Teaching approaches
The proven instructional design methods behind every use case — or pick one directly.
A good lesson isn't just a pile of cards. It follows a structure that helps people understand, practise and remember. Grizlet works with nine teaching approaches based on proven instructional design methods. Each one suits a different goal.
When you click Create new…, you usually choose what the training is for — a use case such as Onboarding or Sales skills — and each use case is built on the approach that fits it best. If you already know how the lesson should work, switch to the By teaching approach tab and pick an approach directly: a manual lesson then starts with the cards from the approach's table, and Grizzi builds every lesson on it. See Creating lessons. You can also ask Grizzi to rework a lesson, for example "Rework this lesson as Practise decisions".
The approaches
| Approach | Use it when | Based on |
|---|---|---|
| Explain a topic | People need new knowledge: a product, rules, a policy. A safe default. | Nine events of instruction (Gagné) |
| Solve a real problem | Experienced people who learn best by working on a real task. | First principles of instruction (Merrill) |
| Practise decisions | You want people to act differently: sales, service, compliance, leadership. | Scenario-based learning (Action Mapping) |
| Explore first | The facts surprise, or people's intuition is often wrong. | 5E inquiry model |
| Bust myths | Common beliefs are wrong: safety, health, IT security, rumours. | Misconception-based learning |
| Reflect & build a habit | Soft skills, feedback, wellbeing — changing habits more than knowledge. | Experiential learning (Kolb) |
| Step-by-step how-to | One procedure people open when they need it: onboarding, processes, tools. | Performance support (job aid) |
| Tell a story | Values, culture, ethics, or why a rule exists. | Storytelling & case study |
| Review & recall | A follow-up after a workshop or course, to make it stick. | Retrieval practice & spacing |
Principles behind every approach
Whatever approach you choose, these rules make lessons work on a phone:
- One idea per card. Short heading, a few sentences or bullets. Long texts get skipped.
- Goals as actions. "Spot a phishing email", not "understand IT security". Your quizzes should check exactly that.
- Interaction every 3–5 cards. A quiz, poll, matching or ordering keeps people thinking instead of swiping.
- Explain the answers. The comment after a quiz says why the right answer is right — and, with Comment per option, why the others are wrong.
- Show before you ask. A worked example before an exercise lowers the load on beginners.
- Pictures that carry meaning. A screenshot of the step, a photo of the real place. Skip decorative images.
- End with action. Finish with a checklist or a form about what the learner will do at work.
The Lesson design guide explains these principles in detail, with fair questions, an example lesson and a checklist before you publish.
After the lesson: review and spacing
People forget most of what they learn within days unless they recall it again. Two habits help:
- Short review lessons. A few days after the main lesson, send a Review & recall lesson that is almost only questions, mixing the topics.
- Spread lessons over time. Use a sequence to send the main lesson, a review two days later and a scenario a week later. See Timing and reminders.