Learning Interventions

In the first two editions of Fundamentals of Performance Technology, the authors wrote about Performance Support Systems (PSS) that integrate learning and doing and technology to help workers obtain the knowledge or skills they need to initiate new performance or improve existing performance in a way that consistently meets the organization's goals, objectives, and strategic initiatives. Performance support system interventions were categorized as instructional or non-instructional.

In this, the third edition, the authors present two separate categories that are not classified as performance support systems but stand on their own. The first category is learning. These initiatives are largely information and/or learning-based and may include knowledge management, learning management and content management systems; education and training; and interactive learning technologies. The second category is performance support, which refers to interventions that support the performer on the job and just in time and may enhance or replace learning. Performance support is covered in Chapter 11, while this chapter describes the learning interventions outlined in Figure 10.1. Listen carefully—the voice of the practitioner may be heard commenting on a specific intervention.

FIGURE 10.1. Learning Interventions

The performance improvement practitioner selects or designs a learning intervention when a gap exists between the current knowledge, skill, or attitude of a worker or group of workers and the job specifications. Typical categories of performance support interventions include, but are not limited to, knowledge management, learning management and content management systems, education and training, and interactive learning technologies.

Knowledge Management (KM)

Definition. Knowledge management is a systematic and conscious effort to identify, capture, codify, store, transform, disseminate, and share knowledge so that people within an organization can use the organization's collective knowledge and experience to foster business innovation and competitive advantage. Since knowledge management is about “applying knowledge in new, previously unencumbered or novel situations, each organization should define it in terms of its own business objectives.”¹

Scope. In a knowledge economy, workers are paid for their expertise and knowledge. An organization supports explicit and tacit knowledge. Explicit knowledge is recorded and transmitted among people; for example, written policies and procedures, rules and regulations, and so forth. Tacit knowledge is the know-how that is not recorded and is rooted in personal experience, for example, procedures for solving peculiar problems.²

A knowledge management system supports people, technology, and content:

• “Knowledge lives in people's heads and is embedded in process through people.”³ The process of knowledge management begins and ends with people who select or design, use, and maintain the technology required to transform and share knowledge.⁴
• “Technology is an enabler, not an answer.”⁵ A knowledge management system requires the same basic technology as an information system and usually includes an intranet and groupware.
• “The heart of a good knowledge management system is in the content itself. If the knowledge management does not provide users with timely, accurate information, inform them of best practices, and link them to expertise, organizations will not realize the full value of their investment in the system.”⁶

Workplace Implementation. The knowledge management construct has been examined and applied in a wide variety of disciplines, including business process reengineering, decision support systems, expert and executive information systems, total quality management, business intelligence, library and information science, information technology, e-learning, learning organizations, computer-supported collaborative work, and document management. The performance improvement practitioner becomes a subject-matter expert (SME) on knowledge management and the various domains and disciplines that support it.

Typical inputs to knowledge management are cognitive science, expert systems, library and information sciences, technical communication, document management, decision support systems, organizational science, among others.⁷ In addition, the practitioner needs to be a life-long learner and remain updated on changes in the world of work and how they affect the organization's coping with and managing the knowledge. The practitioner also looks for pockets of organizational strength where employees are involved with knowledge creation and sharing and models and encourages knowledge sharing.⁸

If knowledge management is not active within the organization, the performance improvement practitioner could help design a knowledge management system that is user friendly. User-friendly knowledge management systems, whether off-the-shelf or custom designed, link collection, storage, and retrieval of knowledge to how people will use the knowledge and support people when they capture and share knowledge. During strategic design, the practitioner can help explore how knowledge is used and valued in the organization. The practitioner can also support integration of knowledge management with other strategic initiatives.

Once knowledge management is implemented, the performance improvement practitioner uses his or her consulting skills to “nurture the communities in which knowledge is created and shared.”⁹ The practitioner can also play a vital role in helping the organization focus the evaluation up front during the strategic planning process since measuring learning is essential to the knowledge management process. This increases chances for successfully evaluating the knowledge management system.

Two performance support tools in this chapter support these efforts. Performance Support Tool 10.1 can help guide the planning of a new or evaluating an existing knowledge management intervention. Performance Support Tool 10.2 is a diagnostic survey that helps an organization determine the effectiveness of its knowledge management practices.

Organizational Learning

Definition. Organizational learning is a conscious and deliberate way to design organizations so that they function effectively, efficiently, and provide value to their customers or clients through the goods and services that they offer. Employees are encouraged to strive for and maintain their full potential and, ultimately, make society a better place in which to live and function.¹¹ It goes beyond individual and team learning in that “organizations as entities can also learn and in fact must learn in order to survive.”¹²

Scope. Organizational learning focuses on Senge's core disciplines or characteristics,¹³ which permit an organization to function as a learning organization. The characteristics include:

• Systems Thinking: An organizing framework for looking at the world in terms of wholes and seeing patterns and relationships among the parts of the system.
• Team Learning: Employees working together with a synergistic commitment of productivity, mutual trust, cooperation, collaboration, and shared vision.

