Enhancing Training Effectiveness Through Graphic Recording: Mitigating Information Overload in Human Resource Development

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study investigates the efficacy of graphic recording, a real‐time visual facilitation technique, in mitigating information overload and enhancing training effectiveness within human resource development (HRD) and vocational education and training (VET) contexts. A quasi‐experimental design was implemented with 100 managers from a Taiwanese jewellery company operating in Thailand, randomly assigned to an experimental group ( n = 50) that received training accompanied by graphic recording and a control group ( n = 50) that did not. Post‐training surveys assessed trainee reactions (Kirkpatrick's Level 1), and a 10‐item multiple‐choice examination assessed learning acquisition (Kirkpatrick's Level 2). Hierarchical regression tested the moderating role of graphic recording on the relationship between information overload and training outcomes. Information overload was significantly and negatively associated with trainee reactions ( β = −0.352, p < 0.001) and with learning ( β = −0.550, p < 0.001). Graphic recording significantly moderated both relationships (ΔR² = 0.069 for reactions; ΔR² = 0.106 for learning; p < 0.05), with interaction plots showing flatter slopes for the experimental group, indicating that engagement and comprehension were sustained under high cognitive load. Grounded in cognitive load theory, dual‐coding theory, and visualisation theory, this study empirically validates graphic recording as a low‐cost, scalable alternative to virtual, augmented, or artificial‐intelligence‐based training technologies, and offers HRD and VET practitioners an evidence‐based, culturally inclusive tool for optimising training design in resource‐limited, cross‐national settings.