This article is one of a series on learning science and corporate training and development. We invite you to click HERE to see the other articles and follow Ingenuiti as more articles are released weekly.
Jerry Zandstra (JZ) – Senior Director of Learning
Miriam Taylor (MT) – Customer Success Manager
(JZ) In this article, we’re continuing our series on learning science, and we’re looking at psychology. Miriam, in simple terms, what role do you think psychology plays in our understanding of the process of learning?
(MT) Psychology plays a crucial role in our understanding of the process of learning, and it’s mainly because of the emphasis about how individuals perceive, process, and retain new information. For most learning and development professionals, I think that may be the thing we care most about! Helping our learners process and retain new knowledge or skills is the main thing. Let’s come back to this later because psychology’s impact on learning is broader than this.
Beyond the study of learning, psychologists also explore human motivation and behavior. We all know that our learners’ cognition, motivation, and behavior are interconnected. When we can more deeply understand how learners think, what motivates them, and what triggers behavior, we develop far more effective teaching techniques. I guess, to keep things simple, I’d sum it up like this. Psychology provides valuable insight into the complex process of learning, and by applying what the research “tells” us, we can design powerful learning experiences.
(JZ) Wow! And we’ll continue to have future discussions about these topics: how learners think, what motivates them, and what triggers behavior. It really is fascinating, but that’s the theoretical explanation. And I heard you say several times that psychology as a learning science provides insights into how we design learning. So, on a more practical level, how does the study of psychology impact learning design practices and strategies? Can you provide some examples of what you mean?
(MT) Certainly! I can talk through a few examples of how the study of psychology influences educational practices and strategies. My perspective here is grounded in adult learning theory. Obviously, the examples would be different if we were discussing a K-12 or higher education audience. But I’ll provide examples that an L & D professional could apply in a corporate or non-profit situation.
To begin, adults are motivated best when they can take the lead in their learning process. So, whenever possible, learning experiences need to provide opportunities where adults set their own learning goals and solve real-life problems that matter to them. This could be something as simple as creating non-linear eLearning modules that allow your adult learner to explore areas of interest in the order they want. Or it could be as complex as a personalized development plan for an individual that contains curated eLearning, coaching, ILT sessions, and AI recommended resources to fit their exact situation.
Another important finding is that adults learn better when their newly learned ideas are linked to actual behavior through doing and experiencing things firsthand. And I think it’s easy to forget how important in-person, hands-on, social, or coaching experiences are. In this post-COVID world, I’m starting to see a pendulum swing back to a more balanced approach instead of focusing just on cognitive gains with eLearning, but also including hands-on activities and discussions that connect new ideas to adults’ real-life experiences. I think we all know a blended approach is best. Designing that takes more time, but psychology certainly proves it’s a more effective learning strategy.
Feedback following practice. I’ll try to stay off my soapbox here but when it comes to giving feedback, adults benefit from reflecting on their experiences and getting constructive feedback. This helps them connect new knowledge to what they already know and apply it to their work or personal lives. How many of us have taken hours of eLearning modules with feedback like, “that’s incorrect, try again”. Not only is this frustrating, which decreases motivation, it also provides nothing substantive to the learning process. It certainly takes more time, but providing quality feedback that explains why answers are correct or incorrect with chances for practice also greatly improves the quality of the learning experience for an adult.
(JZ) When it comes to psychology, I think in particular, understanding the elements of motivation and emotion are really key to designing learning that has a big impact. Am I right about this or is this an overstatement?
(MT) I don’t think it’s an overstatement as long as we understand those aren’t the only elements of psychology to consider. But, yes, motivation and emotions play a big role in how we learn. Think about it—when we’re motivated and interested in something, we’re more likely to pay attention, work hard, and remember it later. On the other hand, if we’re feeling bored or stressed, it’s much harder to focus and learn effectively.
Research in psychology tells us that motivation is like the fuel that drives our learning. When we’re motivated, whether it’s because we find the topic interesting or because we have a personal goal, it can boost our engagement and effort in the learning process.
Emotions also have a big impact on learning. When we feel positive emotions like curiosity, joy, or excitement, it can help us to be more open to new ideas and information. On the flip side, negative emotions like anxiety or frustration can get in the way of learning by making it harder to concentrate and process new information.
(JZ) You mentioned retention earlier, and I want to circle back to it. Can you discuss the role of memory in learning and how it is studied in psychology?
(MT) Of course! Memory is like your brain’s storage system—it helps you hold onto and retrieve information. When it comes to learning, memory is super important because it lets you remember new knowledge and skills.
In psychology, memory has been labeled with various metaphors in an effort to understand how it works. Researchers look at things like how we encode information (that’s information getting it into our memory), how we store it, and how we retrieve it when we need it.
For example, they might study different techniques that help us remember things better, like using visualization, repetition, or creating associations between new information and what we already know. They also look at how our memories can change over time, and how we sometimes forget or mix up information.
(JZ) That makes sense, can you provide some examples of this specifically for an L&D professional?
(MT) Absolutely! Let’s think about how memory comes into play when it comes to adults learning new things.
So, say an adult is learning a new, complex software process for placing orders. Researchers have found that chunking information, which means breaking it down into smaller, more manageable parts, can make it easier for our memory to handle. This is super important for adults who are often juggling lots of responsibilities. Instead of trying to memorize the entire process at once, they can focus on learning a key portion of the process, or the part they’ll use most, and then build on that.
Another way to support memory in adult learning is through retrieval practice. This means practicing retrieving information from memory, which strengthens the memory trace. So, in our software ordering process above, the L&D team could design practice simulations that allow the learner to practice the most complex portions to reinforce those memories. And I’ll mention feedback again here. If the simulation provides good quality feedback about what the learner got wrong, why it was wrong, and then a chance to practice the correct way, the memory trace grows even stronger. Think about it, it’s one thing to know you got something wrong, but you’ll keep making the same mistake if you don’t know why. So, providing good quality feedback is that formative assessment piece that further reinforces the retrieval of the correct information from the memory.
(JZ) Obviously, there is a lot here and we could talk for a long time. Do you have any last thoughts or advice?
(MT) All learning sciences have value, but I think that understanding brain science/cognition (our previous discussion) and psychology are the two that can really re-shape the way we think about learning.
And second, there are a lot of good resources out there, but I’ve used this book a lot as a practical guide. Design for How People Learn by Julie Dirksen. It’s an easy read largely because she practices good design principles throughout her book. You’ll see the principles we just talked about modeled throughout the book. And this is not a paid endorsement. Haha!
About Miriam Taylor
Miriam Taylor is Ingenuiti’s Customer Success Manager. She holds a master’s degree in Educational Technology and has been in the learning and development for more than 25 years, working with higher education, non-profit, and corporate clients. Her recent work has been focused on thought leadership through content writing, webinars, and podcasts. In the past, she led learning teams, focusing on instructional design, project management, and continuous improvement processes. She also has spent significant time helping organizations develop, through roles in leadership training, coaching, and mentoring.