• Shared Vision: This commitment is experienced by employees when they all share in knowing what to do and in making the organization a better place for themselves and for the outside world. The alignment of one's personal goals with the organization's goals is primary.
• Mental Models: These are our assumptions about the world and how it works, testing those assumptions with new input and data, and fashioning the decisions we make accordingly.
• Personal Mastery: This is our legacy, what we strive for in life, what we want the world to remember about us and how we go about fulfilling that purpose and following that dream.¹⁴

Argyris and Schön identify types of organizational learning that have significantly impacted the field: The first occurs when an organization realizes a problem and takes corrective action to fix it; the second occurs when the organization makes a concerted effort to determine why the problem exists in the first place so that it will never occur again; the third occurs when the first and second types of learning are in place and the organization wants to find out how to continuously improve the situation and what lessons may be learned from the encounters.¹⁵

Workplace Implementation. The following suggestions help the performance practitioner to focus thinking about organizational learning. The practitioner begins by considering the organization's personality and looks at its culture, its mission, values, goals, critical business issues, strategies, and shared vision. The practitioner focuses on the organization's corporate social responsibility, that is, what the organization does to instill value in the external neighborhood or community and how the organization is contributing to its social world. The practitioner considers the type of dialogue that occurs within the organization: Do employees have a sense of their responsibility to contribute to corporate intelligence? Are leaders and managers redefining their roles by getting their hands and feet wet—management by walking around? Are sustainable management practices employed to survive our tenure in the organization? What are we doing to provide appropriate balance between work and life and how can we learn from these experiences?¹⁶

Learning Management System (LMS)

Definition. A learning management system is a software system used to manage and deliver learning content and resources to students and other learners. Since most learning management systems are web-based, they facilitate on-the-spot, any time, anywhere access.¹⁷

Scope. Global and regional training groups and teams through intranet and/or Internet “often use a network-based aggregation system that manages learning content, member activity reports, and member information … content flows to its members based on assignments, job functions, roles, and requirements … content may or may not have assessments to track the performance of the users.”¹⁸ The learning management system can be highly developed or something much simpler depending on the functions, needs, or priorities of the organization. It can also provide performance management functions such as performance appraisals and reviews, competency management, skill gap assessments, succession planning, and retention efforts and specifications.¹⁹

Ellis, in an American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) report, says that a viable and robust learning management system should be capable of personalizing content, enabling knowledge reuse, assembling and delivering training content rapidly, consolidating training initiatives on a scalable web-based platform, and so forth.²⁰

Typical LMSs include, but are not limited to, Blackboard, Moodle, Desire2Learn, and Sakai. These are also course management and collaborative learning systems.²¹

Workplace Implementation. A performance practitioner selects and implements a learning management system by determining the learning strategy and its administration, tracking, and reporting options, researching learning management companies and issuing requests for proposals (RFP), scheduling demonstrations, and demanding pilots and prototypes.²²

Content Management System (CMS)

Definition. A content management system “allows its members to authenticate their personal identification and gain access to digital files, such as customer records, documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and audio and video files from practically anywhere.”²³

Scope. A collaborative space within a secure Internet connection allows employees to work together “when accessing, uploading, editing, storing, and managing documents [with] a single point of search and distribution of these files.”²⁴ The procedures used are computer-based or manual. In a content management system many individuals can contribute and share information; can control access to data based on their roles and responsibilities within the organization; provide for easy storage and retrieval of data; reduce repetition; enhance and enrich the communication among users at all levels of the organization.²⁵ There are also learning content management systems (LCMS), which support “the creation, storage, reuse, and management of courses in a central depository.”²⁶

Workplace Implementation. The organization from top down must support a CMS. This goes far beyond providing lip service to the enterprise. In order to access digital files, there must be a secure Internet in place. Employees at various levels in the organization must have access to the central depository, and the machinery must be available and in working order for effective and efficient retrieval of data as needed. Designated individuals or a team must be responsible for updating the data, checking for errors and redundancies, and controlling and dating the versions.

Education

Definition. Education is the process that improves work performance in a focused direction beyond the person's current job or station in life. The emphasis is on broad knowledge, understanding, comprehension, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation and on transferring knowledge to future objectives, as well as to immediate life experiences and to job-related applications.

Scope. Individual and organizational change are the outcomes of educational programs.²⁷ In order for these changes to occur, “education should be seen as a fundamental and ongoing process…. The education process should emphasize immediate application of learnings.”²⁸ Traditionally, the term education refers to learning in a K–12 environment or K–20 environment with curricula designed for early childhood, primary, elementary, mid-level, high school, as well as undergraduate, graduate school, and beyond. With today's emphasis on lifelong learning, the focus shifts to educating people of all ages in multiple settings using various low- or high-tech modalities and media. The employer or the employee can act on the need for education on an immediate and on an as-needed basis.

Workplace Implementation. The Greek philosopher Maimonides offered advice to people seeking a broader, more global educational perspective when he said: “May there never develop in me the notion that my education is complete but give me the strength and leisure and zeal continually to enlarge my knowledge.” Learning is a lifelong privilege. Education is not a task to be completed, but a process to be continued.

