The Next "Generation" of Learning
Generation means that people need to make their own meaning, literally generating their own links while learning, not just passively listening to ideas. We need our brains to create rich webs of links to any new concept, linking ideas to many parts of the brain.
Using different types of neural circuitry to link to an idea is the key. Meaning, we should be listening, speaking, thinking, writing, and other tasks about any important ideas.
Source: Your Brain on Learning, published in Chief Learning Officer, May 2015
Online Learning Conference Coming Up!
Have you checked out the Flipped Classroom concept that Training Magazine is promoting for their upcoming Online Learning Conference (Oct 6 - 8)? Check it out - it has some great resources that you can check out even without being a registered participant for the conference such as 8 recorded webinars on topics such as social media, video, eLearning and more.
If you are attending - be sure to visit the site and access the great handouts and videos being posted by the speakers. And if you are registered - we'll see you there!
How to Improve Training Recall? S P A C E O U T Learning
Long-term recall is far better when we learn information over several sittings, and any amount of spacing appears to help a lot. The longer we need to remember information, the more the learning should be spaced out.
Source: Chief Learning Officer Magazine, May 2015, Your Brain on Learning
Successful Virtually Delivered Training Is Dependent On...
Many organizations are using virtually delivered training programs due to companies’ widespread geographic locations and the just-in-time nature of delivery that the synchronous platforms allow. Unfortunately, not many organizations are doing it well.
At a minimum, there are three key components for successful virtually delivered training. None is more important than another – all must be created, tested, and executed to perfection. The good news is: all are completely within your control.
Content
Many organizations are moving what used to be delivered in a classroom to an online format. This requires translating concepts and content into a new format. The face-to-face class simply cannot be replicated in the online environment, so it is important to make critical decisions about what to keep, what to distribute in another way (such as reading or an e-learning module), and what to deliver in another way (such as on-the-job coaching).
Virtually delivered training, by default, is blended learning. There is no way around it. Not everything can be delivered successfully in a synchronous online environment, nor should it be. For example, reading a case study might be done during 5 minutes in the face to face class, but it is not a good use of online time. Therefore the case study should be read at another time (what to distribute in another way). Doing some work asynchronously (independently) and some work together, during the online session, is the very definition of blended learning.
Materials
Materials are critical in the online environment. This include slides, because it is a very visually-oriented delivery medium; Participant Guides, because very often a learner will be the sole individual enrolled in a class at his/her location, and the learner needs some sort of reference material or supporting documentation in order to follow along in the class; and scripted Facilitator Guides to ensure the training achieves the intended learning outcomes while ending in the allotted time (virtual, online training is very tightly timed).
Most especially, when it comes to slides, get rid of the PPT templates, get rid of the bullets, and create visual, engaging “canvases” for creating.
Mastering Technology
Luckily, technology is rather fool-proof these days unless something is done that purposefully interferes with its operation. Like most physical skills, using technology only gets better with practice. A best-practice is to always rehearse the delivery one or two days in advance of the scheduled class. No matter how many times a facilitator has delivered the same session, it’s always a good idea to practice it –in the synchronous environment – to be comfortable with the tools, their location, their execution, and their results (e.g. does it look better to highlight a particular piece of text, or underline it?).
Creating and re-designing training to be delivered via a virtual technology can be a daunting task.
There are many details to be aware of and manage. If you find yourself being overwhelmed, concentrate on these three things and you will more than ensure your success.
Adobe Connect Tip
Load your files to the Shared Content Library first, then load to your share pod from the library. This prevents errors when the pptx is "converted" for Adobe Connect use.
One common conversion error is bullets that don't have space between the bullet and the text (even though your slides, in PowerPoint format are perfectly bulleted).
How To Assess Real Results From Your Corporate Training
The four levels of corporate training evaluation (and the futility of most training evaluation) was discussed in this earlier blog post; but in this post we will discuss the types of training evaluation that allow you to assess real results.
Level three evaluations are the most logical evaluations to deploy because they get at the purpose of the training – to change people’s behavior on the job. A Level three evaluation then determines if people have actually changed their behavior by either observing them in action, asking them for their own assessment, or asking for a third-party’s assessment.
Level three evaluations incorporate Level two evaluations because the evaluator is able to determine if the trainee is utilizing the knowledge that they acquired during the training and applying it to their work.
Level Three Evaluations
Observation – by a manager, quality control or even a training person An observation form must be utilized so that the evaluation is not subjective (Did the trainee acquire the customer information, using the five prescribed questions, in the correct order? vs. Did the trainee begin the customer interaction correctly?)
Personal assessment – is frequently used for Level three evaluations because many organizations find observation to be cumbersome (it requires asking a third-party to conduct it, it requires disseminating and retrieving information, and other administrative tasks which are all subject to not being completed). In a personal assessment the trainee, once they are back on the job for a period of tame (three weeks, three months) reports on their own changed behavior.
