Instructional Design for Action Learning

by Geri McArdle

Overview

This book gives you all the guidance and exercises you need to incorporate action learning into every training you conduct.

A trainer’s job is to ensure their lessons stick, which means relating lessons to their trainees’ own on-the-job experiences. Author Geri McArdle teaches trainers how to do this by using the strategies of “action learning” in their lesson design and presentation to help learners better absorb the material.

Filled with examples of easy-to-implement action learning techniques, Instructional Design for Action Learning shows you how to: 

• create fun and memorable activities that match participants’ needs, learning styles, and levels of understanding;
• encourage learners to build on their own experiences;
• evaluate learner mastery during the entire learning event;
• strengthen learning transfer back on the job;
• and accurately measure post-training results.

By providing trainers with the tools they need to make real learning happen, this essential guide strengthens the value of your program--and the job performance of those you train.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814415672
Publisher:	AMACOM
Publication date:	09/01/2010
Sold by:	HarperCollins Publishing
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

GERI MCARDLE, PH.D. has been a practitioner in the human resource field for 20 years, and has published numerous articles on HR development and training. She has served as coordinator of a Ph.D. program in HR development at Barry University in Fort Myers, Florida, and is one of the ASTD seven master trainers recognized by T+D.

Read an Excerpt

Instructional Design for Action Learning

---

By GERI MCARDLE

AMACOM

Copyright © 2010 Geri McArdle
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-8144-1567-2

---

Chapter One

Define the Training Need

The goal of doing a training needs assessment (TNA) is to determine whether a need exists, who needs training, and what tasks need to be trained. When conducting the TNA, it is important to remember to include managers, trainers, and employees. At one time, just trainers and training instructional designers were concerned with the TNA process. Today, as training becomes increasingly used by companies to achieve their strategic goals, upper and middle managers are involved in the assessment process as well.

Employees often can feel confident of their abilities to perform on the job and lack any motivation to improve their performance. A properly designed and implemented training program will instill both confidence and motivation in the people you train. Training based on a specific context and on techniques specific to the workplace will demonstrate that change is not only possible but also desirable, and thus will motivate employees to change and improve even more. If you conduct some front-end assessments and design your training based on your assessment results, you should be able to make final adjustments before the training begins.

How Do You Get Started?

Here's an overview of the six steps that you will use to design and conduct a TNA:

1. Plan a preliminary and formal data-gathering session. Involve management early in the process; by doing this, everyone benefits. Management is often the driving force behind a TNA, and you must have their support before beginning an analysis. The training project agreement (shown in Figure 1-1) represents such support. By conducting a TNA in an environment that fosters mutual respect and honesty, you give yourself every advantage for reaching an agreement with management about the outcome.

2. Identify the types of data to gather. It saves time and money to determine if training is an appropriate response to a perceived problem. Providing training simply because it was requested does not guarantee success. You must decide if the situation calls for training. You must also establish the following:

* How will the proposed training affect the audience?

* How will the proposed training be accepted by the audience, supervisors, and management?

* How will the training affect the entire organization?

3. Create well-stated questions. Questions guide the analysis process. Defining the problem clearly is critical to developing a successful training. Answers to the following two questions help define the area of need:

* Why do or don't people perform well?

* What performance level is desired?

4. Gather the information. It is important to examine knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) in the analysis. The work environment is an important factor in the process; so, too, is examining individuals' KSAs about their tasks, jobs, bosses, and organizations. Together, these factors influence your decision about whether to provide training. For example, they might show that the problem has to do with an environmental situation (e.g., poor lighting) or that it is the result of unrealistic deadlines, not inefficient training.

5. Prepare and analyze the data. It is important to differentiate between the two types of responses:

* Training, which teaches an immediate job skill

* Education, which provides theories, content, and knowledge to be applied in the future

6. Develop a presentation to show your findings. You may decide to share your preliminary findings by either a brief written report or a presentation. The format you choose depends on you and the organization. The specific message you want to deliver with either communication is that you will deliver training that has been identified as a need and that you are using the following three indicators to measure individual and organizational performance:

* What should and does the organization consider baseline skills?

* What is the group intelligence of the individuals, groups, departments, and organizations?

* What is the expected change in performance?

Who Conducts the Training Needs Analysis?

A trainer or consultant performs a TNA to collect and document information concerning any of the following three issues:

1. Performance problems

2. Anticipated introduction of a new system, task, or technology

3. Organization's desire to benefit from a perceived opportunity

Here, you will get a clear idea of the need, look at possible remedies, and report on the findings to management before deciding on the best solution. A TNA often reveals the need for well-targeted training. However, keep in mind that training is not always the best way to close a gap between the organization's goals and its actual performance.

