Introduction

Software Training for Students is all about helping students learn new skills. We use training manuals and hands-on exercises to help students learn, but what makes a good manual, lesson, or exercise?

This guide will help answer that question, and give you, the trainer, some practical steps you can use to create effective training materials. In the process, it will also hopefully help you learn more about what makes for a good learning experience for the people you will be teaching.

This guide will walk through some of the ways you can use these principles to make the training manuals, lessons, and exercises that you create even better.

Outcomes

After successfully completing this manual, learners will know:

• How people learn new information and develop new skills
• What Backwards Design is and why it is a useful approach to developing learning material

and will be able to:

• Create an exercise according to Backwards Design principles

Background Information

As someone who teaches others, it is helpful to know a little bit about the process of learning, and what happens when a person tries to acquire a new skill or absorb new information.

This article offers a nice big-picture overview of the learning process: https://tomprof.stanford.edu/posting/1495

It has a lot of great information, including the following general framework for how people learn. The items in bold are particularly relevant to creating learning materials for STS, but all of them apply in one form or another:

Having learners perform tasks that increase in complexity, in a context that is relevant to their experience and interest, is at the heart of effective training.

How do we assemble training materials that will help achieve this goal? Let's explore!

Anatomy of an Effective Technology Lesson

The Learning Process

Learning a new skill can be surprisingly complex. You need a conceptual understanding of what you are doing and why, you need a technical understanding of how to do it, and then you have to practice applying those concepts and techniques to the real world.

When learning non-technology-related skills, it's usually easy to understand intuitively what you are trying to do and why. Things like riding a bike, chopping an onion, or playing a musical instrument are all pretty self-explanatory: you probably already know why you'd want to do the thing in question, and you probably already have a mental model for how that thing works in the world.

With technology, it is often not as obvious what you are trying to do, or why it is useful. It may not be immediately clear why you would want to use an Adjustment Layer in Photoshop, or why having a default value for an argument in Python might be helpful.

Because of this, a successful technology learning experience is usually a three-step process:

1. Learn the Basics / Modeling

This step involves becoming familiar with the task being learned and seeing how it works in the real world.

It has two main aspects: learning the concepts and practicing hands-on.




Modeling is the process of the expert (e.g. the trainer) demonstrating how to do the task in question, so the learner gets a sense of what it should look like before trying on their own.

It is often helpful for the trainer to explain the thinking and concepts involved while showing the technique or skill.

Learning the basic concepts and information gives context for why the current thing is useful as well as any background or additional facts that may be helpful. The trainer will often demonstrate the task or skill themselves while explaining what is happening, which is an educational technique called modeling.




Modeling explains what the trainer is doing on screen, while also answering the question "What problem does this solve?" or "Why is this useful?"




Hands-on practice, where the learner follows along with the trainer and recreates the trainer’s steps exactly, is helpful for becoming familiar with the different techniques required for the skill. It's like tracing a drawing: you're doing all the actions to physically create the drawing, but you may not yet be able to do it without that exact step-by-step guidance.

2. Practice Independently

Using the information and techniques learned in the first step, do the same thing again, without the instructor to follow along from. This usually works best with a specific prompt from the instructor, to do a specific task a specific way.

3. Apply The Technique

Use the technique to achieve a real-world goal. Usually works best with a general prompt from the instructor

Steps 2 and 3 are similar, but practice exercises in step 2 will usually be built to minimize opportunities for learner to run into problems, and step 3 will be a little more “rough around the edges” so the learner gets a taste of what solving problems may look like in the real world. Step 3 may also incorporate multiple different items or bits of functionality, rather than being specifically focused on a single skill or technique.

Step 2 is more, "practice using this specific tool in this specific way". Very guided and focused, but the learner is not given step-by-step instruction.

Step 3 is basically "here is a task you want to accomplish - solve it by using what you've just learned". The learner applies the things they’ve learned, in a more free form and real-life situation. This is more open-ended and encourages problem-solving exploration by learner.

