Merrienboer, whole tasks and the learning ladder
24 September 2013
In a previous post I have argued that while I agree with Merrienboer's concept of whole tasks as an essential component in the learning process, as students increase their skill levels, they might need to step out of whole tasks to focus on narrower sectors of a given task. The latter is called a learning ladder, where experts receive only particular sectors of a given whole task where there are unusual problems. Because these problems are unusual, experts continue to accumulate experience with interesting problems, ultimately honing their skills even further.
What I failed to mention, however, is that although the learning ladder and the whole task principle are somewhat at odds, the ladder certainly aligns with Merrieboer's sequencing concept. In Merrienboer's terminology, sequencing means that whole tasks should be made progressively more complex. What the learning ladder brings to the table is simply the practical realization that if complexity levels keep going up, it is no longer feasible for the student to focus on everything, but more practical to let other team members deal with the every day components of the whole task, while the expert deals with the unusual and complex.
by Ricardo Pietrobon
About Me
My name is Ricardo Pietrobon and I am interested in big data and situated cognition applied to immersive distance education.
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