The training approach described in this book can be summarized in one word: active. The underlying philosophy, as described in Chapter 2, is that adult participants are actively involved throughout the training session. The design and development strategies, therefore, reflect an active, experiential approach to training, allowing participants to discover ideas, principles, and concepts through a series of well-planned and well-executed structured experiences. Because the adult, in particular, learns by doing, not by being told, the design and development process includes very few didactic elements.
The most frequently asked question in train-the-trainer sessions is “How long does it take to design and develop a training program?” The answer: “It depends.” As frustrating as that might be to those who want and need to know how much time they must devote to this effort, there are just too many variables to give an accurate answer. A “rule of thumb” is 10 to 20 hours of development for every hour of delivery.
However, this figure can change dramatically. In the September 1996 issue of Training & Development, published by the American Society for Training and Development, author Karen White tells the reader that a good estimate is “forty to one hundred hours of development for each hour of an instructor-led course.” The May 1997 issue of Training magazine cites a study by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, which offers the following estimates for development hours per classroom hour for an instructor-led course (Zemke and Armstrong, 1997):
Formal technical course | 5 to 15 hours |
Self-contained, ready for handoff to other instructors | 50 to 100 hours |
Conventional management development | 20 to 30 hours |
As you can see, all estimates have a wide range. Contributing variables include the designer's skill and experience, the complexity of the content, and whether one develops activities or uses those already developed. Will you use an “off-the-shelf” case study, or will you write your own? Do you have the skills to write a case study? If you choose to use one already written, will you use it as written, or will you modify it for a specific situation? Also, can you readily find an appropriate case study, or will you have to spend time looking through various resources to find one that serves your purposes? These are all critical decisions that involve varying amounts of time required to produce the training session.
The reality of life is that others will often dictate how much time is available to develop the training program. Because situations change so rapidly and unexpectedly, you may not have the luxury of developing a training program the way you would like. For a new product launch, for example, your client or decision maker may require you to put together a training session, sometimes literally overnight.
Also, like it or not, your client may also dictate how long the session can be. Based on your needs assessment and your training experience, you may know that a customer-service training program should be at least two days. This would give you enough time to present the content and give participants many opportunities to assimilate the information through experiential activities and to fine-tune their skills through a variety of skill-building activities. More often than not, however, you will be told that the training must be limited to one day. This is where it is extremely important for you to identify your objectives quite clearly. Be realistic about what you can and cannot accomplish within the prescribed time frame.
The time constraints will also impact your choice of methods. For example, if you had to deliver a time-management program in three hours, it is highly unlikely you would be able to use a structured experience that takes an hour and a half.
Cost is another factor in the design and development of a training session. For a customer-service program, you may want to demonstrate the proper way of handling an irate customer. In your research, you might have come across a video that would be perfect. However, a limited budget might preclude you from using it. Videos are expensive to buy or even to rent. Unless you can demonstrate that buying the video will be cost-effective because you will be using it numerous times, you may find yourself searching for another means of communicating your message. (Cost issues are discussed further in Chapter 7.) All is not lost, though. Fortunately, with the Internet and YouTube, you can often find a free video that will meet your needs. A less costly alternative is to write a scripted role play demonstrating the correct approach to handling an irate customer. During the training session, you can ask for two volunteers to read the role play, and then you can lead a discussion, just as you would following the video. The downside is that it takes time to write the script, and it probably will be considerably shorter than the video.
Designing a training program is much like planning a trip. In both cases, you must ask yourself the following questions:
Trip | Training Session | |
WHO | Who is going? | Who should participate? |
WHEN | When are we going? | When will I conduct the training? |
WHERE | Where are we going? | Where am I taking the participants (in terms of outcomes)? |
WHY | Why have we chosen this destination? | Why am I conducting this training? |
WHAT | What do we want to see and do? | What do I want the participants to know or be able to do? |
HOW | How will we get there? | How will I communicate the information or develop the participants' skills? |
An instructional plan identifies what you are going to accomplish (learning outcomes for the participants), what will be said or presented (content), and how content will be communicated (methods and media). The purpose of the initial design document is to organize one's thoughts and sequence the material and activities to create the optimum learning experience and meet learning outcomes.
After determining the objectives and before writing a detailed instructional plan, it is helpful to first design or lay out the course using a design matrix. This is truly the planning phase of the development process.
A design matrix (Exhibit 6.1) is used to visualize the course or session. It enables you to take a broad view of what you want to accomplish and how to meet the learning outcomes. The design matrix provides a framework or skeleton for the course. You will then “put the meat on the bones” as you make decisions about methods and materials and prepare your instructional plan. The design matrix consists simply of four parts: duration, content or learning points, methods or activities, and materials or aids.
