Proceedings of the Fourth Annual Teachers College Educational ...

Harnessing the Power of Emotionally Cogent Stimuli for Optimal
Learning
Sydney M. Savion,
George Washington University, 805 21st Street Northwest Washington, DC
Email: ssavion@wmail.gwu.edu
Daniel J. Glisczinski,
University of Minnesota Duluth, 1049 University Drive Duluth, MN
Email: dglisczi@d.umn.edu
Abstract: The U.S. market for self-paced e-learning is expected to balloon to $24.2
billion by 2015 (Adkins, 2011). Coupled with the torrent of mobile devices, which now
outnumber human beings, academia and corporate America stand at a unique
intersection of opportunity to engage in best practice instructional design for optimal elearning.
As the 21st century market place finds itself in the midst of a nexus of the most
connected populace ever, the opportunity and perhaps responsibility belongs to the
learning professionals to design neuroscientifically guided, emotionally cogent e-learning
programs, so that the most connected populace ever will feel itself moved to cross the
threshold of ubiquitous communication to ubiquitous optimal learning. This paper
proposes when adult learners feel so moved to text, message, and access courses
because of their powerfully moving nature, e-learning will cross the threshold of program
relevance, and in doing so, mobilize learning through emotionally cogent stimuli.
Corporate America expends an estimated $110 billion annually on employee learning and development
(Rivera & Paradise, 2006). According to a recent report by Ambient Insight market research firm, the U.S.
market for self-paced e-learning is expected to balloon to $24.2 billion by 2015 (Adkins, 2011). This taken
together with the torrent mobile devices in which mobile devices now outnumber human beings, twentyfirst
century corporate education stands at a unique intersection of opportunity to engage in best practice
instructional design for optimal e-learning.
Now a days, digital natives (those born into the digital age) and digital immigrants (those assimilated to
the digital age) alike can be readily observed making use of their mobile devices in the bookstore, in the
fitness center, at the cafe, and even in the lavatory. While it has become evident that much of today’s
experience is bursting with digital interactions. What is less evident, however, is whether higher education
or corporate America understands enough about cognition to cross over the traditional pedagogy
threshold of influencing learning to more emotionally cogent stimulating methods that powerfully promote
optimal learning and performance, especially through the use of mobile devices.
The high degree of expenditure on learning and development is not surprising, given its vital role in
maintaining high performance and an effective organization. Interestingly, a substantial amount of
education and training is designed on the premise of behaviorism theory, suggesting that learning is
external to the individual and that the individual is passive in the learning process. The theory of
behaviorism ignores the internal aspects of learning and fails to genuinely engage the learner. This is
significant, given the increased distance placed between the learner and instructor as a result of a
mounting reliance on e-learning pedagogy. And also evidence that only 51% of daily adult learning
episodes occur at home or in the learner’s natural environment (Vavoula, 2005).
Even as far back as the 1900s it was found the theory of behaviorism had inherent limitations, hence the
emergence of cognitivism. Since the seminal works of Jean Piaget, cognitive theorists have believed that
learning encompasses gradually acquiring and constructing knowledge in which a learner processes and
stores information. Moreover, cognitive psychologists maintain that learning involves the use of memory,
stimulus and thinking. Now, as we take into account learning in transition via mobile devices,
constructivism emerges as the best fit learning theory. Cooper (1993) asserts that learners interpret the
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