Questions utilized include:
Have you applied the ___ process in your day-to-day work?
How many times a day would you say you utilize the process?
Have you seen positive results from utilize the process?
Can you provide an example of when you used the process and what the outcome was?
These types of questions not only help the training department to understand how the training is being utilized on the job, they also cause the employee to realize how they have changed their behavior as a result of training, and further, if the individual has not changed their behavior, these types of assessments help to reinforce the fact the training is an investment the organization has made in that individual and it is an investment the organization intends to follow up on.
Level Four Evaluations
Level four evaluations then tell us whether the investment in the training was worth it. For example: if the intention was to increase sales, did sales numbers go up? These types of evaluation require a lot of number crunching AND require a baseline of data to compare against, which many organizations simply don’t possess.
Factors and Nuances
One nuance which makes Level four evaluations difficult to conduct is determining how long it will take for the training to become “the way we work.” When can the training department be confident that what was taught is truly ingrained in to the trainee’s everyday work responsibilities? In other words – when should the measurement take place? If a goal was set prior to the training process - say, increasing sales by 50%, and sales increase by only 20% in the first three months following training – would that be considered a failure? What if, instead, the trainees were able to increase their sales by 20% every quarter following the training? Then that outcome would far exceed the 50% goal. So when is the “line in the sand” drawn and success or failure determined?
Another nuance is that the long-term effects of training can be quite difficult to factor. For instance, if the intent was to increase sales, the training department might evaluate the sales numbers three months or six months after the training; but rarely will they evaluate it again a year after the training. And in some cases, where sales results are residual, the ongoing effect of the training is never quantified. For instance, in insurance sales, teaching salespeople to cross-sell (e.g. selling an umbrella policy to a current homeowner’ policy owner) not only results in an immediate uptick in sales, but also, when the policy is renewed, that sales training results in an ongoing increase in sales.
Sadly, most companies don’t take the time to extrapolate their training outcomes to Level three and Level four. It is acknowledged that evaluation at these levels can be time consuming and cumbersome, but these results are crucial for training departments to measure and communicate their worth to the organization as a whole.
Training Evaluation - What Does It Tell Us? Not Much!
4 levels
Most companies who do conduct evaluation of their training programs will stop at Level 2 evaluations (see graphic).
Level one evaluations are often called smile-sheets or butts-in-seats evaluations. They are realistically opinion gauges. they ask too many questions, including questions about the facilitator’s knowledge and skill, the quality of the learning materials, the comfort of the training room or delivery methodology (e.g. if it were e-Learning), etc. Unfortunately, the responses provide little useable information in return. Smile-sheets could be revitalized and used to a better purpose with just a bit of tweaking of the questioning process.
Level two evaluations are intended to test knowledge. They are typically a type of test – either paper-and-pencil (or these days, computer generated) or a demonstration / performance of skill (for instance, if you are teaching an individual to run a cash register, you wouldn’t want to stop at simply asking them questions about cash register operations – you would want to see them physically operate the cash register as well).The biggest drawback of Level two evaluations is that they realistically gauge short-term memory. They are typically distributed immediately after the training concludes, so most individuals have a relatively good chance of passing that type of evaluation.
Level three and Level four evaluations - those that assess whether the training is being used on the job and whether the intended business impact of the training was realized, are more complicated to design and administer and more often than not, simply not utilized in most businesses.
If you’d like to learn more about effective training evaluation, see this associated posted: How to Assess Real Results From Your Corporate Training.
Quotable: Marcus Buckingham
We've studied the best team leaders, and they don't write performance reviews, they don't give feedback. I don't want feedback. I want attention.
And the best team leaders seem to understand that what we really want is coaching attention. Don't give me feedback. Don't tell me where I stand. I want to know how to get better. Coach me right now. Help me get better next week.
As quoted in HR Magazine, June 2015. Business as Unusual.
Thinking Through Instructional Design Choices (Tailored Learning book excerpt)
Depending on the delivery method, designers must consider how these choices influence design, desired impact on the job, and any assessment plan.
Design Implications
Different delivery methods will change the design of the course. A classroom-based course can be very interactive and can include group activities in the design. However, an asynchronous would determine whether the interaction or activity is crucial to the learning, and if not, then determine how the same learning outcome could be achieved by an independent learner.
Impact on the Job
Ultimately, any training program should enable participants to return to their jobs and implement what they have learned during the training. To accomplish this, the learning must be designed in a way that is immediately applicable on the job, and the participant must be motivated to use the new knowledge and skills.