Training

Definition. There are a variety of training designs that provide instruction to employees by employers to establish, improve, maintain, or extinguish performance as it relates to business needs. Training develops employee knowledge, abilities, skills, and attitudes to “maximize the human resource contribution to an enterprise.”²⁹

Scope. Training is a four-part performance intervention wherein:

• Objectives describe the outcomes (what the trainees are expected to know or do when the training ends)
• Content provides information to help the trainees learn
• Interaction gives the trainees a chance to demonstrate what they have learned
• Feedback provides the trainees (and the instructor) with information and data to compare the interaction to an exemplary model³⁰

Moskowitz cites essential training elements as change and goal-focused with alignment of all organizational systems. These elements also include extreme training such as scavenger hunts, ropes courses, whitewater rafting, and other kinds of adventures.³¹

Workplace Implementation. Training is big business, and it is appropriate only when knowledge, skills, and mandated experiences are necessary; otherwise, other interventions are required to close gaps or to realize opportunities or challenges. The performance practitioner is positioned to work with clients to determine whether or not training is both an appropriate and effective intervention. These points of guidance help the practitioner implement training:

1. Analyze the situation
2. Write learning objectives
3. Choose the delivery method
4. Identify content
5. Plan the learning activities
6. Structure a training program
7. Develop materials and validate the program
8. Evaluate the results³²

Self-Directed Learning

Definition. Self-directed learning is training designed to allow the employee to master material independently, at the employee's own pace.

Scope. Self-directed learning is the tendency of adult learners to prefer to take charge of their own learning; however, we can all name some people who are chronologically adult but do not behave in a self-directed manner.³³ Self-directed learning is critical for success in higher education, in organizational learning, and in selecting, training, and retaining adults who are savvy in the new interactive technologies. As self-motivated and self-directed employees are given opportunities and trust to work from home or any place at any time with laptop in hand, business opportunities and challenges will be realized and addressed. In their award-winning book about older workers and learners, Moseley and Dessinger cite research that says late-life self-directed learners “prefer self-study modules or hands-on experiences in which they can control what they learn, when they learn it, where they learn, how they learn, and why they learn.”³⁴ Table 10.1 lists major advantages and disadvantages of self-directed learning.

Workplace Implementation. A self-directed individual is one who is motivated to fulfill the demands of the work that is required, responsible to follow through when the going gets tough, trustworthy to work in a collaborative posture with peers, clients, and various stakeholders, and accountable for his or her actions. All of these characteristics demand a person who exhibits the wisdom of Solomon and the patience of Job and who can perform with humility and perseverance. In an organizational setting, a supervisor creates a suitable climate for self-directed learning to occur by providing time for the trainee to do the learning; allowing flexibility for the employee to choose those components of training that will enhance current and future status; empowering the trainee to practice the skills gained in the self-directed format; coaching the trainee to remain focused; guiding the trainee on a journey that is personally fulfilling and one that meets the organization's strategic vision and mission.³⁵

TABLE 10.1. Self-Directed Learning Guidelines

On-the-Job Learning

Definition. On-the-job learning is a “strategy used to train new employees … it has been melded with just-in-time training and has become part of a seamless, on-the-job learning continuum for workers.”³⁶ It is a “real-time change strategy”³⁷ that is defined by time, place, and resources. It is individual or small group training conducted at or on the worksite by one or more expert performers (peers or supervisors) during work hours.

Scope. It is formal (structured) when it is planned and it may involve a combination of classroom learning, role playing and simulations, job-related practice scenarios, and various assessment exercises. It is informal (unstructured) when it is the practice of asking a skilled employee to teach a new employee the tricks of the trade.³⁸ It enjoys both strengths and limitations. The fact that is does not require special training facilities, for example, takes less time to train on the job than in a classroom, and does not require the expert to leave the worksite are considered strengths. On the other hand, the fact that it may disrupt the workplace, that experts may lack training skills, and hands-on or practice time may vary are considered limitations.³⁹

Workplace Implementation. On-the-job learning is “smart” when it “is directly related to the work of the unit … the trainer is completely familiar with the topics … when it can be given in short modules … when the trainee can see what he or she is supposed to learn … when it is given by genuine experts.”⁴⁰ In addition, myriad opportunities should be provided for the novice to practice, practice, and do more practice under the guidance and direction of a designated expert coach who will communicate regularly and furnish frequent and timely constructive feedback.

Just-in-Time Learning

Definition. Just-in-time learning is a training design that takes place just before or concurrent with the trainee's need to use a specific knowledge or skill. It is real-time learning and marks the convergence of workplace learning, performance, and accomplishment.

Scope. Just-in-time learning has its origins in the manufacturing world, where it “is a company-wide philosophy oriented toward eliminating waste throughout all operations and improving materials throughout.”⁴¹ Gradually, it moved to other arenas of productivity. It is a learn-and-do intervention that focuses on need-to-know rather than nice-to-know content. Moseley and Dessinger believe “It is best suited to situations in which workers need immediate practice to master new knowledge or skills and when it is possible to roll out a new procedure throughout an organization or in pockets of the organization.”⁴²

Workplace Implementation. Just-in-time learning places substantial reliance on the employee to secure the most relevant, recent, and useful information with appropriate resources for achieving a particular purpose. It suggests that the learner is self-directed and self-motivated and that an expert guide or coach who can influence with integrity is present to answer questions, to help establish patterns and priorities, and to serve as a “sounding board” for the employee's need-to-know.

