We’re different. We each learn at a different pace. Remember learning spelling words in grade school? Some kids mastered all the words on Monday (the first day). Most of the kids could spell most of them by the test on Friday. A few couldn’t get half of them in a week. You can hardly blame… Continue Reading
By Calhoun Wick, Roy Pollock, and Andrew Jefferson With a strong focus on how learning assists an organization, this book gives beginning-to-end support for using learning-training-development initiatives to achieve strong business results. There are no isolated training events here. All six of the disciplines are pointed toward ensuring that what people learn will: Be essential… 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
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
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
By Richard E. Mayer For this short book (134 pages), Dr. Richard Mayer reviewed and synthesized research findings for the best evidence about learning. He organized the book into three areas: learning, instruction, and assessment. He starts with the most basic explanations, like “What is learning?” and “Why is it important to apply the science… Continue Reading
Guy Wallace, one of my ISPI friends, has been interviewing some of our leaders in human performance technology (HPT). Last year, he sat down with Dick Clark, who is an outstanding researcher in our field. They talked about HPT, cognitive task analysis, constructivism, instructional games, simulations, and ways to view evidence. Highlights. I’m sharing my… Continue Reading
Maybe. But then again, maybe not. And, isn’t it a necessary evil? Compliance means we have to put people through this whether they need it or not, right? Why talk about it? Just offer it and be done. Allison Rossett wrote a lovely post about looking into what can be done to improve this whole… Continue Reading
I was asked recently, “Should we train our students to learn this ‘from memory’?” This is a good question because of two facts that are at odds with each other: It takes a lot longer to learn to do something from memory. Training time is almost always scarce. Image courtesy office.miscrosoft.com In organizations where learners… Continue Reading
Although not for the faint of heart, this book provides a thorough overview and a fairly deep dive into the instructional design process, from analysis to evaluation. It’s a great textbook for a graduate students, and it’s a good reference for instructional designers in K-12 or corporate settings at any stage in their careers. Smith &… Continue Reading
