quite challenging in reality. 

2. Reflect on the experience

Having completed the process, the muffins may come out of the oven burnt, dry or inedible. You need to reflect on each step to understand what you have done. Understanding each stage of the process will shed light on what you could have done better.

3. Form abstract concepts

Based on your reflections, you can analyse the relationships between steps and results. Perhaps you left the muffins in the oven for too long or didn’t put enough eggs in the batter. This could leave you with revolting muffins that you most likely won’t eat. 

4. Improve your process

Now that you understand the abstract concepts behind your actions and results, you can decide what you would do differently in the future. For example, you may choose to shorten the baking time or add extra eggs. This fulfils the experiential learning component that you wouldn’t have understood before you attempted the task. This continual cycle of trial, error and improvement can be compared to the Dunning-Kruger Effect.

Dunning-Kruger Effect

This concept was developed by two psychologists who found that people often struggle to accurately rate their own abilities. In other words, the issue lies within their metacognition. 

An accurate perception of one’s own skills can only be determined through experience. Before you’ve attempted a task, you may think that you are an expert in the field. However, you’ll soon realise its complexity and gain self-awareness. Over time, your confidence in your abilities will accurately increase, as the graph below indicates.

This concept illustrates how experience is truly the only way to develop your skills – without it, you may be blissfully unaware of your real abilities.

Still, we need to cater a programme around diverse individuals. Learning is rarely a one-size-fits-all process, which calls for individualised approaches.

Individualised approaches

Regardless of the industry you’re in or your level of expertise, each individual has a preferred method of learning. If you allow learning to focus on individual preferences, you open up a world of possibilities that were out of reach in an impersonal realm. While the desired skill can be an independent variable, the people that want to develop it come from diverse backgrounds. If an individual has a background in this area, they may find it easier to learn. However, if an individual has no prior knowledge or experience, they may find it more challenging. By the same token, individuals that learn according to their preferred learning styles have a more gratifying experience. They can develop skills following their natural techniques, which greatly improves their progress.This concept also promotes future learning as it illustrates the potential enjoyment in learning and growing. A crucial aspect of eLearning is Bloom’s Taxonomy, which connects theory to practical skills.

Bloom’s Taxonomy

The Bloom’s Taxonomy framework outlines the categories of educational goals: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. This hierarchy displays the concept that underlies skill development – knowledge precedes skills. It further illustrates the number of skills that build upon this knowledge.To efficiently specify the desired outcome, these goals must include measurable verbs that correlate with observable skills. For example, you could specify these learning objectives for students that want to bake our previously mentioned muffins:

1. List the ingredients in lemon poppy seed muffins (knowledge).
2. Describe the consistency of the batter (comprehension).
3. Use the recipe to bake the muffins (application).
4. Experiment with vegan ingredients in the muffins (analysis).
5. Create your own recipe for muffins (synthesis).
6. Revise your own recipe for muffins (evaluation).

As you translate learning objectives into practical applications, students will understand their abilities and truly develop their skills.

Takeaway

eLearning has the ability to impact people in a more diverse, inclusive and far-reaching capacity than ever. By using experiential learning and practical educational goals, we can assist individuals as they develop an immense amount of skills that will irrevocably change the future.

References

Armstrong, P. (2010). Bloom’s Taxonomy [online]. [accessed 22 March 2022].

Lea, S. (2022). Experiential Learning [online]. [accessed 22 March 2022].

The Performance Center. (no date). Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes [online]. [accessed 22 March 2022].

Psychology Today. (no date). Dunning-Kruger Effect [online]. [accessed 22 March 2022].

Sprouts. (2015). Experiential Learning: How We All Learn Naturally [video online]. [accessed 22 March 2022].