Richard Edward Clark

University of Southern California | USC · Educational psychology and technology

This article discusses three powerful insights for cyber-leaning designers from recent neuroscience studies of the brain and from cognitive science research findings: First, our brains learn and process two very different types of knowledge; non conscious, automated procedural or implicit knowledge and conscious, controllable, declarative knowledge...

This article describes a practical approach to diagnosing and solving some of the motivation problems encountered in educational settings using the evidence-based Belief-Expectancy-Control (BEC) Framework. We think of this framework as a “learning engineering” approach, because it integrates and applies a wide array of research results and clinical...

This chapter presents an overview or the rationale and ev idence for the use of cognitive task analysis (CTA) in health care including the following: It presents a brief history and definition of CTA, the reason it is being adopted for healthcare education, evidence for its learning benefits when used in evidence-based instructional design and medi...

Because of the automated nature of knowledge, experts tend to omit information when describing a task. A potential solution is cognitive task analysis (CTA). The authors investigated the percentage of knowledge experts omitted when teaching a cricothyrotomy to determine the percentage of additional knowledge gained during a CTA interview. Three exp...

The chapter begins with a brief summary and extension of our earlier list of 5 questionable multimedia principles (Clark & Feldon, 2005). We then add 5 more principles that have gained traction in recent years. The goal of the chapter is to provide evidence-based explanations of why each of the 10 principles is problematic and to suggest alternativ...

The development of more effective medical simulators requires a collaborative team effort where three kinds of expertise are carefully coordinated: (1) exceptional medical expertise focused on providing complete and accurate information about the medical challenges (i.e., critical skills and knowledge) to be simulated; (2) instructional expertise f...

Disputes about the impact of instructional guidance during teaching have been ongoing for more than a half-century. On one side of this argument are thosewho believe that all people—novices and experts alike—learn best when provided with instruction that contains unguided or partly guided segments. This is generally defined as instruction in which...

Surgical training relies heavily on the ability of expert surgeons to provide complete and accurate descriptions of a complex procedure. However, research from a variety of domains suggests that experts often omit critical information about the judgments, analysis, and decisions they make when solving a difficult problem or performing a complex tas...

This study explored the effects of a cognitive task analysis (CTA)-informed curriculum to increase surgical skills performance and self-efficacy beliefs for medical students and postgraduate surgical residents learning how to perform an open cricothyrotomy. Third-year medical students and postgraduate year 2 and 3 surgery residents were assigned ra...

Operating room teams consist of team members with diverse training backgrounds. In addition to differences in training, each team member has unique and complex decision making paths. As such, team members may function in the same environment largely unaware of their team members' perspectives. The goal of our work was to use a theory-based approach...

The Immersive Naval Officer Training System (INOTS) is a blended learning environment that merges traditional classroom instruction with a mixed reality training setting. INOTS supports the instruction, practice and assessment of interpersonal communication skills. The goal of INOTS is to provide a consistent training experience to supplement inter...

Previous studies using simulation-based curricula have focused largely on technical skills. We developed a set of simulation-based modules that focus on intraoperative decision making. The objective of this study was to conduct a faculty evaluation of: (1) the usefulness of 4 newly developed, simulation-based modules; (2) the curricular need to tra...

Sweller, J., Clark, R. E., & Kirschner, P. A. (2010). Teaching general problem solving does not lead to mathematical skills or knowledge. Notices of the American Mathematical Society, 57, 1303-1304.

Kirschner, P. A., Sweller, J., Clark, R. E. (2011). Wiskunde leren? Kijk de kunst af van schaakmeesters [Learn math? See how chess masters learn]. Didaktief, 5, 30-32.

This chapter presents a direct, evidence-based argument that, while media provide economic benefits for training organizations, they have not and will not influence learning, motivation, or work performance. It begins with a discussion of popular instructional design models based on discovery and problem-based learning and argues that a half-centur...

Previous chapters have defined Cognitive Load Theory (CLT), described evidence for different origins and types of cognitive load, the way that load interacts with individual differences and the impact of load on learning from instruction. In this chapter we will step back a bit and describe some of the history of cognitive load theory in order to b...