Action Learning

Definition. Action learning is both a process and a program that builds opportunities for learning around real problems and work-related issues brought to the workplace by people. Through training and education, an individual's skill advancement is enhanced which, in turn, strengthens the operational effectiveness of the organization.⁴³

Scope. The concept of action learning was developed more than seventy years ago as a way to improve performance. Action learning groups focus on problems that are complex, systemic issues, important to the organization, and not easily solved by experts or ready-made right answers.⁴⁴ There are two basic types of action learning programs: programs presented by the organization and everyone in the group works on its solution under the guidance of a champion; programs wherein each group member brings a problem forward and group members take turns at being the client by focusing on results, taking a systems view, adding value, and establishing partnerships.⁴⁵

Workplace Implementation. Table 10.2 provides guidelines and process elements for action learning.⁴⁶

TABLE 10.2. Action Learning Guidelines

Components	How the Process Works
Groups of 6 to 30 employees	Representatives from different businesses or from different functional areas
Reflection on lessons learned from previous experiences	Apply knowledge to create more effective future performance
Take action on issues or problems brought to the group	Group wrestles with problem; finds alternative with help of group process expert
Selection of appropriate problems	Lasts weeks, months, or years, depending on projects selected and needs of members
Action learning vehicle: common problems and tasks	Action learning focus: learning and development of group members
Highly charged environment	Collaborative efforts with keen listening skills

Source: Froiland, 1994, pp. 27–34. Used with permission.

Blended Learning

Definition. Blended learning is a “system which combines face-to-face instruction and learning with computer-mediated instruction.”⁴⁷

Scope. Historically, it is “the ongoing convergence of two archetypal learning environments … traditional-face-to-face learning environments … [and] distributed learning environments (learning resources distributed in space and time to support learners anywhere and everywhere) that have begun to grow and expand.”⁴⁸ Why would one want to choose a blended learning modality over other types of learning? Osguthorpe and Graham's research suggest reasons for designing, developing, and implementing a blended learning system:⁴⁹

Workplace Implementation. There are many challenges to designing blended learning systems. Practitioners need to be good instructional designers who can deliver content with an effective blend of technologies. They also need to pilot blended systems, teach teams the elements of a blended learning experience through action, and prepare organizations, always remembering that learning is a life-long process of mastering change.⁵¹

Technical and Nontechnical Learning

Definition. Technical training is “instruction intended to help people perform the unique aspects of a special kind of work and apply the special tools, equipment, and processes of that work, usually in one organizational setting.”⁵² Clark defines it as “a structured learning environment engineered to improve workplace performance in ways that are aligned with bottom-line business goals.”⁵³

Non-technical training is another name for soft skills training, which is “training to help people learn how to interact with other people.”⁵⁴ It involves changing attitudes rather than knowledge or skills.

Scope. Rothwell and Benkowski see it as purely hard skills training that differs from soft skills training and basic skills training; whereas Clark believes that it includes both hard and soft skills. In a technical training environment, the trainee must process and learn the content by remembering essential information and data, by applying the information and data to a particular job-related problem, opportunity, or challenge, and by evaluating the process and reflecting upon it.⁵⁵ The audience for technical training includes workers who are responsible for the following tasks;

• Producing, packing, or distributing tangible products (automobiles, electronic components, soap, batteries) or services (customer billing, sales, selection, hiring, retention)
• Using equipment or technologies (forklifts, computer applications, magnetic resonance imaging, total quality management, techniques, tools, digital technologies)
• Servicing or maintaining equipment, technologies, or processes
• Troubleshooting equipment, technologies, or processes

One way to determine whether the skill or task is technical or non-technical is to ask: Is there one right or wrong way to perform? If yes, then the skill or task is technical; if no, then the skill or task is soft; if sometimes, then the skill or task may be a hybrid with hard and soft components, for example, troubleshooting, which requires thought and skill for resolution.

Workplace Implementation. Whether technical or non-technical, the performance practitioner makes certain that the training supports the organization's needs and critical issues and is aligned to the organization's strategies, vision, mission, and goals. Participants for the training have to be properly identified and have the appropriate resources to perform the job. The practitioner checks the expertise and credibility of vendors and external consultants who can offer specialized services and makes certain that appropriate delivery methods, including blended ones, are selected based on learning effectiveness, cost effectiveness, and time allocation and, finally, evaluate and reflect and reflect and evaluate.⁵⁶

Social Learning

Definition. Social learning is learning from each other; it is “collaborative, immediate, relevant, and presented in the context of an individual's unique work environment.”⁵⁷

Scope. By harnessing social media to facilitate social learning, workplaces can build a collaborative culture within the organization and leverage new technologies and strategies to support and sustain social learning at work. Social media help people in organizations learn faster, innovate frequently, exchange new knowledge and data, collaborate with peers, form partnerships with customers, and add value to services or products. Researchers from the United Kingdom say that to be considered social learning, a process must:

• Demonstrate that change in understanding has taken place in the individuals involved,
• Demonstrate that this change goes beyond the individual and becomes situated within wider social units or communities of practice, and
• Occur through social interactions and processes between actors (people) within a social network.⁵⁸

Bingham and Conner have this to say: “The new social learning provides people at every level, in every nook of the organization, and every corner of the globe, a way to reclaim their natural capacity to learn non-stop. Social learning can help the pilot fly more safely, the saleswoman be more persuasive, and the doctor keep up-to-date.”⁵⁹

Workplace Implementation. Today's and tomorrow's workplaces will continue to change, thanks to social media and the powerful social learning that takes place in organizations as employees gather to solve problems and realize opportunities in real time. Social learning and the social competence that results represent a fundamental shift in how people work and learn and how they see themselves functioning within corporate social responsibility in the greater society.

