Infrature^® Executive Summary

A Unique Training Delivery System Applying the Science of Learning

Infrature strives to change the way you think about e-learning. Infrature challenges you to go beyond the traditional ideas of accuracy and rather to think more about the science of learning and about achieving subject matter mastery. Infrature, Persistech’s training system, is unique in that it incorporates the science of learning into its software product offerings to create fluent learners.

Perhaps the single most important discovery that science has made with regard to learning is the impact that the introduction of speed to the learning process has on the retention of information and successful application of higher level skills. This combination of speed and accuracy is known as fluency. Simply put, it is the ability to accurately and rapidly respond to questions.

Skills trained to fluency have a far greater retention and application rate than skills trained to accuracy alone. Infrature provides a mechanism to couple different learning techniques, such as providing learners with correct answers and explanations according to their incorrect responses. Infrature uses the Internet to provide the ideal mechanism for delivering training remotely, and for administrators to track the progress, mastery and completion of training.

The Infrature training delivery system provides e-learning software with a unique set of attributes that includes

• Transparent Training Cycle™ that immerses the learner using scientifically proven “Precision Teaching” training methodology
• Adaptive Tutoring™ process that recognizes when learners need assistance based on their performance
• Knowledge Paced™ Learning where progress is based on performance and the learner can “test out” if there is sufficient mastery of the material
• Dial-In-Mastery™ delivers the same content for different audiences at different levels of mastery, depending on their training needs
• Author Score™ Real Time recommendations to authors on how to optimize their course, with respect to questions and content

Fluency is a Part of Infrature

Fluency is the ability to respond to questions about the study material accurately without hesitation. To ensure that the response is without hesitation, a timing component is added so that learners must respond within a predetermined amount of time. “Accuracy only” means that “without hesitation” is not a requirement, and so the speed component is removed. Learners need only to respond accurately and they may take as much time as they need.

Fluency training clearly has “a large and statistically significant” impact on learners’ ability to acquire and successfully apply higher level skills and to increase the retention of the information learned.

In a study done by Bucklin, B. R., Dickinson, A.M., and Brethower, D.M. (2000) at Western Michigan University, A comparison of the effects of fluency training and accuracy training on application and retention¹, the effects of fluency training on the acquisition and retention of a components and composite skill were compared with those of training to accuracy only.

This study is important primarily because it demonstrated that for skilled adult learners, fluency training on component skills assists in the acquisition of a composite skill and improves the retention of information as applied to both component (low level skills) and composite (high level application) skills.

Immediately after training and every 2 or 4 weeks for 16 weeks, the learners were tested on a composite task for which the requirement was that both associations had to be made in order to be successful at the task. Note that learners were never directly trained in the composite task. Retention of the original component associations was also assessed after 16 weeks.

With respect to the composite skill, fluency training resulted in:

a) higher response rates immediately after training and across the 16 weeks
b) better accuracy 4 and 16 weeks after training
c) less dete­rioration of accuracy after 16 weeks

Effects on the component skills were similar to those for the composite skills. The results demonstrate that for skilled adult learners, fluency training can aid the acquisition and successful application of a higher level skill and increase the retention of accuracy for both the component and composite skills.

Component and Composite Skill Retention

Figure 1: Half of the learners were trained to accuracy. The other half was trained to fluency. Striped bar shows retention of accuracy group after 16 weeks. Dotted bar shows the retention of the fluency group.

After 16 weeks, the fluency trainees averaged a drop in accuracy of 17.3%, (SD = 18) while the accuracy trainees had a drop in accuracy of 86.2% (SD = 10) on component skills. The differences in the loss of accu­racy between the fluency and accu­racy groups are striking in spite of the fact that both groups were trained to 100% accuracy. Similar results were demonstrated for both component and composite skills.

No other web-delivered training product ensures that the learner will complete the training with a fluent mastery of the material. For more information on Infrature's fluency based training delivery system, please visit us at www.infrature.com.