Where Does the Training Needs Analysis Fit?

Conducting a TNA is a systematic process based on specific information-gathering techniques. Each stage builds off the last; the findings of one stage will affect and help shape the next stage. There is no easy formula for carrying out this process. Each particular situation requires its own mix of observing, probing, analyzing, and deducing.

In many ways, the TNA process is like detective work: you follow up on every lead, check every piece of information, and examine every alternative before drawing any conclusions. Only then can you be sure you have the evidence on which to base a sound strategy for problem-solving a performance issue.

How Do You Manage the Training Needs Analysis Process?

It's important to have realistic expectations for this process. Just what can you expect from a TNA? Find out if you've got the right idea by taking the quiz in Table 1-1.

A TNA begins with a snapshot of the current situation. You probably won't need a telephoto lens for this part of the process, but you do need to look closely and objectively at both the operations and the people whom the coming changes will affect. Once you have a clear picture of what needs to change, you can assemble your task group and continue with the TNA.

The TNA process consists of four basic steps:

Step 1: Surveillance

Step 2: Investigation

Step 3: Analysis

Step 4: Report

Step 1: Surveillance

As you embark on a formal TNA, you need an accurate idea of the situation. This preliminary step is an opportunity to determine if a need exists. Once you identify a need, you must determine the type of need.

To define the needs, you should consider the magnitude of each need. There are two levels, as shown in Table 1-2: micro and macro.

Table 1-3 shows examples of the two types of needs.

Once you determine the type of problem, the next thing to think about is how to define the gaps that exist between what is happening and what is desired.

Step 1a: Define the Gap

When a performance need exists or an organizational need surfaces, the first decision most managers make is to train the problem away. However, it's important to consider other methods, too. Before thinking about a training program, you must determine if training is the appropriate response to the problem.

There are other good reasons to conduct a TNA before actually developing a training program. When you design training activities, it is extremely helpful to obtain case material directly from the workplace or participants' individual work situations. That way, you can base your designs on real situations that participants face rather than on simulated material.

To determine the gap, you must ascertain the current level of performance and then define the desired state of performance. Of course, you won't see all of the needs by yourself. You will need to observe the day-to-day operations of the organization and interact with people at all levels, from the production line to management.

In many cases, a manager will bring a performance or training need to you. However, if you are not faced with an immediate problem, and you would like to provide training, you can begin with a macro scan of the organization. Here are two questions to help you get started.

1. What results does the organization currently achieve?

2. How do the actual results compare with the expected results?

Or, if a performance problem is involved, you should determine how the performance has changed from the past and what the desired performance is.

Figure 1-2 is a worksheet to help you make an initial assessment of current and desired results. You will gather more detailed data later on, in Step 2. For now, you'll want to concentrate on identifying needs, not developing solutions. Look for trends. When you compare the organization's needs with the employees' perceptions, the issues will emerge.

During surveillance, you should regularly review the situation in your organization. Automatically circulated documents that provide state-of-the-organization themes or issues will give you an up-to-date, broad picture of what is happening, and you can begin scanning for performance problems and training opportunities.

In addition, make an effort to maintain informal contacts with individuals throughout the organization. Regularly assess the attitudes and feelings of the organization's staff, even if your assessment is subjective. Stay abreast of all policies, procedures, and standards relating to work performance.

An easy way to find useful material is simply to ask the potential participants to identify their needs. Going directly to the participants for the information gives them a role in designing and developing the training. Also, they usually appreciate being involved, and this increases the program's likelihood of success.

If you cannot collect information directly from each person in your target audience, consider the following two options:

1. Send a questionnaire to participants before meeting them. This gives you the opportunity to tell them about yourself and your plans for the upcoming program, and to learn about them.

2. Phone or visit some of the participants for an interview. By learning more about them and what they expect from the training, you can better focus the course content. It also minimizes any potential awkwardness when you meet in the classroom.

The sample audience analysis profile in Table 1-4 will help you formulate your questions and record employees' responses.

The employees' responses will help you complete the problem analysis profile; Table 1-5 is a typical problem analysis profile.

Without the overall picture, you could overemphasize one need at the expense of others, wasting resources.

Once you have defined the gap, you'll need to get some assistance in conducting a preliminary needs survey. In this step, you gather input from various constituencies that will be critical to your TNA. You might want to organize a task force; if so, you can start organizing your task force by doing the following:

* Ask around to find out who is interested in joining the task force.

* Select members from multiple departments.

