Instructional activities provide a roadmap for how a learner will meet learning objectives.  While learning is ultimately up to the individual, well-thought-out and appropriately sequenced learning activities relating to clearly defined objectives work to increase an individual’s success and motivation.  These activities, referred to as ‘Absorb – Do – Connect,’ offer different ways an individual can assimilate information, incorporate it into their existing knowledge structure and relate it to practical situations.

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Absorb Activities

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Absorb activities offer learners information to read, watch or listen. These activities are most often in the form of presentations, readings, stories (written or spoken) and field trips. According to William Horton, author of E-Learning by Design,“In Absorb activities, the learner may be physically passive yet mentally active – actively perceiving, processing, consolidating, considering and judging the information.”
(p. 67).

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Absorb activities provide a solid starting point (and one that can usually be referenced later) for learning a new concept or skill. However, only part of what is presented will most likely be retained. Learners are unique. Cognitively, they are trying to relate new information to existing knowledge. Each learner has a different cognitive overload threshold. And, learners have different takeaways given the same information. That’s where Do and Connect activities come in. They provide additional ways for learners to practice and realistically engage with the new information.

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An example of an Absorb activity is outlined below.

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Absorb Activity Example

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The Absorb activity is a presentation using a mix of animated and non-animated slides with voiceover narration. The slides will introduce one element at a time (text or graphic) to keep the learner focused and to minimize cognitive overload. Both images and sound are used to help the learner better retain the information. The slide presentation is outlined below. This activity was designed to clearly link to and support specific learning objectives, which are also listed below.

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Objectives:

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• Describe what a credit score is, which is a numerical value that indicates to lenders how likely an individual is to repay a loan.

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• Identify five weighted components a credit score takes into account.

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• Recall that payment history (35% of a score) and current level of indebtedness (30% of score) are the top two weighted items that account for 65% of what makes up a credit score.

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• Explain how the number that indicates a credit score is generated and its importance.

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• Differentiate between a credit score and a credit report.

 

Presentation Outline:

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• A credit score is a numerical value between 300 – 850.

  • The number indicates to lenders how you are to repay a credit card or loan (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau [CFPB}, 2020). 

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• What makes up the credit score?

  • Payment history. How often do you make on-time payments? Late payments? Skip payments?

  • Current level of debt – This is a ratio of how much money you owe on credit cards compared to the credit limits on those cards. Experts suggest using no more than 30% of the credit available to you to maintain or improve your credit score.

    • Let’s say you have a $6,000 balance on a credit card with a $10,000 limit. You are using 60% of your credit. Because this is above the 30% threshold, you are considered a higher risk. This can negatively effect your score.

  • Length of credit history. Generally, the longer you have had a credit history (utilized credit cards and loans), the better your score. Factors considered include how long the oldest account has been open, the age of the newest account opened, and the overall average.

  • Different types of credit used. Higher scores are a result of a mix of retail accounts, credit scores, personal loans and mortgages.

  • New credit accounts. How many accounts have you opened recently? If you have many, lenders consider it risky to do business with you. Too many new accounts will result in a lower credit score (Investopedia, 2021a).

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• Two factors make up 65% of your credit score – that’s more than half. Make sure to focus on these two components every time.

  • Payment history – makes up 35% of your score

  • Level of debt – makes up 30% of your score

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• Here’s how the other three credit score components factor into your score. Don’t lose sight of these.

  • Length of credit history – 15%

  • Different types of credit used – 10%

  • New credit used – 10% (Wells Fargo, 2021)

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• You have a credit score and know what goes into it. You may be thinking … Who generates the credit score number? How do they come up with that specific number?

  • Software created by the Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) generates a credit score number based on the five factors just described. (Payment history, level of debt, length of credit history, different types of credit used, new credit used.)

  • The formula FICO uses to generate the credit score is ambiguous, proprietary and is not shared with anyone, including lenders.

  • FICO scores are the most widely used by lenders. Ninety percent of all credit decisions use FICO credit scores (Investopedia, 2021b).

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• You may have heard the terms “credit score” and “credit report.” Are they the same thing?

  • The answer is no.

    • A credit report is a statement of your past and present credit activity. It will show your open and closed accounts and how often you’ve made on-time or late payments, as well as any missed payments and payments made in full.

    • A credit score is a number that is generated from your credit report. It is simply a numerical value (CFPB, 2020).

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Do Activities

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Do activities allow an individual to put new information into motion. These activities encourage learners to analyze, interact or manipulate the new information to gain a better understanding and deeper knowledge. While the creative limits of Do activities are endless, the primary purpose remains: to help learners apply the new knowledge.