Sweller, J., Clark, R., & Kirschner, P. A. (2010). Teaching general problem-solving skills is not a substitute for, or a viable addition to, teaching mathematics. Notices of the American Mathematical Society, 57, 1303-1304.

There is evidence that negative correlations between student achievement and their enjoyment of instructional methods exist under certain circumstances. In aptitude‐treatment interaction (ATI) studies where two or more methods are allowed to interact with student aptitudes to predict enjoyment and achievement, it appears that students often report...

This article describes a research-based approach for developing new instructional technologies for higher education. The argument is made that the most common instructional methods used by faculty and educational technology in colleges and universities are based on adult learning theories that have not been supported in the past half-century of res...

The four goals of this discussion are to: (a) Discourage distance education evaluation questions and tactics which have not proved useful in the past; (b) Persuade distance education evaluation designers to distinguish between the effects of two distinctly different technologies; delivery technology and instructional technology; (c) Offer brief des...

http://ds.revuesonline.com/gratuit/DS7_1_10_entretien_clark.pdf

Principle: A basic generalization that is accepted as true and that can be used as a basis for reasoning or conduct (OneLook.com Dictionary) This chapter describes five commonly held principles about multimedia learning that are not supported by research and suggests alternative generalizations that are more firmly based on existing studies. The qu...

1 The project or effort described here has been partially sponsored by the U.S. Army Research, development, and Engineering Command (RDECOM). Statements and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the position or the policy of the United States Government, and no official endorsement should be inferred. The authors wish to acknowledge that so...

The purpose of this study was to determine if a cognitive task analysis (CTA) could capture steps and decision points that were not articulated during traditional teaching of a colonoscopy. Three expert colorectal surgeons were videotaped performing a colonoscopy. After the videotapes were transcribed, the experts participated in a CTA. A 26-step p...

This chapter presents an overview of the current state of Cognitive Task Analysis (CTA)in research and practice. CTA uses a variety of interview and observation strategies to capture a description of the explicit and implicit knowledge that experts use to perform complex tasks. The captured knowledge is most often transferred to training or thedeve...

In this reply to commentaries on the Kirschner, Sweller, and Clark (2006)3. Clark , R. C. , Nguyen , F. and Sweller , J. 2006. Efficiency in learning: Evidence-based guidelines to manage cognitive load, San Francisco: Pfeiffer. View all references paper, we not only reemphasize the importance of randomized, controlled experimental tests of compe...

We investigated the impact of state anxiety on categorization using adapted stimuli from two conflicting previous lines of research. Based on the available literature, we hypothesized that the relationship between categorical width and anxiety would be stimuli-specific. A measure of categorical change was also included in which participants re-cate...

This study compared the use of an animated pedagogical agent (agent) with an electronic arrow and voice narration (arrow and voice) in a multimedia learning environment where 74 college level English as a Second Language (ESL) students learned English relative clauses. No significant differences in learning or performance were found between the gro...

Evidence for the superiority of guided instruction is explained in the context of our knowledge of human cognitive architecture, expert–novice differences, and cognitive load. Although unguided or minimally guided instructional approaches are very popular and intuitively appealing, the point is made that these approaches ignore both the structures...

Evidence for the superiority of guided instruction is explained in the context of our knowledge of human cognitive architecture, expert–novice differences, and cognitive load. Although unguided or minimally guided instructional approaches are very popular and intuitively appealing, the point is made that these approaches ignore both the structures...

Prior attempts to use standard interview protocols to extract After Action Review (AAR) descriptions of emergency event decision making and problem solving strategies generated by participants are problematical. Cognitive psychological studies suggest that the resulting information often contains significant errors and omissions (Glaser et al., 198...

Research on animated pedagogical agents (agents) is viewed as a very positive attempt to introduce more pedagogical support and motivational elements into multi-media instruction. Yet, existing empirical studies that examine the learning benefits of agents have had very mixed results, largely due to the way that they are designed. This article will...