In some cases you may introduce multiple related topics with their own Steps 1 and 2, and then later have a Step 3 that helps students learn how to apply them.

Example

Quick Selection and Masks in Photoshop

The following is an example of what the steps in this process might look like for the skill of using layer masks to remove backgrounds from images in Photoshop, in the context of an STS workshop.

Step 1a: Explain what a selection is, and then show them what it looks like to create one with the Quick Selection tool. Then, have them follow along on their own computer using the same image.

Step 2a: Have the learners create a selection on a new image, while you move around the room and see how people are doing.

Step 1b: Explain what a Layer Mask is, and show how after they create a selection, they can turn it into a Layer Mask to make part of the image disappear.

Step 2b: Have the learners create a mask from their selection, while you walk around to get a sense of how people are doing.

Step 3: Have the learners try to remove the background of an image using Quick Selection and Layer Mask tools that they have just practiced. While they are doing it, move around the room and help where needed. After, move back to the instructor station and show them on screen what it looks like to successfully complete the task.

Backwards Design

Writing a training lesson/exercise for something as specific, technical, and potentially complicated as software can be tricky. The tendency is often to make a list of all the things a program can do, then string together a set of steps that touches on each item on the list.

As someone who already knows how the software works, this is a totally reasonable way to approach the problem: you want to make sure the learner knows all the things, so walk them through all the things!

There are a couple of problems with this approach:

A mental model is the set of ideas and concepts that help a person make sense of how something works in the real world.

1. A learner may not yet have the mental model for the things or know why they are important. Trying to guide them through all of the different bits and doodads in a program can be overwhelming.

2. It focuses on what's relevant for the trainer (who already knows the material), rather than what will be helpful for the learner (who does not yet know this material).

To address these issues, we use a technique called Backwards Design.

This is another 3-step process:

1. Start with the end goal

After completing this lesson, what will students know and be able to do that they didn’t/couldn’t before?

2. Determine what success looks like

How will we know the learner can do the things?

3. Build exercises that lead the learner to that outcome.

How does this lesson/exercise relate to the goal? Does the lesson/exercise contain all of the skill and knowledge elements required to successfully complete it? If not, where can those be added?

Let's look at each of these in more detail.

Start with the End Goal

It is important for the learner to know why they are learning the material in question. This helps them focus on what matters and to see the real-world value of the lessons and exercises they are putting their time into.

Putting the important things into concrete terms is important when building training material. At STS, we do this by writing up the outcomes or objectives for the material we teach.

Outcomes and objectives help guide the learning and eliminate things that may distract the learner, like wondering "What's the point of this?" and "When would I actually do this in the real world?"

Outcomes

Every manual we write at STS should have two sets of outcomes: knowledge outcomes and skill outcomes.

Knowledge outcomes are things the learners should know after completing the manual or workshop. This includes background information or context, details of why a tool or technique is helpful, and possibly things to avoid when using the tool or technique. They will usually start with the phrase "I know..." or "The learner knows...".

Examples:
"I know the difference between bitmap and vector images"

"The learner knows what an argument for a function does".

Skill outcomes are things the learner should be able to do after completing the manual or workshop. These usually start with "I can..." or "The learner can...".

Examples:
"I can create a new layer in Photoshop"

"The learner can write their own function in Python"

Real-world Examples

Here is an example of what the outcomes for a lesson on working with Layers in Photoshop might look like.

These topic-specific sub-outcomes are included for learning purposes only. Actual manuals do not need to be as granular (see examples for Photoshop 1 below).

Knowledge outcomes:

• Why layers are useful for organizing and editing an image project
• How the order of layers in the panel affects the appearance of the document
• What Blend Modes are
• What Layer Styles are

Skill outcomes:

• Create a new layer
• Re-order layers in a document
• Change layer Opacity
• Add a Layer Style like a Drop Shadow or Stroke
• Change Blend Modes to alter the appearance of a particular layer

Within a given manual or workshop, there may be multiple levels of outcomes: the overall goals of the workshop/manual, goals for a particular section, and goals for a specific exercise or technique section.

