Evidence-Based Guidelines for E-Learning

Interested in following evidence-based guidelines to create better e-learning? Or, maybe you’re looking for ways to defend your point of view when you and your client or Subject Matter Expert (SME) don’t see eye-to-eye.

Either way, the guidelines in the book E-Learning and the Science of Instruction, coauthored by Richard Mayer and Ruth Clark, are just what you need. Mayer and Clark not only outline a set of commonsense ground rules for designing effective online training, they also lay out the research that went into developing them. 

If Mayer’s and Clark’s tome, coming in at 400+ pages, seems daunting to you, we get it. That’s why we’ve summarized a few of their key messages and rounded them up for you: 

• Redundancy Principle: Should You Duplicate Narrated Text On Screen?
• Multimedia Principle: Adding Graphics to Words Improves Learning
• Personalization Principle: Speaking to Instead of at Your Learners
• Contiguity Principle: Keep Graphics & Related Text Together
• Coherence Principle: Less Material for Better Learning

While there’s lots more in-depth information and some additional guidelines in their book, the above articles are a good place to start. 

If you find these resources useful, be sure to follow us on Twitter and come back to E-Learning Heroes regularly for more helpful advice on everything related to e-learning. If you have any questions, please share them in the comments.