Avoiding overwhelming your learners

The human brain can only take in so much information before it becomes overwhelmed and starts to block new information from being absorbed.

The following are points I am mindful of when designing learning.

The right frame of mind to learn

Before a person can begin to take on knowledge they need to adopt the right frame of mind.

Personal issues worries and stresses can really get in the way of concentrating, listening and processing information.

Learners need to be eased out of everyday concerns and into an inviting learning environment which gets their attention, holds it and helps them to focus on the information about to be presented.

Eye-catching photos or images relating to the learning topic can capture attention.

A thought provoking, relevant phrase or question can spark the imagination.

A hint of humour, calming colours or chilled background music can also help with this.

Using a positive and optimistic tone helps learners feel more supported and therefore more able to absorb knowledge more effectively (but a patronising tone can have the opposite effect).

Clear learning objectives

A successful learner needs to know what they are about to learn and be able to refer to clear objectives throughout the learning, to remind themselves, in case concentration lapses.

When a learner knows what to expect and what is expected from them they are more motivated to learn.

Review, recap and repeat

It is very important to provide frequent natural breaks in learning so that learners have time to assimilate what they have learnt before moving on to the next topic.

A summary of what has just been covered and questions about key learning points clarify understanding and help the learner to embed the information into their memory more successfully.

It can also clarify difficult concepts or highlight sticking points which need further investigation.

Succinct headers and sub-headers which summarise the page content let the learner know when a new concept is being introduced and help prepare them to ‘tune in’ to what they are about to read.

Headers can also be used as a course content overview to help a learner find and recap certain points.

Too much information

Information processing and memory recall work best with small amounts of simple, clear and concise information.

Large blocks of text cause a learner to feel overwhelmed and less able or willing to take on the information.

If there is too much information it’s easy to forget what you are reading about before you even reach the end of the sentence.

Short sentences or bullet points do work well.

They can be read easily and re-read in isolation if not processed successfully the first time.

Complicated subjects need to be broken down into bite sized chunks.

Only the essential information should be presented.

Over complicated language and explanations should be avoided.

If more information is needed it could be provided in links to additional text.

Visualise

Bold and italic fonts can be used to highlight certain words or phrases to help learners remember.

Text boxes with a simple border and pale coloured background can help highlight important points.

Understanding complex information can be aided using images, diagrams moving images or videos.

The right image, relevant to the learners background context can simplify complex ideas and concepts.

A relevant visual can improve memory retention as it is far more effectively remembered than a vast amount of words, which can just become a meaningless blur.

De-Clutter

Use of multimedia is a good way to present information.

However, if there is too much going on the learner won’t know what to focus on, which can become confusing and cause an information block.

The brain can only process and store a limited amount of information.

To avoid confusion and overload, each piece of important information needs to be presented in its own right and visuals should only be used if they truly relate to and enhance the learning.

Choice

For learning to be inclusive, different learning styles should be catered for.

Some learners prefer to hear as well as read, some prefer to watch someone speak, some prefer to watch a video or interact with a diagram.

To maintain concentration some learners will prefer a mix, therefore all learning styles should be catered for.

Narrators, audio, subtitles, additional explanations, definitions and glossaries could all be provided with the option of turning them off if a particular learner doesn’t feel they are helpful.

These can be useful to a learner who speaks English as an additional language or someone with particular learning needs, but could become distracting to other learners.

Clear instructions

There are many clever ways of presenting bite sized pieces of information, but if course navigation is confusing then frustration can set in and impede learning.

If instructions are too complicated, interactions too convoluted or a learner doesn’t realise they need to interact then important information could be missed.

Navigation should feel intuitive and side notes, hints, tips or pointers can help with this.

Information pegs

New information is absorbed more effectively if it can be ‘hung onto pegs’ of existing knowledge.

It is important to know the learners’ existing knowledge and remind them of it before giving extra information, so the learner knows which ‘peg to hang it on’.

Real-world application and work-place context

One of the most successful ways to help a learner retain information is to link it to real-life situations, whether this be the use of stories, scenarios or actual case studies.

Story telling has long been a successful method of sharing information and experience across human cultures and society.

The human memory responds so well to storytelling that it is a very powerful tool to use to aid learning.

Learners can connect with content on a much deeper level as it helps to simplify it and put it into context.

Learners can relate better to theoretical information if it can be applied to their work-place or job role.

They are then able to see the relevance of it within their own lives or work environment.

When subject matter is given context it becomes relevant and important so the learner is more motivated to learn.

Gail Dutton – Instructional Designer