As we discussed in a blog with the following name, scenarios are one of “The Secrets to Developing Highly Effective, Interactive Courses.” Incorporating interactivity into your training is a key way to make content more engaging and memorable. Scenarios can help accomplish that, as well as provide relevance to your content and illustrate critical workplace skills.
In my estimation, however, one of the most compelling elements of any interactive training is the inclusion of realistic consequences. Rather than just telling a learner to select the correct multiple-choice option and then saying “correct” or “incorrect,” you can achieve far greater value by illustrating consequences. Scenarios provide a perfect opportunity for bringing consequences to life in your training content.
Mini-scenarios are great for effecting surface change.
There are two main types of scenarios that we’ll cover in this blog, along with a number of ways in which to employ them: mini-scenarios and branching scenarios. Mini-scenarios, as the name indicates, are far smaller than their counterpart in terms of scope and only encompass one particular scenario. Typically, these types of scenarios focus on surface change rather than aiming to effect deeper change.
Cathy Moore’s blog captures mini-scenarios perfectly: “In a mini-scenario, you make your decision, see the realistic consequence, and figure out if you made a good choice. You might then go to a very different scene representing a different situation. Mini-scenarios are great for covering a lot of possible problems, but they’re not so great for getting deep into a more complex situation.”
When you want to dive deeper into a situation, choose a branching scenario.
In contrast to a mini-scenario, a branching scenario will ask you to make a decision, and then that decision will lead to another decision to make, and another. Some decisions along the way may have short paths to failure to quickly point out the learner’s error. “Not-so-great decisions” may have paths that lead you to a better decision you can make to get back on the good path. In this way, you can walk the learners through the proper steps to lead them toward the goal.
In her blog, Moore suggests you provide at least seven decision points down any single path, even if it’s the not-so-great path. By using a scenario in this way, you show learners the weight each decision holds in getting them from Point A to Point B, you give them the opportunity to correct their path, and you communicate the consequences of each decision, thereby mimicking the process of making decisions in the workplace.
Scenarios use a lot of the elements that make any good game or flipped classroom scenario engaging. Namely, they allow the learner a degree of autonomy, have a degree of mystery/the unknown, and assume a degree of learner intelligence. Take, for example, Moore’s branching scenario for an ethics training session. It places the learner in a role probably familiar everyone reading this post. Namely, it places you at a project kick-off meeting with a client and guides you through dealing with client expectations.
In this scenario, learners are given the basic courtesy of an assumption of basic knowledge, letting them move through the scenario without providing endless instruction. There are also surprises as sometimes tempting choices don’t yield the best results, and names and personalities are attributed to those involved. This scenario also succeeds by not discouraging the learner with a draconian punishment upon a wrong answer. Instead, learners are allowed to go back to their previous choices and rethink their decisions based on the feedback they just received.
Transmedia scenarios offer another approach to scenario-based interactivity.
Learners don’t always have to interact with a story by being the main character, however. They can also comment on the actions of characters who reflect the environment the learner is in. Transmedia storytelling presents a perfect example of this style of interaction.
Essentially, a story takes place over a variety of social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.). The learner has access to the unfolding story and can comment on these social media pages, getting responses from the story characters. The learner also often has the option of participating in forums and discussing the story progression. These conversations might even extend out of cyberspace into the office. One such conversation might go like this:
Carol: “Hey, in this week’s scenario, why do you think Sally failed to disinfect the wound with soap and water before using Betadine?”
Tim: “I don’t know, Carol, but I think it’s a pretty common error. George almost did the same thing last week before I caught him.”
Carol: “That was a good catch, Tim! I admit I don’t always pay attention to the job aids posted on the wall, but this week’s scenario brought it to my attention.”
Tim: “I know what you mean. In the scenario, Sally got hepatitis C, but I checked the job aid the scenario pointed out, and that’s just one of the possible diseases you can catch!”
The ability of training to inspire further learner interaction and engagement with the material can be the key difference between success and failure in terms of learner retention. It is worth noting that transmedia is a very time-consuming way to encourage interaction because for it to be effective, posts have to be made and social media monitored and responded to in a timely fashion.
Simpler is always better when it comes to training design.
When surveying the three scenario approaches we’ve mentioned here, it’s important to consider that bigger, more complex, and more techno-savvy are not necessarily better. What’s key is to choose the right tool for the job. With interactivity and engagement as the goal, you may decide gamification is your best vehicle, as we’ve written about in another blog post in this series. Or perhaps a simple survey at the end of a traditional training session can produce the results you need. The goal is get to know the strengths and weaknesses of all the tools in your chest and match the right approach to the job.