Building Expertise: Cognitive Methods for Training and Performance Improvement

Chapter 9. Helping Learners Build Mental Models: Implicit Methods

Activity may help promote meaningful learning, but instead of behavioral activity per se, the kind of activity that really promotes meaningful learning is cognitive activity.

—MAYER, 2004

IN THIS CHAPTER

and the next, I describe instructional methods you can use to help learners build accurate mental models. In this chapter, I focus on implicit instructional methods that do not involve overt learner activity. Implicit methods work by promoting mental rehearsals in the absence of external behavioral responses. Implicit methods that are proven to promote learning include:

• Relevant Graphics

• Personalized Instruction

• Agent Question Dialogs

• Examples and Self-Explanation Training

• Analogies

• Teaching ...