Train-the-trainer education in the canton of Vaud: when should recall replace another explanation?

The canton of Vaud brings together universities such as EPFL and UNIL, medtech, international sport, food industry groups on the Riviera and SMEs, alongside growing Lake Geneva scale-ups and established organisations undergoing change. For training managers, this raises a precise question: when should an explanation pause so that participants can reconstruct what they have just learned?

What the literature establishes

Henry L. Roediger III and Jeffrey D. Karpicke (2006, Psychological Science) compared repeated study of texts with learning sequences that included recall from memory. In their experiments, repeated study supported very short-term performance, whereas recall supported retention on delayed assessments. The distinction matters for trainers: making an immediate answer easier and making knowledge durably accessible are not necessarily the same operation.

Reconstructing rather than recognising

Jeffrey D. Karpicke and Janell R. Blunt (2011, Science) compared retrieval practice with elaborative study using concept maps to learn scientific material. Retrieval practice produced better results on delayed assessments, including questions testing comprehension and inference. This finding suggests that reconstructing knowledge without reference materials can contribute to learning, rather than merely measure what has been retained.

The premature conclusion

One might conclude that explanations should be replaced with tests, or that concept maps should be abandoned. These studies establish an advantage under specific conditions, not a universal ranking of teaching tools. In a hypothetical training session on a medtech procedure, for example, recalling the steps could complement a demonstration; it would not prove that the participant can perform the task safely. (our executive and employee training programmes)

What the evidence cannot determine

These experiments examine bounded learning tasks, mainly with students, rather than the full range of vocational training in Vaud. They establish neither an optimal frequency of recall for every occupation nor the proportion of a session that should be devoted to it. An exercise in which answers remain visible primarily checks recognition: calling it unaided recall would obscure precisely the distinction being examined.

A practical check in Lausanne

In a Lausanne workshop within the train-the-trainer programme, one possible exercise would be to design a short sequence on a fictional onboarding procedure, suitable as a case for a scale-up, a university or an international sports organisation. After a shared explanation, randomly assign participants to either rereading or written recall without reference materials for the same amount of time, then provide everyone with the same corrective feedback. One week later, ask each participant to recall the steps and their rationale without reference materials, using a scoring rubric defined beforehand, and compare the proportion of correctly recalled elements in each group. This local check would document retention within that workshop, without by itself demonstrating professional competence or an effect specific to the canton. To go further: explore the Train the Trainer training in Lausanne in the canton of Vaud, or browse our executive and employee training programmes in Switzerland.

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