Critical Factor to Effective Student Learning with Dr Mark Guadagnoli

Today we talk about a key learning concept called Challenge Point.  At it’s core an appropriate challenge point will optimize the learning of a student by looking for the optimal level of difficulty to practice with.   We’ll walk through exactly what it means and an example of how it applies in the typical lesson setting. 

A big part of creating a lesson environment with appropriate challenge point involves the type of feedback the student is receiving.  We talk about how to appropriately vary that based on the skill of a level of a student.

 "Conditions that appear to create challenges for the learner often appear to be slowing down the learning process. We’ve come to label those desirable difficulties and they can actually enhance long-term learning.”

 Dr Robert Bjork

 It’s very easy for people to think that our current performance during the training and learning process is an accurate index of learning. Often it’s not only inaccurate, it’s very, very misleading. That’s because conditions that can lead to rapid improvement in performance don’t support learning on long-term.

We talk about some suggestions for maximizing engagement during the lesson so you can make sure your students are learning optimally every lesson. 

 Resources from Dr Mark Guadagnoli and Dr Robert Bjork mentioned:
http://golfsciencelab.com/challenge-point/
http://golfsciencelab.com/performance-and-learning-dr-robert-bjork-and-adam-young/

 About Dr Mark Guadagnoli
Dr. Mark Guadagnoli has worked in industry and academia for over two decades and has taught at several universities including Harvard University, UCLA, UNLV, and USC. He has been featured in the New York Times and other international publications.

Dr. Guadagnoli specializes in optimizing performance, communication, leadership, and learning and has received numerous awards for this work in (multiple time Student of the Year, Teacher of the Year, and Researcher of the Year) and out of the university. In addition to his university work, Dr. Guadagnoli has had an active consulting practice for nearly 20 years. He has worked in the area of corporate optimization with companies such as Zappos.com, where he developed their corporate university, developed and ran executive off sites, and worked on performance optimizations with their executive team.

Dr. Guadagnoli has also worked with companies such as Bose, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Google, Sony, and Panasonic. Dr. Guadagnoli has published more than 100 articles and abstracts and is the author of two books (Human Learning; Biology, Brain, and Neuroscience, and Practice to Learn, Play to Win). Dr. Guadagnoli’s primary line of research is related to the Challenge Point Framework which has been used to teach surgeons, medical professionals, and others who compete in high stress performance situations.

His model of learning shows that appropriate short-term challenges results in long-term and stress resistant learning. He has been invited to present this work around the world including such countries as Canada, China, France, Germany, and Scotland. Dr. Guadagnoli has also worked in performance optimization with athletes in several sports including the USA Olympic Elite Track and Field Coaches and PGA, LPGA, and Nationwide tour winners.

Dr. Guadagnoli is currently a faculty member at UNLV and Senior Scientist at Triad Consulting, Inc.