Building Expertise, Second Edition

Rating:
Summary: A gem of a book packed with useful analysis and advice
Review: As a high-school teacher I am finding this book an invaluable read. The combination of insights from educational psychology and practical examples of instructional design make this an essential read for all those who want to make their teaching more effective and who are dismayed by the many examples of poorly conceived e-learning that can be encountered on the web. I think this book is worth twice the price and deserves a very wide readership. It certainly amply rewards thoughtful and careful study.

Rating:
Summary: Ground your training in research-based methods
Review: Want to know why certain instructional methods work or when they should be used? Want knowledge to improve your credibility as a learning expert with others? Based heavily on cognitive research, this book from well-known expert Ruth Colvin Clark provides the rationale for sound instructional methods.
The concepts and guidelines in Building Expertise are mature, widely-accepted, and most will be familiar to readers in the training field. The book's first three chapters explain in simple terms how the brain is thought to work during learning. Each later chapter focuses on a cognitive learning process and summarizes the methods that research has shown support it. With chapter titles like "Leveraging Prior Knowledge," the organization of the book reinforces Ruth Clark's thesis. Her thesis is simple, but profound: it is instructional methods, not media, that influence learning. Some methods work better than others because of the way our brains function. Some methods work better for beginners than for advanced learners. The gems in this book are the occasional information on techniques that sometimes hurt learning and when to avoid them. While there are examples and pictures of training that follow the guidelines, this is not a how-to book. This book explains why and when to do something, not how to do it. For that reason, Building Expertise may be of interest to learning consultants and training managers, as well as to practitioners who want to deepen their knowledge of instructional design.

Rating:
Summary: Ground your training in research-based methods
Review: Want to know why certain instructional methods work or when they should be used? Want knowledge to improve your credibility as a learning expert with others? Based heavily on cognitive research, this book from well-known expert Ruth Colvin Clark provides the rationale for sound instructional methods.
The concepts and guidelines in Building Expertise are mature, widely-accepted, and most will be familiar to readers in the training field. The book's first three chapters explain in simple terms how the brain is thought to work during learning. Each later chapter focuses on a cognitive learning process and summarizes the methods that research has shown support it. With chapter titles like "Leveraging Prior Knowledge," the organization of the book reinforces Ruth Clark's thesis. Her thesis is simple, but profound: it is instructional methods, not media, that influence learning. Some methods work better than others because of the way our brains function. Some methods work better for beginners than for advanced learners. The gems in this book are the occasional information on techniques that sometimes hurt learning and when to avoid them. While there are examples and pictures of training that follow the guidelines, this is not a how-to book. This book explains why and when to do something, not how to do it. For that reason, Building Expertise may be of interest to learning consultants and training managers, as well as to practitioners who want to deepen their knowledge of instructional design.