704 Using Branching Scenarios When They Matter Most
2:30 PM - 3:30 PM Wednesday, March 27
Instructional Design
Salon 11
Branching scenarios can engage learners and provide relevant decision-making practice. They can help learners become competent at skills faster than other training approaches. While branching scenarios can be very valuable, nothing is the right solution for every training problem. Branching scenarios can be challenging to design and time-consuming to build. That might leave you wondering: When is it worth the time and effort to create a branching scenario? When do the benefits of branching scenarios outweigh the costs to create them? Are there any easier alternatives that could work, or might even work better in some situations?
In this session, you’ll learn how to evaluate training problems to decide when to use a branching scenario or another approach. You’ll review criteria for deciding when branching scenarios provide enough benefit to justify the effort required to create them. This will help you use branching scenarios when they matter most, saving you time and effort while creating quality learning experiences. You’ll also explore alternatives to branching scenarios such as limited branching and one-question scenarios. These alternatives use some elements of branching scenarios but are simpler to design and develop. You’ll also review the eight “learning domains” identified by Ruth Clark as good candidates for scenario-based eLearning.
In this session, you will learn:
- How to decide whether a branching scenario is the best approach
- Why branching scenarios are an effective solution for certain types of training problems
- How you can use branching scenarios in different learning domains and kinds of training
- How to save time and effort by using alternatives like one-question scenarios and limited branching
- About the criteria that can help you choose branching scenarios or other strategies
Audience:
Designers and managers
Technology discussed in this session:
Examples in Articulate Storyline, Adobe Captivate, and Twine

Christy Tucker
Learning Experience Design Consultant
Syniad Learning
Christy Tucker is a learning experience design consultant with over 20 years of experience helping people learn. She specializes in using scenario-based learning to engage audiences and promote skill transfer to real-world environments. She has created training for a wide range of clients, including Fortune 500 companies, nonprofit associations, state and local government agencies, universities, and more. Christy has been blogging about instructional design and eLearning for over 15 years and is a regular speaker at industry conferences and events.