The crucible of every educator — academic, professional, parent — is teaching in such a way that what is taught “sticks.” Learning and development (L&D) professionals quickly realize, and most of us intuitively know, that single modality, uncreative learning approaches yield meager results. But simply knowing that doesn’t illuminate the approaches that do yield greater results. Even with constant and normal organizational pressures, L&D practitioners can think creatively about how to implement learning methods and techniques to help learners retain needed information.
One temptation is to make the learning process as effortless as possible. This impulse is most present in corporate environments where operational pressures can be intense. Training — whether it be process or policy — can be relegated to a “checklist” function. We shouldn’t confuse that with learning. In fact, Peter C. Brown et al. poignantly wrote, “Learning that’s easy is like writing in sand, here today and gone tomorrow.” Robert Bjork, a psychologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, explored what he called the “desirable difficulty” principle. This principle suggests that true comprehension is better achieved through activities that constructively strain a learner’s mind, rather than simply hand-feeding them the information.
Interleaving Topics
Interleaving (mixing up) topics rather than drilling the same one repeatedly (blocking) can encourage the learner to work harder in retrieving information. That retrieval process can more fully encode the information into the learner’s memory than redundant practice because it takes more effort to recall it. Once recalled, the brain has created a stronger neural pathway for future retrieval.
Consider an orientation process which relies less on blocking — relentlessly drilling a single process — for days at a time. Instead, a facilitator could focus on a single process for a shortened duration, break from it and teach a different process or topic, and then return to it several days later. The experience might be difficult for the learner to recall what was taught days before, but the retrieval action could move the knowledge from short-term to long-term memory. There is a lot of experimentation that could take place in this domain.
Low-Risk Testing
Another method which can create a desirable difficulty is frequent but low-risk testing. The testing, though, needs to be used as an aid for learning, not solely as an evaluation tool. Many learners wouldn’t request a test to help in their learning process, but the function of L&D professionals is to help their colleagues acquire and apply knowledge. This often requires more effort than some busy professionals wish to give.
What if a new member of a team was given several low-risk tests to help them recall what they learned during their orientation experience? Perhaps they could be given these tests on day one, five and even 15 after onboarding. We often cram as much information into a new colleague’s brain over the course of a few short weeks and hope some of it has stuck. Why not help them recall and retain the information through low-risk testing?
Adaptable Content for Different Learning Preferences
The same scenario plays out in relation to “learning styles”; some learners might feel confident that they’re a kinesthetic learner and therefore won’t gain anything from reading, watching or listening to information. Knowing what we do about learning styles being better classified as preferences, L&D professionals can look beyond a desired preference a student has and implement the most effective method of teaching, which usually includes a variety of modalities and techniques.
At my organization, while building out an annualized leadership development program, we specifically focused on a variety of methods to disseminate information. We rotated between synchronous and asynchronous webinars and activities. We leveraged articles, podcasts, roleplays and case scenarios to bring a variety of learning experiences to our leaders. (Note: This was all done in a completely remote work environment.) Nearly all (98%) of the participating leaders saw a positive impact in their leadership, and 82% saw a positive impact or improvement within their teams. Variety is the spice of life and learning.
Closing
It is worth noting that the desirable difficulty principle does not extend to all difficulty. If a new colleague can’t access systems needed to complete new hire orientation, that is certainly a “difficulty” but is not desirable. There is a framework in which the principle has to be applied, and L&D practitioners need to be thoughtful about when and how they do it. The common operational restraints placed upon training requests often nudge leaders toward the path of least resistance. If the goal is learning, then that path might not lead to the desired outcome. Yet, L&D leaders, designers and facilitators can implement techniques in thoughtful ways, even within imposed restraints, to create a desirable difficulty.
To quote Peter C. Brown et al. again, “Knowledge is not knowhow until you understand the underlying principles at work and can fit them together into a structure larger than the sum of its parts. Knowhow is learning that enables you to go do.” Getting to that point of knowledge application often requires a greater effort than some learners might initially want to employ. L&D professionals can leverage a variety of tools — low-risk testing, interleaving and adaptable content — to create a desirable difficulty to amplify their learners’ experience and eventual success.
