How to Create an Effective Learning Environment
By Seth N. Leibler, President & CEO, and Ann W. Parkman, Executive Vice President

What makes a good learning situation? What conditions must be present in order for learning to occur?

Much research has been done on these questions, and theories abound. Volumes have been written on the subject. Yet, from all the research, four practical and easy-to-apply principles emerge that are the keys to making learning happen:

1. Trainees must be motivated in order to learn.
Students usually are positively motivated to participate in a training program if they perceive that it will be valuable to them. If training is designed to provide job-relevant knowledge or skills, and potential trainees are aware of its relevance, they are likely to look forward to the training session unless their previous experience with training has been unpleasant. In other words, they usually enter the classroom positively motivated.

Sometimes, though, the positive motivation that trainees enter with is inadvertently squelched. For example, you may unintentionally:

• Fail to give learners credit for the skills and intelligence they bring with them.
• Force them to passively listen to hours of lecture.
• Embarrass or ridicule those who are slower to gain competency in the subject matter being taught.
• Create instructional materials that are thick, unclear, unnecessarily complex or otherwise intimidating.
• Create an instructional environment that is boring, rigid, tedious, or uncomfortable.

In addition to the training design, the actions or behavior of the instructor also has a significant effect on learner motivation. An instructor who provides positive reinforcement in the form of a smile, compliment or small token of recognition when learners perform well, ask relevant questions, or otherwise indicate an interest in the training subject matter will add to a learner’s positive motivation.

You want to create an environment that is accepting and comfortable – where barriers to learning (like fear or boredom) are eliminated, where learners feel good about their growing competence and proud as they acquire job-relevant skills. That positive motivation not only enhances and expedites their learning, it carries over into their job performance as well. They are more likely to apply their new skills enthusiastically, which is, after all, why they were sent to training.

2. Active participation is crucial for learning to occur.
Most everyone has heard the expression, “People learn by doing.” But it is astounding how many training programs fail to apply this basic principle. Whatever it is that you want learners to do on the job must be actively practiced in the learning environment. Students must have sufficient opportunity for relevant practice to acquire the skills they need to perform their jobs competently and to gain the confidence in their abilities to apply their new skills on the job.

Active participation also helps maintain positive motivation. People enjoy being active rather than passive, as long as the learning environment is safe and constructive. They also are motivated by the reinforcement they feel as they demonstrate competence in skills they didn’t have when they began training.

3. Immediate feedback facilitates learning.
Active participation, or practice, brings with it another requirement for successful learning to occur: It must be followed by immediate, constructive feedback. When a learner demonstrates competent performance on the skill being practiced, it is important to provide feedback confirming that the performance is acceptable.

Most often, this feedback comes from the instructor, although this does not have to be the case. If the criteria for competent performance are clearly spelled out (for example, in the form of a checklist or a model with which to compare one’s effort), the learner or a peer can often make the judgment as to whether or not the performance meets the standard.

If the performance being practiced does not meet the criteria, then feedback on what was wrong and what to do differently must be provided. Again, this is often done by the instructor, but there are times when tools such as checklists or “If… Then…” charts can help the performer or peer make the appropriate corrections.

Regardless of the source of feedback, it should be provided immediately in order to prevent the learner from continuing to practice the skill incorrectly. Unlearning something that has been practiced frequently, and relearning it correctly, is always more difficult than learning a skill right the first time.

Whenever feedback is provided, it must be constructive as well as immediate. It should be expected that people will make mistakes when first trying out a new skill – after all, if they could do it right the first time, why would they need training? The instructor needs to gently correct the performance without indicating that there is anything wrong with the learner. Improvement should be acknowledged without waiting for perfection. The provision of immediate, constructive feedback will go a long way toward preventing learners from becoming frustrated or discouraged as they are acquiring new skills. This will allow learners to feel good about their growing abilities and confidence.

4. Individualization of instruction enhances the learning process.
Most of us would agree that there are wide individual differences among people – in background, past experiences, abilities, needs, wants, etc. If this is true, then why would we expect that all learners are ready for the same material presented at the time, in the same manner? Yet this is the instructional model that most of us have experienced and which is still widely used.

Instruction that takes into account the individual differences of learners in the training design (to the extent feasible) will greatly enhance learning. Here are some ways to help individualize the learning experience:

Allow learners to learn at their own pace: A training design that allows students to learn at their own pace minimizes the frustration and boredom of being “ahead of the class” or, conversely, the stress produced by being unable to keep up. The amount of practice needed to develop competency will vary from one learner to another, and the training design should be flexible enough to accommodate this difference. A self-paced learning environment allows for this. Constraints may make it difficult to allow for completely self-paced learning, but even within a group-paced course, flexibility can be built in. For example, scheduling practice sessions before lunch, or at the end of the day, allows the option of some extra practice time.

Allow learners to choose the sequence and method for learning: Except for prerequisite skills, learners can often be given the freedom to select which lessons or instructional units to study in which sequence. They can also be given the option of choosing how they wish to learn – for example, through mini-lectures, watching a video, or reading a text.

Any flexibility that can be provided in terms of pacing, sequencing, and instructional methods will contribute to a match between your training program and the differing learning preferences and previously acquired skills of your trainees.

While the application of these four principles cannot fully guarantee successful results, they can go a long way toward increasing the learning that occurs.

Resources that can help:
Mager, Robert F. 1997. How to Turn Learners On… without turning them off. 3d ed. Atlanta: The Center for Effective Performance, Inc.

_______. 1997b. Making Instruction Work: A step-by-step guide to designing and developing instruction that works. 2d ed. Atlanta: The Center for Effective Performance, Inc.

Our award-winning consulting experts can help you maximize the learning experience. For a free consultation, please contact Kim Homa at khoma@cepworldwide.com or 770-458-4080.

CEP can also teach you the skills to create an effective learning environment. To find out about the Criterion-Referenced Instruction Workshop or our other train-the-trainer workshops, click here.