Knowledge builds in and on itself, not in a linear fashion, but like a vast spider web, connecting and crossing over and under until it’s five times stronger than steel. That’s why, rather than throwing information at learners and hoping it sticks, it’s better to let them make their own connections. Like the spider web, if they can weave something they didn’t know together with something they already knew, it will become almost impossible for them to forget it.
In the same sense, our programs must prompt learners to create their own mental links to the information as they go. They must generate unique, mental context for the knowledge to be embedded, to go from short-term memory to long-term. This is done by ensuring our course involves activating multiple senses. Not just listening or reading alone, but mixing the senses together, and tying the knowledge to their personal role or job context.
Neurolearning Design is our methodology for creating learning experiences that optimize learning outcomes. By adhering to the Six Pillars of Neurolearning Design, we design learning experiences that engage, amaze, entertain, and stick with the learners.
Greg Kozera is the Director of Creative Learning Design here at ELM. He helps fortune 500’s implement effective digital learning strategies that help in creating outcomes that achieve business objectives. He also leads research & development at ELM, where we experiment with combining insights from modern cognitive theory and design theory to create learning experiences that aid in memory retention, positively affect learner outcomes, and dare we say also be entertaining, and intuitive, and appealing.