Background: The teaching of surgical skills is based mostly on the traditional "see one, do one, teach one" resident-to-resident method. Surgical skills laboratories provide a new environment for teaching skills but their effectiveness has not been adequately tested. Cognitive task analysis is an innovative method to teach skills, used successfull...

ABSTRACTA meta-analytic review of all adequately designed field and laboratory research on the use of incentives to motivate performance is reported. Of approximately 600 studies, 45 qualified. The overall average effect of all incentive programs in all work settings and on all work tasks was a 22% gain in performance. Team-directed incentives had...

Solid evidence supports claims that motivational programs can increase the quality and quantity of performance from 20 to 40 percent. Motivation can solve three types of performance problems: 1) people are refusing to change; and/or 2) allowing themselves to be distracted and not persist at a key task; and/or 3) treating a novel task as familiar, m...

This article provides an overview description of the four-component instructional design system (4C/ID-model) developed originally by van Merriënboer and others in the early 1990s (van Merriënboer, Jelsma, & Paas, 1992) for the design of training programs for complex skills. It discusses the structure of training blueprints for complex learning and...

The four goals of this discussion are to: (a) Discourage distance education evaluation questions and tactics which have not proved useful in the past; (b) Persuade distance education evaluation designers to distinguish between the effects of two distinctly different technologies; delivery technology and instructional technology; (c) Offer brief des...

This exploratory review compares academic self-concept and self-efficacy research. From the conceptual perspective, self-concept emerges as a more complex construct incorporating both cognitive and affective responses toward the self and is heavily influenced by social comparison. Self-efficacy, in contrast, concerns primarily cognitive judgments o...

Defines authentic technology and describes how it can be developed and tested. Proposes collaboration among practitioners, technologists, scientists, craftspeople, and artists to develop authentic educational technologies. Offers three examples of current social and educational technologies. (AEF)

Summarizes the key questions and objections that have been raised about a model of "authentic technology" (proposed in two previous articles) and the supporting suggestions for implementing it. Explains why authentic technology is the lynchpin between theory and practice, between knowing and doing. Provides a brief summary of the authentic educatio...

Describes an example of a successful learning programme focused on customer satisfaction. Reports on a programme for experienced staff in the European Patent Office called ChOral (CHairing ORAL proceedings). The stages of the programme included sponsoring by a top manager to overcome initial resistance, to support cognitive task analysis and to giv...

Technology or Craft: What are we doing? Educational Technology, 38(5), 5-11. ________________________________ Tech -nol -o -gy (tk-n4l'-.-j') n. pl. -gies The application of science, especially to industrial or commercial objectives. The entire body of methods and materials used to achieve such objectives Craft (kr|ft, kräft) n. pl. crafts. Skill...

Studies of advanced expertise development in a number of areas are reviewed in order to provide general suggestions about the elements of clinical training that might enhance counseling and educational psychology expertise. The emphasis of the discussion is on the connections between classroom instruction and practicum or internship experiences. Re...

Two factors have made behaviorally based task analysis training systems obsolete: (1) these systems cannot describe the complex knowledge required of European and North American workers by recent changes in the global economy, and (2) recent research in cognition shows that the cognitive processes and structures involved in complex work tasks serve...

Most recent literature on corporate training reflects a shift in both function and design. The chapters in this special issue contribute to our understanding of several of the most important changes in training design endeavors and theory building that have occurred over the past several years. In combination, the authors emphasize the importance o...

Whole issue. Incl. abstracts, bibl.

The purpose of this discussion is to explain and sharpen different points of view about the impact of media and attributes of media on learning, motivation and efficiency gains from instruction. This paper is an attempt to summarize my arguments about the research and theory in this area and to respond to Robert Kozma's criticism of my earlier disc...

Without Abstract

No abstract available. (C) 1992 Association of American Medical Colleges

Argues that training has two special qualities which make its effective management different from managing other functions. These are (1) an internal service not usually seen as central to the core business and (2) an attempt to influence human performance. Puts forward ways of effectively managing training, including developing a marketing plan an...

A survey of available multi-media and interactive videodisc research, reviews is presented. Conclusions are offered that: 1) multiple media, including videodisc technology, are not the factors that influence learning; 2) the measured learning gains in studies of the instructional uses of multiple media are mostly likely due to instructional methods...

