Applying Research-Based Guidelines to E-Learning

Learning can be enhanced when research-based guidelines are applied to lessons.  Following these guidelines will optimize student achievement and deduce cognitive overload.  The “guidelines you will apply will depend on the goal of your training” (Clark & Mayer, 2011, Ch. 17, para. 8).  Although there are dozens of guidelines that are useful in e-learning, I am briefly doing to describe some of the research-based guidelines that I effectively used in my lesson.  I used relevant and simple text and graphics to convey my lesson material.  I did not include extraneous text or graphics.  I integrated text appropriately with graphics.  The lesson material was segmented in a way that the learner can learn the process one step at a time without becoming overwhelmed.  I pretrained the learner with safety tips and required ingredients so that the learner will be safe and prepared during the lesson.  Conversational speech was used during the lesson.  I used practice questions followed by explanatory feedback to test the learner’s knowledge of the lesson.  The learner had control over the lesson as he/she can move forward and backward as needed.  Having applied these guidelines, the learner will be motivated to learn and will more easily be able to absorb the new material without becoming frustrated. 

Reference:

Clark, R. C., & Mayer, R. E. (2011). E-Learning and the science of instruction: Proven guidelines for consumer and designer of multimedia learning (3rd ed.) San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.