For example, in a classroom-based training course, a follow-on activity might be for the facilitators to check in with the participants once a week to see what kind of success they are having implementing their new knowledge and skills back on the job, as well as to offer support and coaching. However, if the training course is designed to be offered asynchronously, the coaching may have to be offered by the participant's sales manager or more senior salesperson in the office. While the same objective can be met, the methodology for meeting that objective might be quite different.
The Assessment Plan
If the ultimate goal is to have an individual return to the job prepared to implement new knowledge and skills, then there should be some way of assessing whether the training has been successful in accomplishing that goal. Similar to on-the-job considerations, assessment approaches might differ depending on how the training is delivered. Therefore, the assessment for each objective will be defined once the training approach has been determined.
Changing Behavior Through Asking Questions
Because adults have a lot of "rules in their heads" about how things work (or how they work best for them) they aren't inclined to change their behavior on the job simply because you say so or even if you tell them why a change is in their best interest.
One of the ways you CAN assist adults in changing the way they think about a behavior, and the potential benefits of changing that behavior, is through asking questions.
Here is an example: Let's assume you are not registered to vote. You could read a pamphlet (asynchronous learning) or attend a voter registration meeting (how to register, your voter rights) but none of that information is likely to get you to change your beliefs / behavior regarding voting.
What if, instead, you were asked "Why is it considered a privilege, in the United States, to have the right to vote?" or "Why is it important for you, personally, to register to vote?" NOW you are getting at deeper analysis and thinking. People need to think through and explain their reasoning. Sometimes they will come up with the same answer (not going to register; no compelling reason to vote), but more often than not, they change their thinking and more importantly they change their behavior because they came up with the "answer" on their own (even though you led them to it; but shhhh, that will be our little secret).
Asking the right types of questions is a powerful technique to assist adults in adopting new ways of thinking and behaving. We challenge you to go through a course you currently teach and simply insert some questions that will cause your learners to think. You'll realize remarkable changes in behavior when you do so.
Guest Blogger: Margie Meacham
The Neuroscience of vILT
The Society of Applied Learning Technology (SALT) reports that “the vast majority” of companies plan to expand their use of VILT in the near future. Yet only 20 percent of these same companies find this delivery medium to be very effective.
So why do they keep doing it?
The survey respondents say the primary reason is to save money. The next most-frequent response is reducing time away from the office, while the third reason is the ability to train large numbers of people quickly.
If you want to avoid investing time and money in training that is economical but ineffective, you might want to apply a little bit of science to your VILT programs. In this post, we’ll discuss the importance of design.
Design for engagement
Many VILTs follow a very predictable format. The first few minutes are spent getting organized and positioning participants online, followed by introducing the instructor and the topic. At the end of the class, there is usually a brief quiz or poll. The predictability of your programs may be causing your learners to tune out or multi-task instead of focusing.
This behavior occurs because the brain has developed pattern recognition as a survival mechanism. Our brain tends to relax in familiar surroundings and shifts into high alert in unfamiliar surroundings. Somewhere between feelings of boredom and anxiety is the highly productive level of attention. To help your VILT participants pay attention to you, design your VILTs for maximum engagement.
Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Jump into the content right away.
Have you ever walked into a class or meeting a few minutes late and felt yourself scrambling to catch up with the conversation? If you start with content right away, your participants will be forced to pay attention immediately. There’s also a secondary benefit: people will start logging in early to be sure they don’t miss anything. This approach, on many television programs, attempts to engage views immediately so that they aren’t tempted to switch channels while the predictable credits are showing. The credits eventually appear, several minutes into the program. You can do the same with your standard introductions.
Ask a challenging question in the chat window.
While polls have their place, you’ll get a lot more interaction from the use of the chat window. Pose a question that doesn’t have a clear right or wrong or answer; then sit back while participants share their opinions. This simple tool helps your VILTs become social learning events in which participants learn from one another, not from the “the sage upon the stage.”
Promote a participant to a presenter.
When we watch someone else solve a problem or learn a new skill, mirror neurons fire in our brain in the same way as the person we’re observing. We visualize ourselves in their place. A fascinating study demonstrated that students who watched others practice proper basketball free-throw techniques improved almost as much as those who were actually practicing. A very effective VILT technique is to have participants take turns trying a new skill. Let the rest of the class, rather than the instructor, provide help as needed to maximize the effect.
VILTs are here to stay. Designing them to be more engaging will help you get better results from your investment.
About Margie Meacham: Brain-aware Instructional design and performance improvement consultant Margie Meacham, “The Brain Lady,” is a scholar-practitioner in the field of education and learning and president of Learningtogo. She specializes in practical applications for neuroscience to enhance learning and performance. Margie’s clients include businesses, schools and universities. In addition to her Brain Matters Blog on learningtogo.info, she also writes a popular blog for the Association of Talent Development (ATD) and has published her first book, Brain Matters: How to help anyone learn anything using neuroscience. Her next book: The Genius Button: Using neuroscience to bring out your inner genius will appear in November, 2015.
