Appropriate Learning Activities 

All activities are not created equal. Learning activities must be carefully engineered in order to promote learning.

Relevance:  Specific kinds of activities are needed to promote specific types of learning outcomes. For example, an appropriate activity for learning the concept Human Rights will look much different from an activity to learn the steps for engaging a potential customer in meaningful conversation. The best instruction includes cognitively authentic learning activities that are aligned with specific learning objectives.

Coverage:  Learners become frustrated when they are asked questions or tested on material which was not presented to them. Questions in a learning activity should not require the student know additional material beyond what was shown in the presentation, unless the material is specifically stated to be prerequisite. Also, if real measurable learning is to occur, the questions in the learning activities must cover 100% of the material presented.

Variety:  Some philosophers have proposed the idea that variety is a basic human need. Whether or not this is true, at very least variety makes things more exciting and interesting. Learning activities should be varied enough to provide interesting ways to practice the material. A variety of activities also helps to accommodate the different learning preferences of individual learners.

Feedback:  In any learning activity, it is important that learners know how well they are doing. Learners should know when they are right, and when they are wrong. A wrong answer is an indication that the learners has not learned the material, and is an ideal time to re-teach the specific information in question. Well-designed learning activities take advantage of this opportunity to teach. In fact, it is our experience that learners learn more by repeatedly going through the practice activities than by any other portion of the lessons.

A variety of activities also helps to accommodate the different learning preferences of individual learners.