ClappingTree’s Web 2.0

From Elearningpost, June 27, 2005:

“This is a wonderful explanation for why we prefer some items over others. This can have some learning design implications. The finding: We prefer items that we ‘remember’, rather than that we ‘know’. So, what’s the difference between ‘remembering’ and ‘knowing’?

“When we ‘know’ something, we’re completely aware of its existence, but we don’t recall the specific instance when we learned of it. When we ‘remember,’ we’re recalling a particular occasion.”

“To put it simply, if we have story to tell about the item, we are inclined to prefer it. Not a bad marketing mantra if you think about it.”

Strange. Wouldn’t it be the other way round? When we like something, we are impressed by it and so we remember it? Could the researchers be inverting the symptom (remembering) and the cause (preference)? Read the rest of this entry »

“ATTITUDE IS A CHOICE,” a classmate said last Monday evening in response to a question from Dr W. on what “attitude” is, as differentiated from “motivation”. We were having a lesson on training methods and strategies for teaching attitude.

Was quite struck by the statement. It wasn’t new. But so it is. When we write learning objectives for a desired attitude in an earlier module (”MID801 Instructional Design Models & Practices”), we had been taught to write, “The learner will choose to behave [in a certain way].” Yes, regardless of whether s/he likes or dislikes that particular behavior. And often, when someone has a bad attitude, it’s not so much that s/he does not know how or does not have enough practice, but rather s/he is not convinced by the why. Read the rest of this entry »