Ireland is chosen as an example of an EC nation that has been identified as ‘at risk’ in the post-1993 economy of Europe because of a lack of ‘organisational competitiveness’. Current analyses suggest a number of solutions, including an increase in the amount and quality of training and development. To validate this suggestion, applied cognitive ps...

Research on the transfer of problem solving between knowledge domains is reviewed. It is concluded that instructional and programming studies do not provide evidence for any essential contribution of the computer to problem solving. Instead, it is recommended that studies focus on the cognitive processes that are required for farther transfer and h...

In North America, some of the more important media disputes focus on: (1) the effects of different media on learning; (2) whether media play any essential role in the cultivation of or transfer of cognitive skills; (3) the motivating properties of media; and (4) the economic benefits of different media. This review suggests that American media rese...

In the past, distance learning evaluations have been conducted as afterthoughts and have relied heavily on reaction questionnaires, which are unreliable and nonrepresentative of the participants involved. Even when evaluations attempted to collect information about changes in student achievement, questions were asked that confused the separate cont...

Seven papers present current research approaches/results from several countries about the use of media in education. Topics include European research on media/technology in education, North American research on learning from media, controlled versus classroom research on computers, textbook design, critical television-viewing curricula, research on...

Instructional research is reviewed where teaching failures have produced students who are less able to use learning skills or had less access to knowledge than before they were taught. Three general types of "mathemathantic" (i.e. where instruction "kills" learning) effects are hypothesized, theoretical explanations for each effect are examined and...

In the first of four symposium papers, Clark reviews the research on learning from media and uses his argument that media comparison studies show no differences in learning attributable to any one medium over another to dispute recent research on computer-assisted instruction. He also takes the position that the media attribute argument (i.e., diff...

Two perspectives on the status of current research are offered: (1) In the past 15 years, the field has made extraordinary advances in the technical excellence of research studies, and yet (2) our analytical investment at the front end of research planning has not kept pace. An analysis of present problems is accompanied by two suggestions for futu...

This paper poses and generates the answers to six questions about the use of newer media in education and the areas of disagreement that seem to recur as new media become available for teaching. Cast in the context of videodisks, those questions ask whether: (1) videodisk technology is more effective than traditional media in promoting learning; (2...

Despite considerable evidence in research that computer-based instruction enhances student learning, an argument is presented that most of this research is confounded. Wherever computers are used to deliver instruction (including the teaching of programming languages), any resulting change in student learning or performance may be attributed to the...

Instructional research is reviewed where teaching failures have produced students who seem to be less able to use learning skills or had less access to knowledge in some domain than before they were taught. Three general types of "mathemathantic" (i.e. where instruction "kills" learning) effects are hypothesized, theoretical explanations for each e...

Evaluations of the influence of different training media on employee achievement have been common since Thorndike (1912) recommended the use of pictures as a labor saving device in instruction. Most of these evaluations rest on the hope that learning will have been enhanced with the proper mix of medium, trainee ability, and learning objectives. Ty...

A thirty percent sample of the computer-based instruction (CBI) studies meta-analyzed by Kulik et al was examined for evidence of confounding. The purpose of the analysis was to explore the validity of competing claims about the contribution of the computer to measured achievement gains found in CBI studies. Some of these claims propose that CBI ef...

The authors wish to acknowledge the advice of Gavriel Salomon and William Winn on an earlier version of this manuscript. Evidence is presented to establish that instructional technology applications often result in transfer of framing failures. These failures are attributed to the inappropriate mixing of behavioral and cognitive instructional desi...

The following is an unsolicited reaction by Richard Clark to the article “The Proper Study of Instructional Technology” by Robert Heinich that was published as the ERIC/ECTJ Annual Review Paper in the Summer 1984 issue of this journal.

The purpose of this article is to illustrate the distinctive perspective that underlies research on student thought processes during instruction. In this perspective, it is assumed that learning results from instructiononly after that instruction has beenconsidered by students. These considerations or cognitions are thought tomediate the effects of...