Effective Training Tools Make a Difference
Enhance Staff Performance with Productive Instruction Sessions
Feb 1, 2009
The first step in designing an effective training module is to write a description of the course. The description should be no more than two or three concise sentences that tell the reader what the course is about and what he or she will get out of it. A purpose statement is also important right after the description. This is different from the description in that it will state why someone should take the course, what benefit he or she will receive by taking the training.
Course Objectives
Each of the course objectives for the training module needs to be based on the course description. Write one to three objectives for each module in the training course, starting each one with an action verb. The outcome is something that the participant will be able to do upon completion of the course, it is not a task, but it is a skill.
For example (the italicized part of the following is implied, not actually written as part of the objective), "Upon completion of this course, the participant will be able to Design (action verb) a complete training course." To learn more about writing course objectives, access this information at Penn State University called How to Write Clear Objectives.
Course Standards
In order to determine if the participant meets the objectives of the course, a measurement must be in place. This measurement is commonly called the Standard. Standards can cover more than one objective, or each objective can have a separate standard. Standards are many different kinds of activities like tests, writing papers, doing presentations, participating in discussions, group activities, etc. The standards are written as a single statement that the training facilitator can use to evaluate the participant's comprehension of the course. An example of a standard for the objective above would be: "Design a course complete with description, purpose, objectives, standards, activities, and assessments."
Training Modules
Divide the course into training modules or learning sessions. The easiest way to do this is to look back at the objectives and design a single module for each objective. If two or more objectives are related, the module content can cover more than one outcome. Determine the length of each session. If the training is going to be face-to-face, each module can be one hour, one meeting, four hours, or whatever works with the material and the time allotment. Decide how much time is needed to cover each objective by completing activities that will measure the objectives(s) for that session.
Session Content
Content for the sessions can be found online, in the textbook (if there is one) for the course, or can be written by the training facilitator. Copy and paste links to articles and Websites that are relevant to the topic, recommend magazines or books to read, and design activities that will utilize the reading material. Activities originally suggested by the standards can be projects, papers, group activities, and participation in discussions. Assessments should be designed to measure the learning and to determine whether or not the participant has met the objectives.
Final Review
There needs to be one final piece to the learning session or module. Review all the material covered, pointing out the objectives for the session and review how they were met. If there is going to be another session, preview what will be covered in that session. One way to evaluate the level of learning that happened in the entire training session is to administer pre- and post-assessments. Use the objectives as questions and determine the participants' expertise before and after the training.
In Conclusion
A well planned training session, one that includes objectives, measurable standards and is broken into modules, will enhance the skills of the participants and meet three enterprise objectives, as discussed in this article from the West Africa Capital Market School: Objective Based Training: Full Report.
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