Employers have an obligation to make corporate learning fun, engaging, participatory, and well-integrated within the fabric and threads of work. Ralph Lauren says, “I don't design clothes; I design dreams.” Working within a framework of Web 2.0, social learning, through various social media, will help organizations design and fulfill dreams by sustaining competitive advantage, maintaining market position, and building brand loyalty. A social media strategy leads to powerful social learning by identifying business drivers, forming a coalition of stakeholders, hosting a social media boot camp, creating a launch plan, developing a pilot offering, designing a communication plan, and agreeing on metrics.⁶⁰ It is particularly wise from an evidence-based perspective to choose metrics that are appropriate to the organization's strategic plan, identify key performance indicators, and track performance on a regular basis.

Interactive Learning Technologies

Definition. Interactive learning technologies are more than software and hardware. They are any learning technology (method or media) that encourages and supports the active involvement of the learner with the content, the instructor, the technology, other learners, and the learning resources.

Scope. Interactive learning technologies help learners “learn to learn” by encouraging engagement and dialogue among learners, clarifying performance expectations, and helping learners with information needed to manage scope, depth, and breadth of new content. Recognizing and accepting individual differences along with cross-fertilization of ideas that comes from sharing, empowers learners to be self-directed.⁶¹

Workplace Implementation. In order for the many learning technologies to be effective with multiple generations of learners, each selected technology requires a thorough understanding of the target population; a curriculum or course of study that is needs-driven and meticulously designed; special instructional techniques to accommodate effective and efficient usage; practice sessions that are monitored and feedback that is constructive and timely; an evaluation plan that answers what worked and didn't work, why, and how it can be improved; and special administrative and organizational arrangements that are linked to critical business issues and strategic planning. Remaining cognizant of organizational goals and objectives, project management tools and techniques, and the realization that interactive learning technologies are best approached as a team effort will also guide the implementation journey.

Enterprise Learning

Definition. Enterprise learning is a training design system that delivers instruction that is critical to the entire organization and must be disseminated to a large number of people dispersed over a wide geographic area.

Scope. Enterprise training is both a driver and client of interactive learning technologies. It is largely defined by scope and that scope is BIG. The logistics and time elements for enterprise training are daunting, and the budget can be staggering.⁶² Enterprise resource planning (ERP) drives the need for enterprise training. For example, many companies are faced with backing up process change with massive software implementation that touches a lot of jobs and requires enterprise-wide training and e-commerce.⁶³ The major concept behind enterprise training is that “training delivered via the web has no boundaries, that it can reach anyone in any far-flung corner of a global business organization, twenty-four hours a day.”⁶⁴

Workplace Implementation. The performance improvement practitioner is well-positioned as both a generalist and a synthesizer to assist organizations to initiate and implement major steps for integrating enterprise learning technologies into the overall education and training strategy by:

• Selecting an infrastructure (learning management system and/or content management system) to support enterprise-wide learning
• Deciding how to populate the system with courses, for example, analyze learner and organizational needs, existing courses, available technology, instructional standards, and the like
• Identifying vendors to provide off-the-shelf or customer-designed courses
• Identifying consultants who can help organizations with data allocation and maintenance⁶⁵
• Integrating learning with the organization's business needs and requirements

Classroom Learning

Definition. Classroom learning is education or training delivered by a live instructor to a group of learners at a location separated from the actual worksite.

Scope. Live classroom learning is used for all types of learning: facts, concepts, rules, principles, verbal information, attitudes, and so forth.⁶⁶ When the learning is interactive, it becomes more interesting, more challenging, more engaging, and fun. Live classroom learning is a “legitimate, creative, and rewarding” workplace learning and performance intervention if it is well-designed and suitable for solving a specific performance problem.⁶⁷ “Despite the continued growth of e-learning and newer technology-driven methods … and tightened purse strings, … classroom learning remains resilient and dominant … in today's learning organizations.”⁶⁸

Chief Learning Officer magazine reports learning delivery survey data conducted by their Business Intelligence Board (BIB) from 1,500 professionals in the learning and development industry. “According to the survey, 41 percent of learning executives indicated they continue to use classroom training as the primary learning delivery method. Formal on-the-job training tied asynchronous e-learning for the second highest ranked instructional delivery method (18 percent), followed by synchronous e-learning (11 percent), text-based training (4 percent), satellite video (4 percent), and portable technology (1 percent).”⁶⁹ BIB adds that “For delivering soft skills training, the classroom-based method is even more prevalent and has proven to be remarkably resilient … use of instructor led training for soft skills is only slightly down this year (2011, 65 percent) after its peak in 2009, when 69 percent of executives employed it as their delivery method of choice.”⁷⁰

Workplace Implementation. The key to determining whether or not classroom instruction is the appropriate and most efficient and effective vehicle for learning and problem solving is to conduct a thorough performance analysis. The PT practitioner is well-positioned to do this based on human performance knowledge, the systems perspective, and the value-added viewpoint. Practitioners “need to analyze the learning or performance problem, the organization, the type of knowledge and skills required to solve the problem, and the available delivery strategies before deciding to select live classroom learning as the best performance improvement intervention.”⁷¹ Based on a thorough analysis, the practitioner determines whether live classroom learning is possible, appropriate, and the best solution and whether live classroom learning should stand alone.

