You write a great objective, put it on a slide, and then the instructor presents it to your learners. What happens? Given a technically perfect learning objective Your learners will… Yawn Space out Stop paying attention Pretty much 100% of the time But wait! Objectives are the heart of the instructional design process. So true—but… Continue Reading
It’s a tough thing to talk about instructional design (not to mention performance consulting) during a noisy cocktail party, especially with people who’ve never heard of either one. Trees. Forest. Ecosystem. Scratch the surface and describing what we do becomes complex pretty quickly. Photo © Jeanne Farrington I’m at a conference with people from many… Continue Reading
When something isn’t working right, managers often ask for training. Is training the right answer? Not as often as people think. I’m sure you’ve seen times when people wanted to make things better, assumed training would be the right answer, but didn’t get the result they wanted (no matter how great the training was). Here… Continue Reading
Temptation: Start gathering content. But instead, let’s make sure there is a need for what we’re teaching (needs assessment). This can happen faster than you think. Is it important? To whom? The individual, the organization (of whatever size), maybe the community (also of whatever size)? In other words, why do we care? This sounds impertinent,… Continue Reading
When it comes to thinking about your audience, whether you’re working on a tight timeline or you have all the time in the world, one thing you can skip is worrying about learning styles. But wait! What? Defining “Learning Styles” First, what does it mean? It’s the “concept that individuals differ in regard to what… Continue Reading
Okay, maybe not always. Still, I gave a talk without slides the other day, and I loved the freedom of it. People were engaged. They gave great feedback. I had a great time. Plus, the sponsor was happy. As I think back to other talks I’ve given without using slides, I enjoyed them more, too.… Continue Reading
Let’s say that you are designing training in a ridiculously short timeline (say, 3 days to get ready for a 1/2-day course or 3 weeks to put together a 3-week course). There are many ways to save time and still have respectable, professional-looking course materials. Of course you’ll do a great (but quick) job with… Continue Reading
Photo courtesy office.microsoft.com If our learners don’t use what they learned on the job—then why train them in the first place? Crossing the bridge from training to behavior on the job doesn’t happen for many reasons: they don’t remember how, they don’t feel confident in their new skills, they aren’t sure if the new behaviors… Continue Reading
This is Part 2 of a two-part post on Structured OJT. Having new employees watch or work with an experienced person to learn their new job is a common approach. However, many are much better at doing a job than at showing someone else how to do it. Without the right planning, expectation-setting, and support,… Continue Reading
What do you think of on-the-job training (OJT)? Inefficient? Slow? Time-wasting? Maybe. But if we add structure, it can be faster and better. Structured OJT: On-the-job training with objectives, a schedule, planned practice, supporting materials, and well-prepared coaches. Let’s say you have a few people starting jobs they don’t know how to do. A couple… Continue Reading