Example: Photoshop 1

The following is an example of the outcomes for our Photoshop 1 manual:

Notice how within each topic or exercise there could be multiple sub-outcomes within it, but we have only listed the top level for each respective item.

Determine What Success Looks Like

How will you be able to tell the learner has understood the lesson and achieved its intended outcomes?

In an academic course, this might involve creating quizzes/test questions or coming up with an assignment prompt that asks the student to engage with the course material. In STS, this is usually a little less formal, and is mostly a matter of "can the learner do the thing that was just explained/taught?"

In an STS workshop, the trainer should move around the room during sections while the learners are working on the technique that was just taught, to see whether they are able to do it themselves.

It is good to have an idea of what successful student work will look like. If you are teaching a lesson on changing the size and spacing of text in Photoshop, seeing that the learner has been able to add, change size, and update spacing for text on their own project - even if it looks different from what you did in the demo project - could be considered successful.

Build Exercises that Lead the Learner to that Outcome

Once we've got an outcome/goal in mind and we know what it will look like for the learner to be able to do it, we'll create an exercise to help them learn the skill in question.

What goes into creating an effective hands-on exercise? We'll look at that next.

Creating Exercises

Once we've got outcomes to focus on, and we know what the learner should be learning, how do we create an exercise that will help them learn and practice the skills we're trying to teach? There are a few things that a written exercise needs if it is going to be effective.

Be Specific but Generalizable

An effective exercise must be specific and give concrete instructions about what the learner needs to do to achieve the intended outcome. It should explain each part of what is happening, and it should avoid unnecessary information that may confuse the learner.

Exercises should not be so specific that the learner will not be able to see how they would do the thing in question in a context other than that exact lesson or exercise. The lesson should be general enough to be applied in a different context.

Example

Explaining how to enter a formula or function in Excel, an exercise should specifically mention:

• Formulas must start with the equals sign: =
• How to reference a cell to use in the formula
• The syntax for a given function - for example, the argument of the =COUNT() function

The exercise should avoid mentioning specific values or cells.

For example, rather than:

Type =COUNT( then click and drag over the 5 cells above the current cell.

It would be better to say something like

Type =COUNT( then click and drag to select the cells whose values you want to count.

In the first example, the learner may think that the COUNT() function only works on the cells above the cell they are typing in, and not realize it can work with any cell range you provide it.

Show, and Tell

Written explanations are helpful for sharing ideas and conceptual information, but as the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Screenshots and animated GIFs are a quick, efficient way to show the learner what you are talking about, and have the added benefits of removing ambiguity and being easier to skim at a glance.

For example, if I am writing an Illustrator exercise, I may write something like

Clicking and dragging the control handles in the corner of the shape let you resize the shape. Hold Shift while dragging to keep the proportions intact.

This is helpful, but being able to see what that looks like in a GIF can make it easier to understand at a glance, and it removes the cognitive load of trying to translate the words and ideas into the real world.

By using an animated GIF, we eliminate potential confusion around what a control handle is, where to click, and what the expected behavior looks like.

We should still add the explanation about using the Shift key to constrain proprortions (because that is not evident from the GIF), but having the visual is effective for helping the learner understand what is happening.

Set the Learner Up for Success...

When trying to pick up a new skill, being able to see results from your effort is an important motivator.

Remember one of the bullet points in the list above:

"Individuals will repeat actions that are associated with a reward."

That feeling of having succeeded at doing something they've never done before can be an important reward for the learner, and exercises should be set up to ensure the learner can successfully accomplish the task at hand.

For example, when writing a lesson about the Quick Selection tool in Photoshop, we may use a file that ensures the learner will be able to see how the Quick Selection process works, using an image with a very simple background:

This helps the learner become familiar with the basics of using the tool without getting stuck on details or nuances that a more complex image may present.