Quotable: Alice Kim, Ph.D.
It's a misconception that trying to match knowledge delivery to someone's personal learning style or perceptual preference translates to better learning.
Dr. Alice Kim, Rotman Research Institute for the study of human brain function
Why We Should Ban Cell Phones During Training Classes
Gloria Mark, of the University of California, Irvine, has shown that workers typically attend to a task for about three minutes before switching to something else (usually an electronic communication) and that it takes about 20 minutes to return to the previous task.
Source: Harvard Business Review, June 2015, Conquering Digital Distraction
Music and Memory.org
The Training Doctor has just gathered up all its employee's old iPods and shipped them to Music and Memory to help "expand our proven program of personalized music to reach more individuals struggling with Alzheimer’s, dementia and other forms of cognitive and physical impairment.
A 5-minute task - a significant impact. Won't you consider doing the same?
How Do You Define "Competence" In A Job?
Very often when we design training we also want to design some type of test or certification which helps us to assure the organization that learning truly did take place. What most training departments struggle with, however, is how do you define competence? How can you ensure, through some type of test, that the trainee truly does understand what they've learned and can apply it on the job?
Very often when clients of ours ask us to create a Level 2 evaluation (a test) they ask of us: “So what should be the level of success?” In other words, what is a "passing grade?" Often, we fall back on the standards we learned in grade school - an 80 or better would be considered "passing" and better than average. But, in the reality of the workplace, do we really want someone who performs 20% less than they optimally could? It is not logical for us to churn out marginally capable individuals.
A solution to this dilemma is to secure a comparator. A comparator is essentially the standard of excellence or competency which we want a new trainee to be able to replicate. A comparator can be established through identifying those individuals, already on the job, whom the organization deems to be the best at their job. That might be the best salesperson, the machinist with the lowest quality defects, or the collections agent who has the best collections rate.
Don't look to just one individual because you have the potential to miss excellent practices which that individual might not employ. Judith Hale, of Hale Associates, even suggests NOT choosing your best performer but instead your B+ performers. Her philosophy is that the A+ performers don't even know what they do anymore; they are on autopilot and have forgotten what it is like to be new and still thinking through the process and applying rules.
Develop the comparator by conducting a time and task analysis of how your chosen performers do their job. This is a detailed observation of their day-to-day responsibilities: how they complete their responsibilities, how they organize themselves and what period of time it takes them to complete their job correctly and competently.
Once you have those comparators identified, you can then determine what the level 2 - or potentially level 3 - evaluation would seek to determine/establish. (Note: once you have the comparators, you can also establish your objectives.)
Rather than pulling a "level of excellence" out of thin air, instead, take the time analyze your best performers and establish a truly defensible expectation for competence and excellence on the job.
No, You Cannot Replicate Your F2F Class Online...
What most organizations don't appreciate is that it is impossible to take a classroom-based class and replicate it online as it currently exists. They are two different delivery mediums which require two different instructional design techniques.
Too often organizations simply strive to replicate the classroom experience; so they use the same participant guides, the same slides and the same activities, which fall flat and/or fail to support the learning experience in an online class.
Quotable: Bob Pike
When performance is the question, training is the sixth answer.
When we have deep conversations with managers about performance and help them focus on all the possible barriers to performance first - systems, policies and procedures, recruitment, placement, and coaching - but using some or all of these still does not provide the performance and results we want, then it is time to look at training.
Bob Pike is founder of The Bob Pike Group
How does one "prepare" to work in training?
What makes a "training professional?" Interestingly, the May/June edition of Training Magazine has a feature article, "2015 Emerging Training Leaders" and the formal degrees of the 25 individuals featured include: journalism, psychology, social work, biology (2), mechanical engineering, education (whew! we were getting worried), entrepreneurial studies, English lit, ecommerce, communications (warmer), genetics and French.
Things that make you go "hmmm." (Thanks Arsenio Hall)
Ensure Training Validity with an Advisory Committee
Establish an Advisory Committee
An advisory committee should be created in order to help you determine what training needs to be developed for your organization, and what is a priority. An advisory committee should be made up of front line workers from across the organization and from all levels, from hourly workers to supervisors. For example, if you want store managers to conduct new hire training, it's a good idea to have input from store management, supervisors, front-line workers, and back office workers. They will provide their thoughts on how the training should be delivered and what should be accomplished by the conclusion of it.
An advisory committee should have no more than 13 members, and the membership seats should be rotated regularly. Larger groups can be harder to facilitate, and you want to be sure everyone has an equal chance to participate in the discussion. You'll find that you don't have to do as much marketing of the training function when you have 13 ambassadors who return to their work areas every month understanding that they are responsible in part for the success of the organization.