CHOOSE THE SMART WAY

Making your training choices should be a careful process. 

If you’re going to reach all of your trainees, you know by now that the training choices you make must be multi-sensory in design. 

We have discussed many times the absolute necessity for full-motion video, graphic animations, and or gaming plus optional word-for-word audio if you hope to train the 40% of your workforce who do not assimilate anything written beyond a 4th grade reading level.  Most importantly, we know by now that Americans are steeped in a smartphones/tablets/computers learning culture.  So use that knowledge to enhance learning for everyone in your organization. 

In addition to a multi-sensory design, it is also important to analyze the learning objectives demonstrated in the courseware you are evaluating.

There are three primary aspects of learning objectives. 

The first is the makeup of the population being trained.  What are the characteristics of the learners in your organization?  For example, does the course you are evaluating use college level vocabulary when you know that the majority of people you need to train cannot assimilate anything written above a 4th grade reading level?  Is the plant equipment shown in the courseware similar to the types of equipment the learner will encounter on your shop floor?

Second, what “behavior changes” do you expect after the training has been completed?  Do you want the individual learners to be able to identify specific pieces of equipment?  Do you want them to be able to demonstrate their ability to perform a maintenance task correctly while also using good work and safety practice?  And if so, does the course you are examining accomplish that objective?

Thirdly, does the course you are evaluating prepare the students for the conditions they will encounter on-the-job?  Are they armed with the references, illustrations, graphs, and, most importantly, the electronic help desk readily available in well designed e-Learning — “just-in-time training” that they will need when they are actually on-the-job?

Expect a vendor’s sales representative to be able to identify these objectives in any courseware she asks you to evaluate.  Good training objectives identify the desired learning outcomes; are consistent with your company’s goals; and are specifically meaningful to your specific needs.

For the best in training outcomes, being able to evaluate any training option in these ways is far more important than the bells and whistles you encounter in a slick sales presentation.

And, of course, all these same criteria apply directly to you if you’re tasked with developing your own training programs.

More on Wednesday  –  –  –

 — Bill Walton, co-Founder, ITC Learning
February 11, 2019
www.itclearning.com/blog/  (Mondays & Wednesdays)

  “THE WORLD RELIES ON THE HANDS OF ITS MEN AND WOMEN”

 (This is a personal blog.  Any views or opinions represented in this blog are personal and belong solely to the blog owner, jhbillwalton@gmail.com, an independent consultant.  They do not represent those of people, institutions or organizations that the owner may or may not be associated with in a professional or personal capacity.)