The feelings of mastery and success that come from being able to do this particular task act as the reward that will encourage further learning.

...then Challenge Them with Reality

But in the real world, learners will need to be able to use their skills in more complex cases, with situations that may not be as clear cut and may require more mastery of the tool.

The image below is more complex and presents more places where the tool may not work as expected, which requires more mastery by the learner:

It is important for learners to be able to practice on examples that are closer to the real world situations they are more likely to encounter, and get help from the trainer when needed.

This can include things like working through debugging Python or MATLAB code in class, troubleshooting why a chart does not appear as expected in Excel, or figuring out why a blend mode looks incorrect in a Photoshop document.

Always Connect Exercises to a Learning Outcome

When putting together an exercise, it's easy to start adding extra steps or going into details that may be a little too in-the-weeds for someone who is just starting out with the topic. As trainers, we may know a lot about a topic, and the impulse is to share that knowledge with the learners.

However, more information is not always better, especially for people who are new to a topic or piece of software. Being given too much information at once can be overwhelming and counterproductive for learners.

A good way to avoid overwhelming learners with too much detail is to be sure than any exercise or set of instructions you write connects back to a specific learning outcome.

If an exercise doesn't directly support one of the manual's outcomes or objectives, it's probably best to leave it out. If you think it is really, really useful and is something they really need to know, there should probably be a learning outcome for it. In that case, go ahead and add one.

For any step of an exercise or project, you should be able to answer the question "why is this important for the learner to know?" and understand how that step is supporting the outcome it's attached to. If it's not clear to you, ask a fellow trainer or one of the managers.

Writing Step-By-Step

So you've got your outcomes, and you know the exercises that will help the learners achieve them - now it's time to actually build a lesson!

How should you write out the lessons/instructions so that students (and fellow trainers!) will be able to follow them without trouble?

Clearly State the Purpose

When writing an exercise, specifically mention what the purpose of the exercise is. Don't assume the learner (or a trainer who is trying to learn how to teach the workshop) will know why they are doing what they are doing.

Don't Assume

Unless something has been specifically learned earlier in the manual or workshop, don't assume the learner knows it. This is especially when doing things like using keyboard shortcuts or referencing information that not everybody may know yet, like the difference between string or numerical data types.

For example, if you're resizing a shape in Illustrator or a selection in Photoshop, don't just say "Hold Shift and drag one corner of the selection." Specifically say why: e.g. "Hold Shift to keep the proportions equal when resizing a selection in Photoshop"

Avoid Overly Technical Language

Whenever possible, try to write using plain language. Especially when working with complicated topics or in-depth technology concepts, it is easy to use language where not everybody knows what it means. If a technical term is important enough that the audience should know what it is, be sure to explain it.

For example, saying something like "Using the + operator in JavaScript with variables of different types will always concatenate them rather than add them arithmetically" is an important piece of information for a learner to know, but if they doesn't already know what an operator is, what variable types are, and what concatenation means, it will not be helpful. It may even intimidate them or make them feel like the material is too hard for them to learn.

If those terms aren't already explained earlier in the manual, this could be a good opportunity to give little bit of explanation for them so it is clear to the learner.

Use the STS Manual Editing Guide

To make sure we are able to provide consistent quality for our learners, it is important that we follow the style and editing guidelines in the STS Manual Editing Guide.

In addition to having guidelines and style suggestions, it also has some tips for improving the actual editing process itself, which can speed things up and make life easier for you as well.

Summary

So that's a lot of information. What do you really need to take away from all that when writing manuals and lesson plans?

Mainly it boils down to the following:

• Have specific outcomes/objectives in mind, and be sure all exercises support them.
• Be able to answer the question "Why is this important for a learner to know?"
• Explain things well, but don't overwhelm the learner with details; screenshots and GIFs are your friend.
• Hands-on practice is important for learning. When writing lessons, be sure to include space for learners to try on their own.

That's it!