1) What are learning curves?
The learning curve is a successful story for cognitive psychology,which has provided a rough trend on the process of trainees’ learning development
The notion of a curve is based on the recognition that there is a relationship between the rate of learning and the passage of time. Managers working on the introduction of a new system,for example,might say‘we are on a learning curve’.
When it comes to the adaptive training, the construction of learning curves can be an effective and straightforward way for the trainer to monitor the progress of individual trainees over an appropriate period of time. The learning curves ,which show a clear picture of the changes in performance brought about by training, take the form of a graph tracing the improvement of trainees during the course.
2) The benefits of learning curves
The general benefits of learning curves are:
a. They provide diagnostic information that may help the trainer to determine the effectives of the training tactics and methods employed (group learning curves can be constructed by averaging the individual performance of trainees at various points in time )
b. They can used to give feedback to the trainee. (In some circumstances it may be feasible for the trainees to trace their own learning curves; this linked to the setting of sub-goals can serve as an effective motivational technique.)
c. They can alert the trainer to difficulties being experienced by the trainees as indicated by slow progress or no progress being made.
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3) The shape of learning curves.
The curve often represented as begin S-shaped, that is , proficiency in a new skill begins slowly at first, increases steadily over time,and then remains on a plateau as follows:
However, since the shape of the curve must clearly depend on the nature and circumstances of the learning, it may varies as follows:
(the trainees can have a good performance