Effective CBT Design

by Verlane Edwards

 

 

 

 

The purpose of computer-based training (CBT) is to motivate students to reach clearly defined objectives, so CBT design elements should help learners reach those goals. The interface design results from a complex interrelationship among these primary factors:

  • Domain being recreated.
  • Intended outcomes.
  • The users' preferred learning styles.

Design Goals

We have to settle for generalizations when it comes to design criteria given the contextually bound nature of computer-based training. Overall, however, the research I've read supports these three key goals for effective CBT design. The design should:

  • Show critical domain features realistically, while ignoring irrelevant ones.
  • Be appropriate for the task, providing helpful feedback and useful practice.
  • Engage learners and motivate them to reach appropriate goals.

Recommendations

In order to reach those goals, however, it's helpful to have a matrix of characteristics for what constitutes effective design. Here, then, is a top ten list, in order of least to most mentioned recommendations, for effective design criteria. This list is synthesized from twenty-five recent research articles testing software products for children and adults.

This is what the researchers recommend for effective CBT design:

10.
   Guided practice that directs learning of targeted information or skills.
9.
   Collaborative features that enable sharing of multiple perspectives. (For instance, chat rooms or media that presents audio and/or video perspectives from other members of the communication community.)
8.
   An engaging environment that stimulates learners by making it fun, interesting, and easy to learn and understand.
7.
   Realistic scenarios that accurately reflect situations important to the learners.
6.
   Contextual support that improves orientation to the subject matter through semantic and/or visual clues.
5.
   Targeted tasks that motivate students to achieve objectives.
4.
   Navigational flexibility that enables users to direct the pace and direction of their own learning.
3.
   Supportive feedback that provides encouragement and a measure of progress.
2.
   Useful metaphors that relate information in a familiar, meaningful way.
1.
   Appealing visual and/or audio support that engages the user and supports the theme of the lesson. (Multimedia support was the most frequently mentioned element in effective design.

Caution: Engage and Support are the key words when using multimedia. It's not about making it pretty. Unknown learning environments and varying learning styles mean that multi-media should not take the place of textual information. Consider when using audio, for example: Do you know that users can turn up the sound in their work setting? Will the sound be functioning well on their PC? Would they prefer to read the text rather than listen to an audio recording? Or would they like to read along as the speaker speaks to reinforce what they are hearing? In the best case scenarios, audio and visual support features are optional choices the users can make to further customize their learning experience.

As you plan your next training project, whether it's online or not, consider how you can incorporate these recommendations to increase the effectiveness of your materials.

[Return to Feature List]