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An example of a Do activity is outlined below. This Do activity is linked to the Absorb activity and objectives listed above.

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Do Activity Example

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Quiz game loosely modeled after “Who Wants to be a Millionaire.”

 

• Learners are asked questions and given answer options.

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• The time limit for the learner to respond is between 30 and 60 seconds depending on the difficulty of the question.

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• Learners are also given three lifelines to help them answer questions of which they are unsure: “Ask the Audience;” 50:50; and ”Help … I Need a Hint.”

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• “Ask the Audience” will give the learner a percentage score for each answer choice indicative of how many previous learners chose that option as their answer.

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• 50:50 will take away half of the answer choices increasing the likelihood that the learner will choose the correct response.

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• “Help … I need a Hint” will prompt the computer to offer a hint, taken directly from the presentation featured as the Absorb activity.

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• Learners are allowed to use the lifelines once, regardless of whether they get the question correct.

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• Since this training is a self-paced tutorial, the goal is to keep the experience fun. Additional lifelines could be added depending on the total number of questions asked.

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• A varying number of points will be given based on the difficulty of each question.

 

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Connect Activities

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Connect activities are designed to give learners context, help them fill in any gaps and apply their new knowledge to real world situations. According to Horton, “They do not so much add new knowledge and skills as tie together previously learned skills and knowledge. In doing so, they add higher-level knowledge and skills” (pg. 163).

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Commonly used Connect activities include asking individuals to think deeply and broadly about the subject and incorporating the new information learned, such as through a rhetorical question; having learners tell stories from their own life that connects to the new material; questioning teachers, experts and peers; job aids; research activities; and asking learners to submit original work, such as an essay or drawing. Instructors are free to develop other Connect activities, so long as they help the learner practically apply what they have learned while directly relating to the clearly defined objectives.

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A Connect activity was developed using the objectives listed above. This activity quantifies the cost of a mortgage relative to two different credit scores. The example provides context by illustrating in real-world terms what a 100-point credit score difference can make in the total amount spent over the life of a loan.  It is a practical application highlighting the importance of knowing one's credit score and its potential financial impact. It also motivates learners to implement the strategies they learn in the tutorial to increase or maintain their credit score.

 

 

Connect Activity Example

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Not knowing or understanding your credit score could end up costing you thousands. Consider this:

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You have a credit score of 680, which is considered “fair.” You apply for a 30-year mortgage for $240,000 at a 4% interest rate. Your monthly payment is $1,216.

Your best friend has a credit score of 780, which is considered “excellent,” and wants to buy the exact same house next door for the same price. He applies for the same mortgage, with the same terms and interest rate. His monthly payment is $1,164 a month.

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The difference between your payment and your friend’s payment is $62 a month, or $744 a year.

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This difference seems insignificant, right?

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Wrong.

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The 100-point difference in credit scores means you’ll be paying an additional $25,300 over 30 years (Nerdwallet, 2020).

 

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Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

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Each learner is unique. An individual comes to learn with his or her own strengths, challenges and preferences. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) gives instructors a framework of guiding principles that can be used to reach learners most effectively. Using a variety of tools and formats, as outlined by UDL, increases the likelihood of an individual mastering and applying new information. Just as important, it helps decrease frustrations and anxiety that can be encountered during the learning process while motivating students and increasing their self-confidence.

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The following elements, based on the principles of UDL, will be used throughout the training module to meet the diverse needs of learners.

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• Clear and concise objectives, independent of the means to achieve them

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• Table of contents at the beginning of each new section

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• Outline of training, highlighting key points

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• Guided notes option to download

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• Glossary of terms. A glossary link will be listed on each page. Each term will also be highlighted throughout the text. Learners can click on the hyperlink to go directly to the glossary.

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• Site index so learners can easily locate specific topics

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• A reference page for learners to locate additional information from the sources used in the tutorial.

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• Information presented in chunks

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• Practice with supports – formative feedback offered for incorrect answers

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• Ability to print screenshots of the information

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• Use of varied media – pictures, video, sound, visual models, animations

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• Use of color highlighting

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• Effective use of voice/narration - pitch, volume, pauses, intonation

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• Closed captioning

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• Ability to listen to the tutorial in Spanish

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• A feedback button listed on the home page that links to a survey. Individuals will also be able to leave comments about the course.

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• A web assistant to help answer basic questions, direct learners to appropriate section