The design matrix is a rough sketch of the training session. Use it to identify and sequence content subtopics; estimate the amount of time devoted to each subtopic; consider the methods to communicate the content; and identify potential training materials and aids.
Content flows naturally from the learning outcomes or objectives. The important point to remember when developing or determining content is that you want to focus on what the participants “need to know” versus what's “nice to know.” This is particularly important when there are time constraints.
Many trainers new to the profession with little or no experience in designing a training program often ask: “Where do I start?”
Unless you are a subject-matter expert, start by researching the topic. Search the Internet, read books and articles to gather facts and other important information, and, whenever possible, work with subject-matter experts, especially for job-specific content. Approach the research process in much the same way you collected information for a research paper in school. In this case, however, be careful to collect information that is vital to the program, always keeping in mind your learning objectives and the “need-to-know” concept. In other words, don't go overboard collecting information. Read and distill the material. Make sure you cite sources of specific data and give credit for proprietary models. Include a full reference for every source cited, including the author's or editor's initials and last name, the title of the book (and article, if applicable), the city of publication, the name of the publisher, and the year of publication. Concentrate on recent sources—ones that have been published within the past three to five years. Be sure to cite your Internet sources as well.
Often, trainers have no idea where to start in terms of what specific subtopics they should include. One way to begin thinking about your content is by using a variation of brainstorming called mind mapping. Start by putting the title of your program in the center of a piece of paper. Draw a circle around it to give it focus. Then just start generating ideas related to your topic and writing them down (anywhere on the paper). When the ideas have stopped flowing, begin combining ideas into natural groupings, which become subtopics. Determine which are “need to know” and which are “nice to know.” Decide whether to include or eliminate the nice to know topics based on time parameters. After determining the subtopics, the next step is to sequence them.
After you have determined the major content and learning points for the training, determine the order in which you will present the content. This is the time to organize. Several ways can be used, depending on the type of training and what you are trying to accomplish. Although there are no hard-and-fast rules for sequencing, the following guidelines may help you as you make decisions about the order of content and activities.
As a result of a mind mapping process, let's assume that the following subtopics will be used for a one-day customer-service training session:
Think about the logical arrangement of the topics and, based on knowledge of the subject, you might arrange the topics in the following order:
Assume that you are going to develop a time-management program, and you have identified the following subtopics. Determine the order in which you are going to address each one by numbering them from 1 to 7.
Present the information in a way that will maximize the learning. You want the participants to retain the knowledge (cognitive), develop the skills (behavioral), or heighten their awareness (affective), and at the same time enjoy the learning experience.
Many of your designs will be variations of the behavior-modeling approach introduced in the 1970s by James Robinson and William Byham (Pescuric and Byham, 1996): content, positive role modeling, skill practice, feedback, and application on the job. There are, however, other ways to organize your session, depending on your intent. The following are other approaches to consider:
Sequential designs present a step-by-step process leading to a conclusion. For example, in a sales-training seminar, the content might be presented in this order: (1) establishing rapport, (2) identifying customer needs, (3) matching product benefits to needs, (4) overcoming objections, and (5) closing the sale. With this approach, the subtopics follow the pattern of the process that serves as the training focus.
This approach teaches tasks as they occur on the job. For example, a bank teller–training program might present subtopics for opening procedures in the following order: (1) getting cash drawer from vault, (2) verifying cash, (3) ordering cash, (4) logging on the computer, and (5) preparing settlement sheet.
Skill or knowledge essential to the completion of a task is taught first as a prerequisite to the training that will follow. Returning to the teller-training example, trainees would need to have knowledge about how to log on to the computer before learning how to complete other transactions.
This approach addresses job knowledge in terms of topics rather than sequence of activity. Sales representatives, for example, would have to learn about the products before they could sell them; however, they would not have to learn about those products in any particular order.
The instructional plan is a detailed guide to delivering a training program. It serves a number of purposes:
The ability to create a detailed instructional plan will also help you in your own career development. First, it gives you credibility, enhancing your image as a trainer. Second, once you have designed and developed a complete program, you will find it easier to create subsequent programs.
An instructional plan consists of two parts: (1) the program overview and (2) the instructional guide.
The program overview details the components of the course or training session. It consists of the following:
Exhibit 6.2 is an example of Part I (Program Overview) of an instructional plan for a customer service training program.
Part II is the real meat of the plan. It consists of the following four parts: time frames, content outline, training aids and materials, and trainer's notes. Let's take a look at each of these in detail.
Identify how much time each major content section takes. Indicate a time frame for each by listing the number of minutes required (for example, 15 minutes) or express time as a digital clock (0:15).
