Segmenting Principle
Overview
The segmenting principle is an approach to designing learning content that avoids overwhelming a student by identifying the complexity of a lesson and dividing it into small, well organized and manageable chunks. This may also include conducting a pretraining session as a means of delivering the foundational information required for the successful completion of the segmented lessons.
The segmenting principle is an approach to designing learning content that avoids overwhelming a student by identifying the complexity of a lesson and dividing it into small, well organized and manageable chunks. This may also include conducting a pretraining session as a means of delivering the foundational information required for the successful completion of the segmented lessons.
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Guidelines for Use
Guideline 1 - Use Segmenting for Breaking Down Complex Actions and Ideas
Guideline 1 - Use Segmenting for Breaking Down Complex Actions and Ideas
- Students will gain a deeper understanding of a complex topic when the e-Learning is presented in user-paced segments rather than as a continuous unit. Picture trying to learn how to juggle by watching a professional. There is a fluidity and ease to the professional’s movements: but as a learner new to juggling, what is the sequence of events involved in performing that act? Breaking the act of juggling into bite-size chunks and allowing the learner to complete a single task before continuing to the next task provides a clear understanding of the sequences involved in performing the act of juggling.
- If necessary, conduct a pretraining session. Pretraining is an extension of the Segmenting principle. Use a pretraining session to provide the learner with key concepts and terminology before proceeding to the main topic. For example, if the goal of an e-Learning course is to teach programming in Java, before starting the course, learners would attend a pretraining session where they would learn key concepts like Java object naming conventions and a review of the steps required to install the Java Development Kit.
Good Examples of Use
Example 1- Udemy Course: Build a Responsive Real World Website with HTML5 and CSS3
Example 1- Udemy Course: Build a Responsive Real World Website with HTML5 and CSS3
- Udemy is an online marketplace that teaches a variety of courses led by subject matter experts. Well known for its programming library of courses, it also includes e-Learning on business and personal development: including a session on learning to juggle.
- The curriculum for the courses is segmented into short learning videos and hands-on exercises, that is self-paced and easy to consume. Key concepts and terminologies are explored before diving into the topic areas.
- Babbel is an online resource for learning languages. Like Udemy, they follow the Segmenting principle in their course design. Students advance at their own pace and complete 10-15-minute bite-size lessons: repeating smaller bits of information more frequently.
Helpful Resources
Resource 1 - Design for How People Learn: How do We Remember?
Resource 1 - Design for How People Learn: How do We Remember?
- Is an article by Julie Dirksen outlining the importance of chunking information (along with other great e-Learning design tips) to avoid cognitive overload.
- Is an article by Mayer on the 12 principles for designing e-Learning.
- A Wiki fan club where these two theories are explained in detail
Research
Clark, R., & Mayer, R. (2011). Applying the Segmenting and Pretraining Principles Managing Complexity by Breaking Lessons into Parts.
In e-Learning and the Science of Instruction (pp. 205-222). San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons.
Mayer, R. (2009). Segmenting Principle. In Multimedia Learning (pp. 175-188). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
doi:10.1017/CBO9780511811678.013
Clark, R., & Mayer, R. (2011). Applying the Segmenting and Pretraining Principles Managing Complexity by Breaking Lessons into Parts.
In e-Learning and the Science of Instruction (pp. 205-222). San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons.
Mayer, R. (2009). Segmenting Principle. In Multimedia Learning (pp. 175-188). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
doi:10.1017/CBO9780511811678.013