Design Tip: Vicarious Learning

Is interactive always better? Hands-on modules are greatwhen teaching technical skills—such as Photoshop or programming—but what aboutnuanced topics like effective communication or price negotiation?

A recent study suggests that certain subjects benefit morefrom “vicarious” learning. Sometimes watching trumps doing.

Watch and learn

The study looked at doctor-patient interviews. Successfulpatient interviews require several complex skills, including thoughtfulquestioning, recognizing key details, and displaying empathy.

Researchers set up 30-minute simulations between medicalstudents and trained actors portraying patients. During the simulations, onestudent conducted the interview while a second student observed. After afeedback session, the students switched roles. 

The researchers wanted to determine what factors improvedtheir performance. They focused on:

1. Whether students learned more by watching or by doing
2. Whether watching and then doing—or the reverse—wasbetter
3. Whether providing a script in advance forstudents to study would boost performance

At several points during the study, students were debriefedon what they learned. When the simulations were complete, the researchers foundthat:

1. Students learned more by watching than doing
2. The order—observing first or second—didn’tmatter
3. Studying the script helped students performbetter

Vicarious learning—that is, watching—actually promoted agreater understanding of doctor-patient communication skills than doing. Duringthe debriefs, the observers provided more accurate and practical feedback thantheir active counterparts. Additionally, studying the scripts in advanceyielded better outcomes.

Both the vicarious learning and the scripts probablysucceeded for the same reason: They allowed the learner to step out of theinteraction and therefore analyze it with greater detachment. The “doers” weremore focused on their own performance, making it harder to see the big picture.

Application

So how can we apply this study to eLearning? Here are somesteps to consider.

1. Evaluateyour topic. As mentioned earlier, interactivity is well-suited for certainsubject matter. But if your topic is a soft skill—one based on best practicesand rules of thumb—a vicarious learning experience could be more effective.
2. Ask:Could detachment help your learners? In some learning experiences, thecomplexity, effort, and stress of performing a new skill inhibits our abilityto learn. If you think this might be the case, consider a vicarious learningdesign. Build a scenario-based module where learners can observe the new skillbeing performed. Create examples with characters that will resonate with youraudience. You can choose to demonstrate the skill being performed correctly, orcreate a scenario in which a character makes mistakes and ask learners toidentify them. 
3. Asklearners to practice and share. Present learners with a scenario and askthem to practice the skill. Have them record their response on audio or videoand upload it to share with their peers. The doers will benefit from thepractice and the viewers will learn from watching their peers in action.
4. Scriptscan help. While scripts won’t be useful for every topic, when appropriatethey can increase learners’ understanding. They give learners a chance to studythe interaction instead of simply experiencing it.    

Source

Stegmann, Karsten, et al. “VicariousLearning During Simulations: Is It More Effective Than Hands-on Learning?” Medical Education, 46(10). 2012.