Pre-training Principle

"Ensure that Learners Know the Name and Characteristics of Key Concepts"(Ruth Colvin Clark, Richard E. Mayer,e-learning and the Science of instruction,P212)

lDetailed description of the principle

Generally speaking, the pretraining principle is the users "know the name and characteristics of Key concepts "(Ruth Colvin Clark, Richard E. Mayer,e-learning and the Science of instruction,P212) before they learn something . "The pretraining principle is relevant in situations when trying to process the essential material in the lesson would overwhelm the learner’s cognitive system. In these situations involving complex material, it is helpful if some of the processing can be done in advance"(Ruth Colvin Clark, Richard E. Mayer,e-learning and the Science of instruction,P214).

In short, the pretraining will help users, especially for beginners, reduce the time to learn some knowledge and help them to mange some complex materials. key concepts are Identified, that could be presented prior to teaching the main lesson. Pretraining, Can help users to manage their processing of complex materials . Pretraining, makes it easier for begeinners to understand concepts and skills.

l few studies that support the principle

1. Mayer, Mathias, and Wetzell(2002)

About learning braking system, the short pretraining on the screen and could click on any part, not only show the pictures for how brakes work, the learners will see the parts of the name and Characteristics of brakes. so the learners will received this pretraining before the multimedia presentation performed .

2. Kester, Kirshner, and van Merrienboer, 2006)

About learning how to solve electronics troubleshooting problems. The students will receive some information before training, the result better than the training within the context in their situation.

3. Pollock, Chandler, and Sweller, 2002)

About training Electrical engineers, trainees took a course to receive this pretraining, the result show the trainees who received the pretraining better than the trainees who didn't take that pretraining course.

lexamples that you created to illustrate the principle

How to use the microscope---------the picture with the text list below ,may make users confused( especially, beginners)

• Place the Slide on the Microscope

• Stage Clips are not necessary

• Click Nosepiece to the lowest (shortest) setting – Scanning Objective

• Look into the Eyepiece

• Use the Coarse Focus

• Once the slide is focused, rotate the nosepiece to the low power objective (medium sized)

• Refocus using the coarse (large) knob

Move slide to get a centered view

Pretraining. the parts of the Microscope and How to use the microscope--------key concepts are Identified, that could be presented prior to teaching the main lesson. Pretraining, Can help users to manage their processing of complex materials . Pretraining, makes it easier for begeinners to understand concepts and skills.

• Place the Slide on the Microscope

• Stage Clips are not necessary

• Click Nosepiece to the lowest (shortest) setting – Scanning Objective

• Look into the Eyepiece

• Use the Coarse Focus

• Once the slide is focused, rotate the nosepiece to the low power objective (medium sized)

• Refocus using the coarse (large) knob

Move slide to get a centered view

l critique of the principle

we don't know "how best to identify key concepts that should be included in pretraining or how intensive the pretraining needs to be."(Ruth Colvin Clark, Richard E. Mayer,e-learning and the Science of instruction,P219)

There may be situations in which learning will be better when key concepts are presented in the context of an authentic task such as in whole-task learning designs.

l References

n Mayer, R. E.,(2005). Priciples for managing essential processing in multimedia learning: Segmenting, pretraining, and modality principles. In R.E. Mayer(Ed.), the Cambridge handbook of multimedia learning(pp.169-182).New York: Cambridge University Press.

n Mayer, R.E., & Chandler, P(2001).when learning is just a click away: does simple user interaction foster deeper understanding of multimedia messages? Journal of educational Psychology, 93, 390-397.

nMayer, R.E., Mathias, A.,&Wetzell, K.(2002). Fostering understanding of multimedia messages through pretraining. Evidence for a two- stage theory of mental model construction. Journal of experimental Psychology: applied, 8, 147-154.

nClark, RC, & Mayer, RE (2003). E-learning and science of instruction, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

nRuth Colvin Clark, Richard E. Mayer,e-learning and the Science of instruction(p212-219)

nMayer, Mathias, and Wetzell(2002)

nKester, Kirshner, and van Merrienboer, (2006)

nPollock, Chandler, and Sweller, (2002)

l Information about me

Zhe Huang(GiGi) is a student in the Master of Science in E-Learning Technology Administration Program at Northern State University. She interest in multimedia design and film record. She wants to become a film maker in the future and wants to find a job in movie company.

Email address: zhe.huang@wolves.northern.edu

Page created by Zhe Huang(GiGi)-----Graduate Student of E-Learning Program

Northern State University

Aberdeen, SD.

Created at Northern State University as part of the E-Learning Masters program