PNNL's cognitive approach to Instructional System Design is based on fundamental learning concepts and a technical approach that creates multimedia learning objects that have specific learning and performance objectives and enable the training application to respond effectively and adapt to the learner's performance. By applying cognitive principles to learner-centered training, our approach compels the learner to organize and structure responses to problems, and engages the learner using practical exercises that transfer to real-world activities.
PNNL's Training Philosophy
Cognitive science and educational research have shown that relating training to the learner's prior knowledge leads to deeper understanding and comprehension. Focusing on higher cognitive processes of application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation helps to build expertise in a subject matter and enables the learner to apply knowledge in new situations.
Cognitive-based Experiential Learning
In both classroom instruction and e-Learning, the use of more experiential and interactive instructional methods that use realistic, "real-world" learning scenarios helps to build lasting knowledge and expertise.
Traditional approaches to training concentrate on memorizing facts and procedures rather than actively solving problems. This tends to produce learners who know the right answers to questions but who do not understand the relevance of the facts or the underlying concepts required to solve new problems. In contrast, teaching by problem-solving aims to use real-world contexts that require the learner to actively apply knowledge.
PNNL's e-Learning approach creates learning objects tied to specific learning objectives, then embeds these objects into interactive scenarios that are used—and reused—in interactive drills, exercises, quizzes, and tests.
PNNL's cognitive approach to learning and skill development is based on fundamental learning concepts that enable the training application to respond effectively and adapt to the learner's performance. Our innovative guided- discovery e-Learning facilitates learning by providing practice on problems (also called scenarios) adapted from actual work settings. This Web-based experiential learning environment provides coaching and support early in instruction and reduces the level of coaching as the learner's knowledge and skill grow. This instructional architecture offers great potential for cognitive skills training.
Meeting Today's Training Challenges
e-Learning reaches large/diverse student populations to build proficiency efficiently and cost-effectively, and to provide refresher training that meets demands of high personnel turnover.