CompuServe Messages

When I was taking some courses for my masters in diving education about 12 years ago I recall a study done using various techniques of teaching the academics of flying. The study was done by Jeppeson, publishers of various curricula. The result of the study was that the most effecient way to learn any subject was to stimulate as many senses simultaneously as possible during the presentation of the lesson. Therefore, multimedia included in a program of instruction results in the fastest learning process. Jeppeson concluded that the best learning process for technical subjects such as flying and diving would be: 1. Tell the students very very briefly what they are about to experience. If possible, have the students preview the lesson in a short reading session prior to step 2. 2. Show them a video: live action demo with animated examples of complex concepts that completely covers all aspects of the lesson. 3. Do a short practical exercise having the student experience the concept. 4. Give a short quiz on the concepts. 5. Grade the quiz with the student having the student document the correct answers from the previous video, practical exercises, and reading assignment. This is the first time the instructor will discuss and answer questions from the student. The above departs from the traditional lecture, occasionally see a movie, take notes, study hard and cram for a mid term exam. The Jeppeson approach to learning requires far less interaction and preparation by the instructor. It insures that consistent content is presented to all students each time the class is repeated. The concept of homework is obsoleted other than previewing the next lesson from the textbook. I taught diving and marine science as a credited course at a community college using both methods and the result using the Jeppeson method is far supperior. I also taught diving at three YMCA's using the YMCA (military style) method and I had a high failure rate. When I convinced the aquatics director (my boss) to switch to the Jeppeson method we trippled our enrollement due to popularity and the failure rate was zip! Several years later, the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) adopted this Jeppeson method using their own training aids and made the use of this system mandatory for all their instructors. Today, they are the largest sport diving organization world wide. While animation with sound is only a part of the formula here I think you get the point that sensory stimulus has an important role in the learning process. It would seem to be as you said, obvious, but this is one example and study that proved the point. This was my experience with breaking from traditional teaching methods and the results I obtained. I'm sure you could contact Jeppeson for additional documentation.