Comm 4BI3 Week 2 - Learning & Motivation Handout

© Dr. W.H. Wiesner, 2018 Commerce 4BI3 Training & Development Week 2: Learning and Motivation Dr. W. Wiesner DeGroote School of Business McMaster University DSB 410/RJC 233 Learning Theories for Training Reinforcement theory Ex. Want rat to press button to turn on light When rat is in one part of room it gets food and if in the other part of the room it does not After a few times, need to be near bar/button to give it food, then need to press bar/button, then need to press enough for light to turn on Social learning theory © Dr. W.H. Wiesner, 2018 © Dr. W.H. Wiesner, 2018 Reinforcement Theory: The Conditioning Process Stimulus Events or Cues in the Environment Attract our Attention Behaviour A Response or Set of Responses Consequence Positive Reinforcement Negative Reinforcement No Consequence Punishment Reinforcement Theory Reward following a desired act increases the likelihood of the act being repeated. Negative Reinforcement Removal of a negative outcome after an act increases the likelihood of the act being repeated. Ex. Alarm clock goes off in the morning, you snooze it, repeat (this is not what is wanted), instead move alarm clock across the room so you have to get up Both scenarios require negative reinforcement action No Consequence Ignoring an act is likely to lead to cessation of the behaviour. Ex. Child being annoying to get attention Punishment Punishment decreases the likelihood of a behaviour. Ex. If child does something wrong, can ground them, take things away, etc. Positive Reinforcement Which is the most effective? Positive reinforcement is the most effective theory © Dr. W.H. Wiesner, 2018 Training Concepts from Reinforcement Theory Shaping: Reinforcement of each step or improvement in a process until it is mastered Chaining: Reinforcement of entire sequences of a task. Ex. In the case of parallel parking – first need to be parallel and right distance from other car, then when mirror aligns w/ car need to reverse, when back wheel is close to curb rotate wheel to move into spot Generalization: Conditioned response occurs in circumstances different from those during learning. How to take behavior learned once, and apply it to other situations (ex. You learned how to parallel park near a small car, now need to apply knowledge to parallel park near a truck Can you learn from just watching others? Yes, if pay attention to right stimuli © Dr. W.H. Wiesner, 2018 Social Learning Theory Social Learning Theory has three key components: Observation: Learning by observing the actions of others and the consequences Ex. Child 1 watches child 2 get in trouble for doing something, now child 1 will not make the same mistake so they don’t face consequences as well - Four key critical elements: Attention Retention Reproduction Reinforcement Social Learning Theory (cont'd) 2. Self-efficacy: Judgements people have about their abilities to successfully perform a specific task (your confidence in your ability to do a particular task) Self-efficacy is influenced by four sources of information in order of importance: Task performance – riding a bike, with more practice, you are more confident you won’t fall down Observation – if you see others doing much better than you, your self-efficacy will be lower Verbal persuasion & social influence Physiological/emotional state – if tired and not able to concentrate, your self-efficacy will be lowered © Dr. W.H. Wiesner, 2018 Social Learning Theory (cont'd) 3. Self-management: Managing one’s own behaviour through a series of internal processes Observe personal as well as others’ behaviours Setting performance goals – ex. By the end of the day I want to be able to do X Assess personal progress Reward oneself for goal achievement Principles of Learning and Retention Trainability = Motivation X Ability Degree to which ppl can be trained is motivation times ability (written as an equation to indicate that if either one of the abilities is 0, they cannot be trained) Individual Differences We all learn in diff ways and at diff rates. When there is a class of trainees, there will be variation in how well they can keep up. Do employers target slower group so fast learning group don’t get bored? Do employers target faster group, but then will lose the slow group? Should go down the middle so that lose minimal trainees. Feedback (Knowledge of Results) Are we catching on or missing the point? Give feedback to trainees so that they know. Massed vs. Distributed Practice Distributed practice outperforms massed practice Whole vs. Part Learning Want to use part learning when the task is complex (easier to rmbr in components), when task is simple (easier to learn at once) Sometimes complex tasks must be learned all at once still (ex. Riding a bike – learn to balance, pedal, steer all at the same time) Forgetting and Remembering Encoding – failure to store/encode info Retention - failure to retrieve info Trainee Motivation Relevance of Training to the Job Relevance of Training & Job Performance to Other Desired Outcomes Level of Trainee Self-Efficacy vs. Training Difficulty Can enhance trainee self-efficacy by encouragement/verbal persuasion. Also ensure that training is not too difficult so that motivation