* Help the group appoint a contact person.

When you select your team, choose members who know and care about the situation and also some people who do not care but should. Also, try to identify a champion, a person committed to training who you can call upon for support and resources. You will need this support later to get through critical points in the TNA.

Step 1b: Organize the Data

The next step is to organize the information you have gathered so far.

* Sort the information into categories.

* Separate training issues from nontraining issues. For example, some problems you find might be related to a policy issue such as the organization's compensation package.

* Identify content or training topic issues.

* Determine whether an issue is a hands-on skill issue.

For the most part, training needs are performance related, such as helping employees do their jobs better, orienting new employees, or

keeping employees informed of technical and procedural changes. Some training activities also provide employees with an opportunity to develop their skills and knowledge, usually in connection with performance-related needs. Once you classify the needs by types, organize and prioritize each list.

Step 1c: Prioritize the Training Needs

Review your list of needs, and rank each of the needs based on the cost of training to meet them versus the cost of ignoring the needs. Alternatively, you can carry out a cost–benefit analysis for each need or cluster of needs. Use these questions to help sort the data you gathered during this preliminary needs investigation:

* What will a solution cost?

* How much time will the solution take to resolve?

* What is the cost of ignoring the problem?

Next, make a list of priorities and corresponding suggested actions for each priority entry. You can present this list to management to help you gain their support of your proposed solution.

Remember, a top priority for senior management is the bottom line. They will mostly be looking at the bottom line and the solution's overall contribution to the organization. Line managers are interested in evaluating solutions based on their costs in terms of lost or delayed production, employees' time, and possible overtime. Little will be accomplished without management support.

Your goal before the meeting is to write a well-defined problem statement. The pre-meeting guide in Figure 1-4 will help you organize your presentation. As you prepare, consider the following four factors:

1. Time: It's important to have a good idea of how long your analysis phase will take. It's a planned process that takes time to design and conduct; if there are many complex issues, the process will take longer.

2. Need: The assessment process requires resources. Make sure management understands the process and why it's a necessary investment in the design process.

3. Time Lines: Don't spend all of your valuable time in the assessment process. Make sure you develop an appropriate and reasonable time line for the conducting and reporting phase of the TNA process.

4. Cause and Effect: Look for situations in which one situation affects another, and look for root causes. Separate problems from symptoms.

When you have your material ready, schedule the meeting. Don't forget to invite other staff, if appropriate.

Use Figure 1-5 as a guide during the meeting with management to help you stay on track. It is designed to assist you in recording the decisions you and management reach. During this meeting, you must do the following:

* Define the task.

* Agree on the needs.

* State the desired outcome.

* Establish shared responsibility.

* Identify a contact person for the report.

* Record management's commitment to proceed.

Below is a list of categories that you should include in your guide:

1. Description of the target topic: performance standards, work conditions, and supervisor's performance expectations

2. Description of the participants: stated need, current performance levels and knowledge, and attitude toward task and training

3. Description of training session: time frame for planning, stakeholders, conditions under which training will be conducted, available resources, and instructor skills

Step 1d: Complete the Post-Meeting Summary

As soon as possible after the initial meeting, complete the post-meeting summary memo. The memo should request a written commitment to continue the TNA, state agreed-upon allocation of resources, describe the goals you want to achieve, and establish a project time line that lists all of the steps in the needs process. Use the client summary memorandum in Figure 1-6 to record your findings. Below is a list of the items that you should think about when preparing the summary:

1. The sources of the information gathered

2. All names of individuals, groups, or documents

3. Indication of whether sources are internal or external to the organization

Step 1e: Draft the Problem Statement

You are now ready to start defining the need and gathering evidence to support the assertion that a need exists. The key element in the preliminary needs analysis process is the problem statement. Use the training needs outline in Table 1-6 to define your training need.

(Continues...)

---

Excerpted from Instructional Design for Action Learning by GERI MCARDLE Copyright © 2010 by Geri McArdle. Excerpted by permission of AMACOM. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

---

Table of Contents

Contents

PREFACE....................VII CHAPTER 1: DEFINE THE TRAINING NEED....................1
CHAPTER 2: DESIGN THE LEARNING TO FIT THE NEED....................55
CHAPTER 3: PREPARE TO CONDUCT THE TRAINING....................127
CHAPTER 4: SET THE SCENE FOR LEARNING....................184
CHAPTER 5: IMPLEMENT THE TRAINING....................207
CHAPTER 6: MEASURE THE EFFECTIVENESS....................235
APPENDIX....................277
ADDITIONAL READING....................285
INDEX....................293