Smarter Design: Science-Powered Solutions

Ever heard of Subsumption Theory referenced in an eLearning context? Essentially, it’s a theory that refers to the way learners absorb new information. David Ausubel, an educational Psychologist, introduced this theory in the 1960s—which pivots on the thought that learners can learn more effectively if new information is tied in with their current knowledge base. […]

Professors Edward Deici and Richard Ryan are the founders of the Self-Determination Theory, which is a motivation theory based around the human’s natural behavior to act in effective ways. This theory is well-loved. It’s referenced in training, sports, education, health—you name it. Why? Because it helps us better understand how to motivate people, and motivation […]

When it comes to eLearning, you can either use positive or negative feedback to keep them on track. Both are useful, but in this post, we’ll focus on using positive reinforcement. Why? Because we like reinforcement that cheers the learner on—it says, “Hey, nice job—keep up the good work!” rather than, “That’s wrong dummy, try […]

In 1971, Robert J. House shared his Path-Goal Theory. Basically, it means that in order for leaders to be effective, they need to encourage and support their students so that they feel comfortable in the learning environment. The very technical definition is here. This theory is valuable for eLearning designers because it identifies four leadership […]

Flow theory impacts eLearning in a big way. The name hints at why. The theory, created by Mihaly Csikzentmihaly (say that five times fast), focuses on the mental state of learners during education and the state in which intrinsic motivation occurs. Flow happens when the learner is actively engaged and learning is happening in a […]

While psychology does play a major part in effective eLearning design, there are a few myths we’ve seen floating around that we think should be debunked. And since psychology is such a major part of learning any subject, it’s important to know fact vs. fiction. In this post, we’ll take a hard look at some […]

As we here at ThinkingKap continue on with the Designing for The Greater Good project-course we’re trying out, this week’s module focused on designing the instructional experience. This week, we focused on Dr. David Merrill and his philosophy, the First Principles of Instruction. The main objective for us was to create eLearning courses that follow […]

If you’re just getting started with learning Instructional Design, your goal is probably to soak up as much information as you can. Knowledge is power—and in this instance, there’s a lot to learn. While it can be intimidating to approach such a large volume of educational resources, over time, you can begin to refine your […]