does not decrease. Training should match trainees ability to learn. Reinforcement Timing – reinforcement should happen right after the behavior occurs so that the behavior can be replicated Frequency – reinforcement should occur initially repeatedly (every time), but once they show that they know how to do it, lessen reinforcement Direction (Negative vs. Positive) How can an organization ensure that trainees have the ability to handle the demands of training? Selection Preparation/readiness – some employers wait a few days before beginning training so that they have experience with the company Designing training according to the capabilities of the trainees © Dr. W.H. Wiesner, 2018 Feedback (knowledge of results) Specific vs. general feedback Start with general feedback and then become more specific Positive vs. negative feedback Give as much positive feedback as possible Manner in which feedback is delivered (calm, systematic, supportive)\integration of errors) © Dr. W.H. Wiesner, 2018 © Dr. W.H. Wiesner, 2018 Integrating Errors into Learning and Training Error training: Training that explicitly allows trainees to make errors while learning to perform a task Error avoidant training: Training that explicitly avoids or minimizes trainee errors while learning to perform a task Error management instructions: statements that emphasize the positive function of errors. Integrating Errors into Learning and Training Forces people to develop thoughtful strategies Deeper processing of information – understanding of why being instructed to do things a certain way Greater practice Learn “error recovery strategies.” Greater exploration Advantages of Error Training: Why do we Forget Things? Failure to Store/Encode Information Inattention Attention to the Wrong Things (ex. Someone looks at their watch to see how long they have till class, a stranger asks what time it is, and person has to look at watch again b/c they don’t know what time it is (that is not what they were originally looking for)) Not Understanding Not Considering the Information to be Important Failure to retrieve Information Memory Decay (Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve). As time passes, we forget Interference: Some memories interfere with, compete with, or are merged or confused with other memories. (ex. Eyewitness testimony) Suppression & Repression: Motivated forgetting (e.g., traumatic events, stress, unpleasant memories). Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve © Dr. W.H. Wiesner, 2018 Failure to Retrieve Information: Interference Proactive Inhibition (Interference) – when material that we already know interferes with what we are trying to learn (knowing A interferes with learning B) Retroactive Inhibition (Interference) – learning something new causes us to forget something that we learned in the past (learning B interferes w/ remembering A) Ex. A waitress comes to your table to take your order, turns to leave and then you say “wait stop” and you change your order. She comes back with your initial order. This is proactive interference. Remembering the first order interfered with the new info (second order) she was trying to rmbr. Enhancing the Encoding Process: Meaningfulness of Material Relevant/Important Clear/Understandable Organized/Systematic Overviews Examples © Dr. W.H. Wiesner, 2018 Enhancing the Encoding Process: Attention Getting Trainee Attention Maintaining Trainee Attention Attention Span: Passive vs. Active Learning Some lectures, some hands on Directing Attention Focus Nuance – little things that make a big difference (ex. A few cm, angle at which a torch is held when welding) © Dr. W.H. Wiesner, 2018 Retention Chunking – break things that we are learning into components (ex. Telephone is broken into area code, common area number, specific last 4 digits) Key Words – short forms or phrases that bring certain memories to mind (ex. 1812 makes you think of the War of 1812) Semantic Associations – for rmbring long speeches (ex. Rmbr one part of speech in front of a vase, next in front of a chair, and go around the house and rmbr diff parts in diff rooms) Mnemonics – ex. ROYGBIV helps to rmbr the colour spectrum, word for musical lines, song for planets Imagery – used to rmbr restaurant order w/o writing it down (waitress visualizes your plate in front of you or you as the food) Active Practice or Repetition – the more you do so the more you will rmbr (ex. Soldiers taught to assemble and disassemble rifles so that they can unjam them as req’d on the field) Automaticity (Overlearning) – practice until it is second nature © Dr. W.H. Wiesner, 2018 Repetition and Transfer from Short-Term to Long-Term Memory Repetition or rehearsal strengthens neural connections or bonds, which are required for long-term memory. The stronger the bonds, the stronger is long-term memory. Ebbinghaus Retention Curves 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Retention (%) Elapsed Time Since Learning 0 Review 4 Immediately After Class 1 Day Later 1 Week Later 1 Month Later (or sooner) Review 3 Review 2 Review 1 Forgetting Curve © Dr. W.H. Wiesner, 2018 Counter forgetting curve by practicing © Dr. W.H. Wiesner, 2018 Recall of Words vs. Pictures Pictures are remembered more than words