SIMPLIFYING A SUBJECT
MATTER
Making learning a fun-filled and rewarding experience
TRAINING METHODS
- How to simplify a subject matter
- How to reduce cognitive load
- How to make learning a fun-filled and rewarding experience
HOW TO SIMPLIFY A SUBJECT MATTER
Convert a complex subject into a series of simple subjects:
"If there's one thing I've learned as a Developer, it's this: complexity happens; simplicity, you have to consistently strive for. Nowhere is this truer than in education. Our role as teachers, by definition, is to simplify subjects so that they can be easily understood. A good teacher dispels trepidation with anecdote, abstraction with analogy, superstition and magic with knowledge. Simplicity, however, is not easily attained. In order to simplify, you must first gain an encompassing understanding of the complex. It is a rare person who can simultaneously exist in both the simple and complex planes of a problem domain and communicate effectively at both levels. It is, however, these rare people who make the best teachers." – Aral Galkan, 2 Jan 2006 Famagusta, Cyprus
HOW TO SIMPLIFY A SUBJECT MATTER
- “Complexity is a mere matter of simplicity.” – C. Chopin
EXAMPLE: A car is a complex mechanism. However, if you break it down into its COMPONENT PARTS, it becomes easier to understand
- Start with small steps and add incremental steps to convey complex ideas
- DEFINE and constantly REFINE your subject matter material.
Use analogies that relate to real world objects
- Use classical real world examples and not abstract ones
- Separate theory from application when possible
- Separate the “Vital Few from the Trivial Many” concepts when presenting information
- Some things are best explained not through EXPLANATION but though DEMONSTRATION
“The MEDIOCRE teacher TELLS. The GOOD teacher EXPLAINS.
The SUPERIOR teacher DEMONSTRATES.
The GREAT teacher INSPIRES.” — William Arthur Ward
- Don’t Repeat Yourself (DRY) unless necessary
- Explain the “whys” not just the “how to’s” on a subject matter
- Anticipate student questions in advance of them asking them
Develop training for all learning styles:
- Visual (most learners)
- Kinesthetic (hand-on learners)
- Auditory (hearing learners)
HOW TO REDUCE COGNITIVE LOAD
Cognitive load — your mind can only process a certain amount of information at a given time and when it reaches its capacity, it goes into overload. Below are ways to reduce this load.
Use plain language:
- simplify words and sentences
- define complex terms
- afford acronyms unless you have a targeted audience
- use lists (bullet/number) and tables to convey related data or ideas
Provide aids to learning:
- Provide handouts
- Number files or steps when necessary
- Add images or videos when necessary
Distill new concepts to make is easier to understand:
- Break concepts into logical chunks
- Highlight key words and concepts
- Group related concepts together
HOW TO MAKE LEARNING FUN-FILLED AND ENGAGING
If appropriate, add humor
- People of all ages enjoys humor
Be creative
Ask questions while teaching
- Quiz audience on what you have being teaching
Engage the audience
TRAINING / TEACHING QUOTES
- Tell me and I will forget. Teach me and I will remember. (at least for a while) Involve me and I will learn. – Chinese proverb
- I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand. – Confucius
- Good teachers are costly, but bad teachers cost more – Bob Talbert
- The best teachers teach from the heart, not from the book. – Author Unknown
- Better than a thousand days of diligent study is one day with a great teacher. – Japanese proverb
- More is to be got from one teacher than from two books. – German proverb
- Budget for training just as you do for your utilities. You can't shut either off . – Bob Desatnick
- In a time of drastic change, it is the learner who will inherit the future. – Eric Hoffer
- He is educated who knows how to find out what he doesn't know. – George Simmel