Dialogue-Driven Learning - the Method Behind the Art

Dialogue-Driven Learning: The Method Behind the Art

by Rukesh Patel, Brainvisa Technologies Ltd.

"Online learning content is generally poor at communicating because it is inappropriately designed--both structurally and visually. Print conventions for the design of silent communication using text (and visuals) on a static and linear surface are ineffective in the new medium and yet, they continue to be applied. The Internet is a multi-dimensional, time-affected and nomadic rather than Euclidean space and it is capable of enabling distinctly different styles of communication." (1) (Emphasis mine)

-- Margaret Turner, Lecturer in Electronic Media,

University of the Sunshine Coast

Executive Summary

Dialogue-Driven Learning (DDL), as the name suggests, is an instructional approach that simulates a dialogue, or conversation, with the learner to achieve its objectives. Needless to say, engaging someone in a conversation requires that the simulation be both life-like and responsive. Neither outcome is a small feat by itself but when achieved together, they're a miracle to witness. In this paper, we examine the premises, the framework, and the grammar underlying the practice of DDL. We end with a discussion of the two broad scenarios where this approach may be used with very effectively and a short note on where its use might not be so productive.

The Premises

Premise 1

Learning theories can be broadly classified by the schools of thought from which they have emerged, namely, behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism.

Premise 2

Conversation lies at the heart of most constructivist approaches to learning.

Premise 3

Rhetoric is essential to conversation.

Online learning owes its heritage to three distinct media: print, broadcast, and interactive multimedia.

* Print media provides the basic design structure for online learning: textual content, supported by visual elements, and integrated into a whole using the grammar of typography and layout. Let us call this the print premise.

* Broadcast media revolves around audio-visual narrative, pacing, and the elusive but essential element: 'a willing suspension of disbelief.' This forms our broadcast premise.

* Interactive multimedia adds the possibilities of dynamic interaction, non-linear flow, and the digital luxury of random access. Let's call this our interactivity premise.

The Framework

Dialogue-Driven Learning (DDL), as we term it, springs from the specific way we choose to integrate the central Premise 3 in terms of the print, broadcast, and interactivity premises. All three premises are quite different from each other. We must, therefore, select specific characteristics of each that work well with Premise 3. Moreover, we must also determine a precedence order among them to ensure a snug-fit of the whole with Premise 3.

Let's begin by considering for a moment how temporal flow or pacing is central to a conversation. We immediately realize that the broadcast premise must stand first in our attempt to arrive at a rhetoric for DDL. All said and done, 'willing suspension of disbelief' is the effect we're seeking to recreate in order to drive a learner's full engagement in the pre-scripted conversation.

Unlike the broadcast media of film, TV, and radio, however, we're seeking to engage with our audience one-on-one and with a single major constraint: there shall be no human intervention in the conversation past the point of production.

To deal with the above constraint, we invoke the interactivity premise: Software technology provides for dynamic interaction with the learner and also allows for non-linear or customized flow in response to learner input. What we must steer clear of, however, is the lure of random access, which is antithetical to the temporal flow and pacing we're seeking from the broadcast premise.

Lastly, since we're seeking to deliver DDL over the web, full-screen video is out of the question (at least until broadband truly arrives). The DDL rhetoric must, therefore, be primarily audio-driven and visually complemented by the print premise.

Let's see where we've arrived so far:

DDL = (broadcast premise minus full-screen video)

+ (interactivity premise minus random access)

+ (print premise)

The above media precedence order is the exact opposite of most conventional e-learning programs where the print premise provides the basic skeletal structure with broadcast and interactivity premises filling in the rest as needed. In contrast, in DDL it is the broadcast premise that dictates the skeletal structure while interactivity and print premises fill in the rest, in that order.

The design considerations stemming from this precedence order necessitate that the implementation of print premise must essentially be minimalistic. That is, the audio-driven conversational pacing must be the primary rhetoric and all on-screen content (text, visuals, and UI elements) must be as simple and cognitively light as possible.

The essential perspective shift here is that in being conversational, DDL must invite participation and encourage expressiveness from learners. Thus, the focus of design shifts from the expression of a designer's ideas to building an environment which invites expressiveness on the part of the learners.

The Grammar

Now, while this approach of DDL isn't exactly new--companies like Jellyvision have been practicing it for several years--it's still a nascent and evolving medium. But even over its short history, it has already developed a grammar for itself. The best, concise exposition of this grammar can be found in what are known as the 'Jack Principles' as articulated by Jellyvision(2).

"The Jack Principles is a set of practical guidelines for creating interactive programs that shares specific key characteristics