This section outlines in detail the ideas, principles, concepts, or skills the participants are to learn. There are many possible formats; however, an outline is best as it helps you see relationships as well as the sequence of topics and subtopics. Although you do not have to worry about adhering religiously to the rules of outlining, it is important to observe some basic rules or guidelines:
Training aids and materials include assessment instruments, videos, slides, computer-generated visual aids, audio recordings, games, and evaluation tools. Include brief notations to cue you when to use a slide, video, or handout. To make it easy for you (or someone else) to see at a glance what to do, you might use abbreviations or icons. The following are some ways to indicate your training aid without writing it out.
Training Aid | Abbreviation | Icon |
Slide | SL | |
Workbook | WB | |
Flip Chart | FC | |
Handout | HO | |
Video | V |
In essence, your trainer's notes are your “stage directions” and methods. They tell you how you will communicate the content. They might include specific questions to ask the group or instructions for activities. Here are some possible “stage directions” you might choose to use:
Distribute… | Write… |
Conduct role play | Show video |
Demonstrate… | Ask… |
Discuss… | Instruct participants to… |
Break into subgroups | Explain… |
Instructional methods are the various means by which content or material is communicated. They include the use of assessment instruments; activities such as role plays, case studies, and simulations; and a host of cooperative-learning or active-training techniques (which are explored in detail in Chapter 7). Some of the issues to consider when using some of the standard experiential methods are discussed below.
When selecting training methods, remember that there is no one best method; however, do try to use a combination of strategies. In selecting your methods of delivering instruction, consider the following:
Table 6.1 lists the advantages and disadvantages of the various instructional methods. Study it to help determine which methods you want to use.
Table 6.1 Instructional Methods
Method | Advantages | Disadvantages |
Role playing: Acting out real-life situations in a protected, low-risk environment. | Develops skills. Opportunity for participants to practice what they learn. Participants gain insight into their own behavior. |
Some participants are resistant. Contrived situations. Requires considerable planning. |
Games: An activity governed by rules entailing a competitive situation. | Promotes active learning. Provides immediate feedback. Boosts interest. Stimulates excitement. Increases learning. Improves retention. |
Time-consuming. May lead to loss of facilitator control. Sometimes difficult to monitor. Some degree of risk. |
Simulations: Activity designed to reflect reality. | Promotes high level of motivation and participation. Provides immediate feedback. Approximates real-world environment. |
Can be costly. Time-consuming. Requires significant planning and excellent facilitation skills. May require more than one facilitator. |
Observation: Matching others without directly participating; give constructive feedback | Generates interest and enthusiasm. Is less threatening than other methods. Promotes sharing of ideas and observations. |
Focus could easily shift from learning factor to entertainment factor. Demonstrators may not do adequate job. Requires skilled facilitators. |
Instruments: Paper-and-pencil (or online) device used to gather information. | Personalized; helps to achieve participant buy-in and commitment. Helps focus on most appropriate material. Helps clarify theory, concepts, terminology. |
Some participants might be fearful. Participants might argue with data. Time-consuming. Requires skilled facilitator. Participants may feel stereotyped or “pigeonholed.” |
Mental imagery: Visualize situations; mentally rehearse putting skills into action. | Everyone can participate. Simulates thinking, imagination. |
Some participants may be uncomfortable or impatient. No way to monitor participation. |
Writing tasks: Worksheets in conjunction with materials; list and evaluate information. | Everyone can participate. Particularly effective for shy participant. |
Individual task; little or no interaction. Time-consuming. Some people have aversion to writing. |
Lecturette: Short, structured, one-way communication from trainer to participants. | Trainer controls what material is covered. Saves time. |
Participant in passive mode. May be boring to participants. One-way communication. |
Small group discussion: Small groups formed from larger group; composed of five to seven individuals; assigned to discuss a certain topic within certain time limit. | Increases participation. Creates risk-free environment. Stimulates thinking. Draws on knowledge and experience of all group members. Helps participants to assess their understanding of material. |
One participant might dominate. No guarantee that all will participate; some may choose to remain in passive role. Easy for group to get “off track.” Time-consuming. |
Case study: Written description of a problem or situation trainees might be faced with on the job; working in small groups, trainees read and discuss the case to determine the pertinent facts, identify problem, suggest alternative solutions, and agree on a final solution. | Allows participants to discover learning points by themselves. Participants apply new knowledge to specific situations. Stimulates discussion and participation. Participants receive immediate feedback. |
Contrived situation. No opportunity to solve real problem. Can cause frustration because there is no one “right” answer. Time-consuming. |
Task exercise or activity: Participants are divided into small groups of five to seven and work on a specific task or activity; often present results to the total group. | Stimulates thinking. Promotes group interaction. |
Time-consuming. Difficult to keep groups on track. |
The Trainer's Handbook, 4th Ed. Copyright © 2016 by Karen Lawson. Reproduced by permission of Pfeiffer, an imprint of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
When deciding which methods to use, determine your purpose. Refer to Table 6.2 as another guide for when to use any particular method to communicate your content.