Distance/Distributed Learning

Definitions. Distance learning is a system for delivering instruction to learners who are separated by time and/or space. Synchronous distance learning is instructional delivery that occurs at the same time but not necessarily in the same place. Asynchronous distance learning is instructional delivery where time and place are different.

Distributed learning is a form of distance learning that adapts to and supports the expressed needs of the learner. While the terms distance learning and distributed learning are often used synonymously, there are operational differences between the two. For example, distributed learning has a just-in-time, just-for-me orientation.

Scope. The idea behind these systems is moving information rather than moving people; it is delivering instruction in nontraditional ways via myriad technologies that are currently available. They enjoy a rich history, which evolved from correspondence courses to live interactive instruction.⁷² Broad categories of distance/distributed learning are

• Audio-based—audio cassettes, CDs, radio, audio teleconferencing, podcasts, mobile devices, and other media;
• Video-based—DVDs, broadcast television, satellite and microwave transmission, closed-circuit and cable systems, Internet;
• Computer-based—interactive computer-based media with audio and video capabilities and linkages to inter or intranets; and
• Internet-based—e-mail, chat, instant messaging, online discussion forums, webinars, blogs and wikis, audio and video conferencing, web-based instruction.⁷³

Workplace Implementation. Careful planning is necessary for success of any distance learning modalities. The performance practitioner begins with an understanding of the distance learner and the reasons for choosing the distance format and whether or not that learner has had previous experience with these systems of instructional delivery. The practitioner provides a distance learning module with the “need to know” essentials prior to the beginning of delivery and follows with explicit directions, timelines, guidelines, back-up plans, browser settings, software, and frequently asked questions (FAQs) for learner access, properly configured browser settings, and necessary software.

The practitioner is always mindful of cost, technical difficulty, and the need for training and support. Finally, the practitioner realizes that not all content is compatible with distance learning. You would not want to have your heart surgery performed by the surgeon who has learned the skill via the Internet and medical school lectures. Here hands-on experience working with small animals, cadavers, and actual operating room practice and guided coaching with an expert heart surgeon and team are necessary.⁷⁴

Online/e-Learning

Definition. Online/e-learning is a system for delivering instruction to learners using intranet or Internet technology. It is also called web-based learning, web-based training, distance learning, distributed learning, e-learning. e-Learning is “the use of electronic technology to deliver education and training applications, monitor learner performance, and report learner progress.”⁷⁵

Scope.e-Learning is networked to allow instant updating, storage, and retrieval. It is delivered via computer, and it focuses on the broadest views of learning from traditional training to tools that improve performance.⁷⁶

It is most effective for the acquisition of knowledge and as part of a systematic approach to learning with appropriate support. It provides strength for communities of professional practice. It is least effective when interpersonal interaction is necessary.⁷⁷

According to an ASTD State of the Industry Report, a survey that includes responses from many practitioners including various corporations, government, military, and selected professional groups, nearly one-third of all the training content delivered through myriad modalities is now delivered electronically.⁷⁸ Among the most frequently occurring e-learning practices are programs that support tests and knowledge, those which present content and opportunities to practice and receive feedback, and job-specific programs that allow tracking.⁷⁹

Rosenberg lists many benefits to e-learning such as lowering costs, enhancing business responsiveness, messaging that is consistent or customized, timely and dependable content, learning 24/7, building community, leveraging the corporate investment in the web, and others.⁸⁰ There are, however, constraints to e-learning involving cost, change in employee attitudes, unprepared infrastructure, and others.

Workplace Implementation. Piskurich says: “Accommodation of e-learning solutions will require a thorough review of your learning program. From the instructional systems design model to the delivery mechanisms, from learning professional skills to the expectations of learners, there are few systems and processes that will emerge from the transition to e-learning in their present form.”⁸¹ Now is the time, as Rosenberg says, “to move from e-learning talk to e-learning action … and you do this by having a strategy.”⁸² The performance improvement practitioner is well-positioned to work with the organization to develop a robust performance strategy using the Performance Improvement/HPT Model introduced in the earlier chapters.

By determining the target population, analyzing the current and desired state and determining the gap or performance challenge, by considering vision and mission, conducting force-field and SWOT analyses, the practitioner is positioned to suggest recommendations that lead to a robust action plan.

Wikis

Definition. A wiki is “a collection of web pages which can be easily created and edited by individuals who visit them.”⁸³ The best-known example is Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia.

Scope. A wiki resembles a blog. Individuals can collaborate with others to create and edit web page text using a web browser like Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox. A collaboratively focused environment permits content to be changed by anyone who visits the site. Changes are tracked and, if desired, users can roll back older versions of a page. There are also many communication avenues ⁸⁴.

