Designing Effective Training

Instructor: Paul Clothier An Infopeople Workshop 2004 1

This Workshop Is Brought to You By the Infopeople Project Infopeople is a federally-funded grant project supported by the California State Library. It provides a wide variety of training to California libraries. Infopeople workshops are offered around the state and are open registration on a first-come, first-served basis. For a complete list of workshops, and for other information about the Project, go to the Infopeople Web site at infopeople.org. 2

Outline

Determining Needs Designing Instruction Developing Content Delivering Content 3

Determining Needs

4

The Purpose of Training

Why is training needed?

 Provide new skills?

 Provide new information/knowledge?

 Address a problem?

 Improve job performance?

The purpose informs the approach 5

Be Clear on Benefits

Who will benefit?

Why will they benefit?

How will they benefit?

When will they benefit?

6

Training Development Process

Analysis - what are the needs?

Design - create the blueprint Development - develop the training and materials Implementation Evaluation - deliver the training - did you achieve your objectives?

7

Review at Each Stage

stakeholders 8

Needs Analysis Actual vs Perceived

Interviews  representative sample?, mgr vs trainee?

Questionnaires / surveys  online, paper, in-person?

Observation / task analysis  see where the problems are Informal conversations  listen to comments, complaints 9

Whose Needs?

Organizational needs  ROI, learning strategy, library goals Learner needs  feeling of competence, solving immediate problems, making life easier Task needs  just enough to get the job done, use the new system, etc. - no fluff 10

Need Analysis - the Learner

As well as analyzing the task/skill needs - take into account the learner ’ s: Preferences Attitudes Concerns Fears Experience 11

Instructional Objectives

Why are they important?

A basis for planning the training A roadmap for the learner A basis for evaluating effectiveness of the training

Will objectives ever change during the delivery of training?

12

Developing Objectives

Specific  address specifics not vague generalities Measurable  be able to evaluate/measure the skill/knowledge Action  specify action/activity they will actually do Realistic  make it achievable Timeframe  specify a timeframe if possible 13

Objectives

The objective of this 1hr lesson is to understand the concept of ABC database security, be able to successfully login to the system, and be able to change your user password.

By the end of the 2-hour training session participants will be able to understand who Melvil Dewey was, the origination of the Dewey Decimal System, what it is and how it is used.

By the end of the day you will be able to use Excel to create a simple spreadsheet, use basic math functions, save and print.

14

Poor Objectives

To have participants learn the features of the new catalog system To have learners understand the basics of using the Internet To be able to use Word effectively to create documents.

15

Designing Instruction

16

Objectives drive Content

Objectives

•

……..

•

……..

•

……..

•

……..

Section 1 ……..

……..

……..

……..

Section 2 ……..

……..

……..

……..

Section 3 ……..

……..

……..

……..

Section 4 ……..

……..

……..

……..

17

Considerations

Are you teaching skills, knowledge or behavior?

How will learners fears and concerns be accounted for?

What might be the resistances to the training?

What are the prerequisites, if any? 18

Balance

Lecture, demonstration, hands-on exercise, group discussion, written exercise, group exercise, playing around … What balance of the above activities should you have and why?

19

Method and Media

Method:  Lecture, discussion, discovery, simulation, activity, project, role-play, … Media:  Overhead, book/manual, paper exercise, job aid, online resource, …

What should determine the choice of method and media?

20

Exercises and Activities

Have learners do something whenever possible … Hands-on Written or oral exercise Small and whole group interactions Role-playing, simulations

What should the type of activity be determined by?

21

After the Training

Consider how the learners might get help after the training … Book or manual Handouts Cheat-sheets Online support Phone 22

Developing Content

23

Outlining

Top-down approach Outline in Word or PowerPoint Objective Topics Main points Final content 24

Sequencing

Cover the simplest first Ramp up the complexity Ensure a logical progression Build on previous concepts Have any “ lecturing ” in the morning Consider active participation in the afternoon 25

Chunking

Idea IDEA Concept Idea concept Idea ……..

……..

……..

Concept ……..

……..

……..

Idea ……..

……..

……..

concept ……..

……..

……..

  Break into digestible “ chunks ” One idea or concept per page, screen or graphic Approach it like a newspaper article 26

Delivering Content

* *This section will be covered in much greater detail in workshop #4 27

Before the Class

Do a dry run first  Check flow, timing, balance of activities Think visually  Where could you sketch diagrams to aid their understanding?

Association  What analogies could you use? Where could you relate content to their experience?

28

During the Class

Show the big picture Explain visually whenever possible Be sensitive to learners energy level Relate content to learners experience Constantly check for understanding Be flexible and adapt 29

After the Class

Learner evaluations  How did they feel about the class?

Evaluate your delivery  How could you improve it?

Evaluate your materials design  How could they be improved?

30