Table 6.2 Instructional Methods and When to Use Them
Method | Purpose | When to Use |
Role Playing | Help participants practice skills used in interactions | To practice newly acquired skill To experience what a particular situation feels like To provide feedback to participants about their behavior |
Games | Provided nonthreatening way to present or review course material | To help grasp total program content To present dry material in an interesting way To add a competitive element to the session |
Simulations | Re-creates a process, event, or set of circumstances, usually complex, so that participants can experience and manipulate the situation without risk and then analyze what happened | To integrate and apply a complex set of skills To elicit participants' natural tendencies and provide feedback on those tendencies To provide a realistic, job-related experience |
Observation | Certain participants act out or demonstrate behaviors, tasks, or situations while other observe and give feedback | To show group how to perform procedure or apply a skill or behavior To increase participants' observation, critiquing, and feedback skills To demonstrate behavior modeling |
Instruments | Provide feedback; self-assessment | To identify areas for improvement To establish a baseline for future growth |
Mental Imagery | Helps participants increase understanding, gain insight | To address affective learning To stimulate thinking, imagination To replace role playing |
Writing Tasks | Helps participants reflect on their understanding of concepts, information, ideas | To provide for individual input |
Lecturette | Conveys information when interaction or discussion is not desired or is not possible | To convey information quickly within short time period To communicate same information to large numbers of people To provide basic information to a group that is not knowledgeable |
Small-Group Discussions | Offers opportunity for participants to express opinions, share ideas, solve problems, interact with others | To generate ideas To find out what participants think about a particular subject To increase level of participation To encourage group interaction and build group cohesiveness |
Case Study | Allows participants to discover certain learning points themselves. | To apply new knowledge to a specific situation To practice problem-solving skills |
Task Exercise or Activity | Allows participants to work with the content in small groups. | To test participants' understanding of concept or process To promote group collaboration To increase participants' confidence in their ability to apply learning on the job |
The Trainer's Handbook, 4th Ed. Copyright © 2016 by Karen Lawson. Reproduced by permission of Pfeiffer, an imprint of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Always keep your objectives and desired outcomes in mind as you design a training session. Table 6.3 will help you match the methods to the desired outcomes.
Table 6.3 Matching Methods to Desired Outcomes
Desired Outcome | Suggested Training Method |
Knowledge | Textbook |
Lecture | |
Small-group discussion | |
Games | |
Computer-assisted instruction | |
Video | |
Attitudes/Values | Guided discussion |
Small-group discussion | |
Role play | |
Dramatization | |
Business games | |
Case study | |
Video | |
Simulation | |
Debate | |
Understanding | Guided discussion |
Small-group discussion | |
Role play | |
Business games | |
Video | |
Computer-assisted instruction | |
Case studies | |
Demonstration/Dramatization | |
Skill Development | On-the-job performance |
Role play | |
Business games | |
Skill practice | |
Simulation | |
In-basket activity |
The Trainer's Handbook, 4th Ed. Copyright © 2016 by Karen Lawson. Reproduced by permission of Pfeiffer, an imprint of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Writing training materials is a time-consuming process. Not only do you have to create the participant materials, but you also have to create materials for yourself—or for another trainer, if applicable. Always keep your purpose in mind. Don't get carried away by including everything you know about a particular subject. It is also a good idea to have someone who is unfamiliar with the topic take a look at the materials to determine whether they are understandable and user-friendly.
When creating participant materials, whether paper-based or computer-based, remember what you know about adult learners. First and foremost, keep in mind that you are dealing with a sophisticated audience with high expectations of the trainer, the course content, the methods used, and the materials they receive. The materials should be high quality, easy to read, and visually appealing. Also provide ample space on handouts and workbooks for participants to take notes. Workbook materials should be presented in “chunks” so that the participants can quickly and easily digest the information. To make participant materials even more useful and meaningful, include specific work-related examples. Create memory aids (called mnemonic devices) such as rhymes, acronyms, or pegging (associating words with images) to help people remember lists or important points. Create models or flow charts to present processes and procedures. Use the checklist (Exhibit 6.3) to ensure that your materials are easy to understand and use.
Trainer materials include the detailed instructional plan; master copies of the slides and participant materials; background reading; and copies of the leader's guides for videos, games, and other activities. In some cases, you may want to include an actual “script” that would tell the person who delivers the training exactly what to say. This may be necessary if someone other than the designer/developer is going to conduct the training session. My personal philosophy and approach is that you prescribe what the trainer is to address or cover, but the actual wording is left to the trainer.
The amount of detail in the trainer's guide depends on several factors:
Regardless of how elaborate the finished product needs to be, it should contain these basic components:
Before you complete the instructional plan, study and select from the many active training methods presented in Chapter 7 to help you create a training program that achieves the results you want.
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