Workplace Implementation. Wikis can be found in business, healthcare, management, education, the arts, physical and natural sciences, social sciences, and other areas and disciplines as well. However, their content needs to be frequently evaluated for accuracy, comprehensiveness, integration, value, completeness, and effectiveness. An excellent evaluation checklist for a wiki user is available in the Toker, Moseley, and Chow article cited at the end of this section and in the references.⁸⁵

Avatars

Definition. Avatars are “digital representations of computer users … characters or images that represent one person in an interactive exchange … avatars function from either a first person or third person perspective.”⁸⁶

Scope. Avatars are gaining popularity as an emerging technology, especially in learning environments in higher education chat rooms They function in two ways: “In e-learning environments, avatars almost always operate as agents of the e-learning application and help guide users through the environment. By contrast, in virtual worlds, which are computer-based simulated environments, users represent themselves with avatars and interact with other users' avatars.”⁸⁷ There are potential benefits of avatars in educational and performance environments as well as constraints and obstacles. Blake and Moseley⁸⁸ provide criteria for the design and use of avatars in educational settings and suggest questions to ask when considering avatar use.

Workplace Implementation. Avatars provide a balance between interactive modalities and traditional modalities. They fit nicely within a constructivist learning environment because they give learners the opportunity to learn on their own or to use coaches or facilitators as “peripheral advisors.” Learners need to be prepared in advance. Instructors need a contingency plan if technical difficulties arise. Since they are time-consuming to design and develop, avatars should be considered only if they enhance learning and instruction.

And More …

It is impossible to list all potential interactive technologies. The reader should also consider email, chat, instant messaging, online discussion forums, podcasting, webinars, blogs, video conferencing, virtual learning systems like Second Life, and others. A good resource on educational technology or on teaching and learning with technology should provide solid background information for the anywhere and any time novice worker in interactive technologies. For example, consider books by Bonk,⁸⁹ Carliner and Shank,⁹⁰ Tarlow and Tarlow,⁹¹ Silberman,⁹² and Boone.⁹³

Games

Definition. Games are experiential learning activities that contain elements of fun, surprise, and challenge. They are designed for two or more participants who follow rules for problem solving and decision making.

Scope. We are all familiar with popular board games or TV game shows; however, the emphasis here is on games for instructional purposes in different workplaces. Organizations are using games to motivate trainees, encourage their learning, and sharpen their work-related repertory of knowledge and skills. Games are particularly useful for team development activities where game characteristics and instructional context are cohesively joined. Perhaps the most pertinent finding from Sitzmann's research is that “Trainees who participate in game play retained 9 percent more information than trainees who did not.”⁹⁴

A successful game meets these criteria:

• Provides a simple, single-purpose activity that focuses the participants on a job-related concern
• Incorporates on-the-job application of the learning
• Provides just-in-time training
• Is carefully integrated into the total training session
• Uses a short and clear procedure of two to four steps
• Access is available as often as needed⁹⁵

Workplace Implementation. Experience and research indicate that solid learning must be “goal-oriented, contextual, interesting, challenging, and interactive and … most effective learning experiences are also engaging … and hard fun.”⁹⁶ So too with games. Designing a game requires considerable up-front planning. Knowing the learning goals and integrating them to the game, developing all component parts and piloting them before implementation, and following up with a debriefing session to determine the lessons learned are further guidelines.⁹⁷

Here is a tremendous opportunity for the performance improvement practitioner who knows the organizational content, the business needs, the learning needs, and the performance needs to work very closely with an instructional designer who knows learning theory, goals and objectives formulation, instructional design principles and strategies, interactive technologies, and evaluation procedures and best practices.

Simulations

Definition. Simulations are highly interactive experiential learning activities that mirror reality and allow participants to manipulate equipment or situations to practice a task; for example, land a plane, troubleshoot car mechanics or electrical circuits, trace pulmonary functions, learn anatomical procedures without harming the patient, or decide on how to handle a workplace conflict between a manager and an employee.

Scope. Simulations are useful when training requires a show-and-do approach and it is impossible to “do” it in the real world because of exorbitant cost and/or safety factors. Simulations “vary greatly in the extent to which they fully reflect the realities of the situation they are intended to model … simulations are by design active … provide realistic practice with feedback in a realistic context.”⁹⁸ They range in complexity from paper-based to computer-assisted; from simple linear video to interactive video; from role play to digital.

Simulations are used in instruction when role plays or open-ended interaction among people is required, and they are well-suited for teaching motor skills, complex skills, social interaction, human relations skills, and decision-making skills in varieties of disciplines.⁹⁹ They are an excellent way to engage participants in the learning situation since participants are challenged with solving a problem that has direct bearing on an aspect of the job.

There are also simulation games, experiential learning activities that combine the characteristics of a game and a simulation. A game has rules and regulations; a simulation has a modicum of reality with role play.

Workplace Implementation. The performance improvement practitioner becomes familiar with the types of simulations that are available and feasible in the current organizational environment. Preparation for a simulation is essential as well as knowing the target population, the learning objectives, and the linkages between simulations and the real world of work. The practitioner prepares the facility, the timeline, and the coach.

In delivering the simulation, the practitioner establishes ground rules, observes, communicates, and knows when to intervene. Debriefing is critical for success; the practitioner should ask:

• How did you feel?
• What happened?
• What did you learn?
• How does this relate to your work life?
• What if … ?
• What next?
• Why? Why? Why?¹⁰⁰

“Students are changing. They are increasingly pragmatic. They crave interaction and personalization … are highly visual … problem solvers … averse to reading … want more in less time … are computer savvy.”¹⁰¹ Simulations can keep learners motivated, engaged, challenged, and committed.

