Multisensory learning may boost knowledge retention

• Multisensory learning can improve employees’ retention of information, according to the Association for Talent Development. Their newest report, The Science of Learning: Key Strategies for Designing and Delivering Training, outlines concepts and strategies researchers believe are key for instructional designers and facilitators who want to maximize learning outcomes.
• Based on literature review and expert sources, the report identifies five key learning concepts: motivation, cognitive load, creating appropriate difficulty, connecting to prior knowledge and memory. It also called out three teaching strategies: retrieval practice, interleaving and spacing.
• In addition to recommending that learning professionals use multisensory learning, the report also says that organizations may want to tailor learning content for learners and tap into curiosity for motivation.
• Research supports ATD’s recommendation that employers use multisensory learning to improve knowledge retention. Google recently found that a virtual reality (VR) training session beat out video training, noting that employees trained with VR learned the material faster and made fewer mistakes later.Other employers have already put this idea into practice. Jeep set up off-road experiences for employees to better understand their product line. Lyft plans to put all 2,000 of its corporate staff behind the wheel to understand their drivers’ experiences.

  The report seems to underscore what many instructional designers and trainers already know: The best learning and retention outcomes are created when learners are immersed in information.

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