Creating Training that Sticks

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Creating Training that Sticks

• Solving the Puzzle of Good Training Design

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Objectives

• Incorporate principles of learning and retention
  into training design.
• Apply adult learning principles to improve
  training design.

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Your Objectives

• What objectives do you have for yourself?
• Think of one objective that tells what you hope
  to be able to do with the learning you gain
  today.

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• Tell me and I forget, show me and I remember,
  involve me and I understand.
• - Chinese Proverb
• Learning is not a spectator sport.
• - D. Blocher

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Learning vs. Remembering

• How do we learn?

• Through our five senses
• Taste
• Sight
• Hearing
• Smell
• Touch

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How do we learn?

• 1 through the sense of taste
• 1.5 through the sense of smell
• 3.5 through the sense of touch
• 11 through the sense of hearing
• 83 through the sense of sight

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Polling Question 1
smell

• 1.5 through the sense of
• Sight
• Smell
• Hearing

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Polling Question 2
hearing

• 11 through the sense of
• Sight
• Smell
• Hearing

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Polling Question 3
sight

• 83 through the sense of
• Sight
• Smell
• Hearing

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Polling Question 4

• What does this mean?
• Training programs should be primarily visual.
• Humans take in the majority of information
  visually.
• Training presented auditorily is not beneficial.

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Learning vs. Remembering

• How much do we remember?
• It depends on how we acquired the information
  (reading, hearing, seeing, etc.) and what we have
  done to interact with the information (nothing,
  discussed it, experienced it, etc.)

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How much do we remember?

• 10 of what we read.
• 20 of what we hear.
• 30 of what we see (graphically).
• 50 of what we see and hear.
• 70 of what we discuss with others.
• 80 of what we experience personally.
• 90 of what we teach to others.

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Polling Question 5
hear

• 20 of what we
• Teach to others
• Hear
• Discuss with others
• Read

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Polling Question 6
hear

• 50 of what we see and
• Teach to others
• Hear
• Discuss with others
• Read

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Polling Question 7
discuss with others

• 70 of what we
• Teach to others
• Hear
• Discuss with others
• Read

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Polling Question 8
teach to others

• 90 of what we
• Teach to others
• Hear
• Discuss with others
• Read

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Why is this important to know?

• It should affect how you design learning.
• It makes the risk of a shortened timeline/reduced
  resources more apparent.
• It allows you to make informed choices.

• It can help you become a better designer.

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Practice Scenario

• You have been asked to produce a piece of
  training around some fairly minor system
  enhancements.
• What options do you have?
• Self-study job aid
• Web presentation (Centra, WebEx, etc.)
• Self-guided practice
• Classroom training

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Practice Scenario

• What option will you choose and why?
• What percentage of the information are learners
  likely to remember?
• Self-study job aid 20
• Web presentation (e.g., WebEx) 50
• Self-guided practice 80
• Classroom training depends how it is designed

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Learning Transfer

• How can we help learners transfer and apply their
  learning to their work?

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Factors that Impact Learning Transfer

• Present information in multiple contexts
• Provide activities that are realistic and
  relevant
• Help learners build a base of knowledge
• Spend enough time doing the right kind of practice

• Ensure that learners learn with understanding

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Exercise Learning with Understanding

• 1 6
• 2 7
• 3 8
• 4 9
• 5

This is an exercise to demonstrate the impact of
having participants understand what they
learn. Memorize the table to the left, then go to
the next slide.
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? Number Activity
Using the code you memorized on the previous
slide and translate the numbers to the left using
the symbols for each digit.
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73
149
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Polling Question

• How did you do?
• One correct
• Two correct
• Three correct
• Part correct
• None correct

If you provide context, and a frame of reference
for the code, such as .then learners will
find the exercise more intuitive and meaningful.
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Facilitating Transfer

• For greatest transfer, learners need to
• Associate new information with something they
  already know.
• Fit new information into an existing, logical
  framework or pattern.
• Move forward from a solid base of original
  learning.
• See the benefit or criticality of information.

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Key Points

• The brain is an image processor. Use pictures,
  graphics.

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Key Points

• The brain is an image processor. Use pictures,
  graphics.

• Previous experience impacts transfer.
• Previous knowledge impacts transfer.
• Providing a variety of contexts is important.

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Adult Learning Principles

• What motivates you to learn things?

• Making your own decisions about what you learn?
• Having work be easier, faster, better because of
  it?
• Wanting to achieve a particular goal?
• Getting a pay increase for obtaining education
  hours/credits?
• Satisfying your own thirst for knowledge?

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Adult Learning Principles

• What are adult learning principles?
• How do they apply to training design?

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Adult Learning Principles

• Adults are independent and self-directed. They
  need to be free to direct themselves.

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Adult Learning Principles

• Involve adults in the learning process.
• Ask them what they would like to learn have them
  define objectives for themselves.
• Show them how a class will help them reach their
  goals.
• Guide adults to their own knowledge rather than
  simply supplying them with information.

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Adult Learning Principles

• Adults bring a reservoir of experience to
  learning. They have accumulated a lifetime of
  experiences and knowledge from work, home, school.

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Adult Learning Principles

• Acknowledge the wealth of information adults
  bring to training.
• Connect new learning to their existing knowledge.
• Draw out relevant knowledge and experience.
• Use tools that enable you to gather information
  about the audience.
• Relate theories and concepts to participants
  lives.

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Adult Learning Principles

• Adults are ready to learn when they assume new
  roles. They are goal-oriented.

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Adult Learning Principles

• Ask about their goals.
• Show them how the class will help them meet their
  goals.
• Provide an organized program with clearly defined
  elements so they can see where the course is
  heading.
• Make learning applicable to learners jobs.

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Adult Learning Principles

• Adults want to solve problems and apply new
  knowledge immediately. They want information that
  is relevant and practical. They often focus on
  aspects of a lesson most useful to their
  immediate work.

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Adult Learning Principles

• Make learning applicable to their work or other
  responsibilities.
• Relate theories and concepts to familiar settings
  and scenarios.
• Let participants choose projects that reflect
  their own interests whenever possible.
• Tell participants explicitly how the lesson will
  be useful in the given situation.

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Lets Work on It
Design better training by applying the principles
in this presentation.
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Action Plan

• Identify two goals for yourself for your next
  development / modification project
• Be realistic dont overcommit
• Start small and work toward the more complex

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Summary

• Theory of Learning and Memory
• Principles of Learning Transfer
• Adult Learning Principles

• How to Apply to Training Design

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Creating Training that Sticks
Maggie Haenel Vice President, Michaels
Associates mhaenel_at_docntrain.com