Citations

1. Dalkir, 2005, p. 21

2. Knight & Howes, 2003, p. 12

3. Fitter, 1999, p. 55

4. Whiting, 1999, p. 2

5. Charney, 1999, p. 96

6. Barclay & Murray, 1997 p. 13

7. Barclay & Murray, 1997 pp.5–6

8. Rossett, 2000, pp. 62–69

9. Fitter, 1990, p. 60

10. Maier & Moseley, 2003, pp. 168–184

11. What Is Organizational Learning?, 2005

12. Silber & Kearny, 2010, p. 240

13. Senge, 1990, pp. 139–269

14. Silber & Kearny, 2010, p. 241

15. Silber & Kearny, 2010, pp. 241–243

16. What Is Organizational Learning?, 2005

17. Learning Management System (LMS), (n.d.) (n.p.)

18. Clemons & Kroth, 2011, p. 19

19. Clemons & Kroth, 2011, pp. 19–20

20. Ellis, 2009, p. 1

21. DeLoose, Unger, Zhang, & Moseley, 2009, pp. 28–32

22. Ellis, 2009, pp. 5–6

23. Clemons & Kroth, 2011, p. 19

24. Clemons & Kroth, 2011, p. 19

25. Personal interview with Ann Chow, February 7, 2011

26. Rosen, 2009, p. 224

27. Caffarella, 1994, p. 2

28. Jewell & Jewell, 1992, p. 226

29. Pepitone, 1995, p. 13

30. Langdon, 1999, pp. 382–383

31. Moskowitz, 2008, pp. 2–32

32. Chan, 2010, pp. v-vii

33. Brookfield, 1994, p. 25

34. Moseley & Dessinger, 2007, pp. 132–133

35. Piskurich, 1993, p. 167

36. Moseley & Dessinger, 2007, p. 249

37. Jacobs, 1999, p. 608

38. Moseley & Dessinger, 2007, p. 249

39. Rothwell, 2005, pp. 237–242

40. Carr, 1992, pp. 189–191

41. Bateman & Snell, 1999, p. 319

42. Moseley & Dessinger, 2007, p. 249

43. Marquardt, 1999, pp. 23–25

44. Marquardt, 1999a, p. 2

45. Marquardt, 1999b, pp. 43–45

46. Froiland, 1994

47. Bonk & Graham, 2006, p. 5

48. Graham, Allen, & Ure, 2003, p. 4

49. Bonk & Graham, 2006, p. 5

50. Graham, 2006, p. 5

51. Osguthorpe & Graham, 2003, p. 8

52. Bonk & Graham, 2006, pp. 10–16

53. Hoffman in Bonk & Graham, 2006, pp. 27–40

54. Rothwell & Benkowski, 2002, p. 7

55. Clark, 2008, pp. 10–11

56. Clark, 1994, pp. 124–125

57. Rothwell & Benkowski, 2002, pp. 52–58

58. Meister & Willyerd, 2010, p. 265

59. Peterson, 2010

60. Peterson, 2010

61. Bingham & Conner, 2010, p. 6

62. Meister & Willyerd, 2010, p. 6

63. Vazquez-Abad & Winer, 1992, p. 676

64. Stamps, 1999b, p. 40–46

65. Stamps, 1999a, pp. 40–48

66. Moseley & Dessinger, 2007, p. 270

67. Yelon, 1999, p. 486

68. Yelon, 1999, pp. 485–517

69. Prokopeak, 2011, n.p.

70. Prokopeak, 2011, n.p.

71. Prokopeak, 2011, n.p.

72. Lever-Duffy, McDonald, & Mizell, 2005, pp. 346–349

73. Newby, Stepich, Lehman, Russell, & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, 2011, pp. 211–217

74. Newby, Stepich, Lehamn, Russell, & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, 2011, pp. 211–217

75. Sales, 2002, p. 3

76. Rosenberg, 2001, pp. 28–28

77. Sloman, 2002, p. xvii

78. ASTD State of the Industry Report, 2008, p. 35

79. Rossett & Marshall, 2010, pp. 34–38

80. Rosenberg, 2001, pp. 30–31

81. Piskurich, 2003, p. 77

82. Rosenberg, 2001, p. 291

83. Toker, Moseley, & Chow, 2008, p. 22

84. Toker, Moseley & Chow, 2008, pp. 24–26

85. Toker, Moseley & Chow, 2008, p. 27

86. Blake & Moseley, 2010, p. 14

87. Blake & Moseley, 2010, p. 14

88. Blake & Moseley, 2010, pp. 16–19

89. Bonk, 2009

90. Carliner & Shank, 2008

91. Tarlow & Tarlow, 2002

92. Silberman, 2007

93. Boone, 2001

94. Sitzmann, 2010, p. 20

95. Salopek & Kesting, 1999, p. 28

96. Quinn, 2005, pp. 9–17

97. Giunta, 2010, pp. 76–77

98. Smaldino, Russell, Heinrich, & Molenda, 2005, p. 33

99. Smaldino, Russell, Heinrich, & Molenda, 2005, pp. 33–34

100. Browner & Preziosi, 1995, pp. 179–181

101. Aldrich, 2005, p. xxix

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