1. Running
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EDUCATION
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TRAINING:
DESIGN
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TEACHING
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Education and Training: Design of Training Programs and Accuracy in Teaching
Lauren Baskett
Albright College

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Abstract
When designing and teaching a training program, the top priority should be gaining the
student or employee’s trust and to establish a connection with that person. An effective
training program must also be structured and include face-to-face interaction, as well as
computer interaction. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the important aspects of a
successful training program, training programs among educators, the use of training
programs for treating tobacco dependence, the positive effects of training programs, and
ethical principles involved when designing and teaching training programs. The content
also examines the design and education among various countries and cultures.
Keywords: training program, design, employees, education, tobacco dependence

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Training programs are used in schools, companies, and among psychologists to
help treat patients with tobacco dependence. Structure and interactions with computers
and people are what help to make an effective training program. It is important that while
designing a program to focus on gaining the trust of the trainee. This paper will discuss
what makes an effective training program, the use of training programs among educators,
the use of training programs for treating tobacco dependence, the positive effects of using
a training program among employees, and ethical principles taken into consideration
when designing and teaching training programs.
Fisher (2013) mentioned that psychologists who design and teach training
programs must gain the trust and loyalty of their consumers. The consumers consist of
institutions, students, employees, and others. A violation of gaining trust and loyalty
would be against Principle B: Fidelity and Responsibility. “In psychology, such
faithfulness includes promise keeping, discharge and acceptance of fiduciary
responsibilities, and appropriate maintenance of scientific, professional, and teaching
relationships” (Fisher, 2013, p. 26). Principle B also states “psychologists seek to meet
their responsibilities by avoiding conflicts of interest that would jeopardize trust or lead
to exploitation or harm and consulting with other professionals when necessary” (Fisher,
2013, p. 26). It is crucial for psychologists and anyone involved with a training program
to do everything to avoid violating this principle.
Niles (2014) emphasized the importance of ethics and the reasons why good
ethics education is difficult to accomplish for four reasons. The first reason why is
because of the “deficit” model of continuing education. This involves improving upon
skills that people lack. The problem with this is that no one wants to be told they are

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deficient in ethics. The second reason is peoples’ desire for immediate, practical, useful
information. Instant gratification does not necessarily mean it is ethical. The third reason
is the need to deal with values. Values are different across different cultures and
countries. Chances are a group of employees will not completely agree on every ethical
issue because of their values. The fourth reason is fear of controversy. Since people want
to avoid controversy in a training program it is common that the program content is dull
and boring (Niles, 2014). Some ways to address ethical dilemmas include: using the
infusion model, extending the program over a specific period of time, offering informal
discussion opportunities, providing training in interpersonal skills and conflict resolution,
helping people develop their emotional intelligence, do not shy away from controversy,
provide support and information for people on how to set up ethics programs in the
workplace, and make resources available on professional and business ethics (Niles,
2014).
In addition to keeping ethics in check while designing and teaching a training
program, it must be effective for the students and employees. Burley (2014) lists four
characteristics of an effective training program that allows employees to learn to their
highest potential. The first characteristic is learning objectives. This characteristic aims to
answer the question “Why am I taking this program?” that every student and employee
asks. It is important for trainers to communicate the objectives at the beginning of the
training program so that the trainees have goals to meet by the end of the program. The
second characteristic is involvement. An effective training program consists of multiple
exercises and practice sessions at the end of each module. Activities include role-playing
games and problem solving activities in small or large groups. Group activities ensure

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that everyone participates (Burley, 2014). The third characteristic is the opportunity to
share experiences. Adults have a variety of experiences to reflect upon that can be
beneficial in training. Sharing opportunities also brings different points of view that can
be beneficial to other peoples’ training. Burley (2014) states, “for true learning to take
place, trainees need time to reflect on what they have just learned and then discover how
to apply it back on the job” (p. 2). The fourth, and most important, characteristic is to
make it fun. By making a training program fun the employees and students will be more
likely to retain the information learned and apply it in real life situations. Also,
employees and students will be more involved and participate if the activities are
enjoyable.
Ross, Singer-Dudek, and Greer (2005) conducted research about training in
education through the use of the Teacher Performance Rate and Accuracy Scale (TPRA).
The TPRA is a direct teacher observation, which is used in teacher evaluation and
training. The researchers gathered information about the TPRA, such as implementation
procedures, formulas and data analysis, and instructional implications. The TPRA
measures teacher-student interactions during instruction. This is measured by counting
learn units, which are the combination of an antecedent, behavior, and consequence
(Ross, Singer-Dudek, & Greer, 2005). The results indicated a correlation between the use
of the TPRA and teachers’ and students’ instructional responses. There were increased
numbers of: instructional sessions taught, learning objectives achieved, correct student
responses, learn units per minute, opportunities to respond, and presentations of learn
units during non-observational periods (Ross, Singer-Dudek, & Greer, 2005).

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Tunio and Aziz (2012) evaluated the effectiveness of the English language
training programs for teachers in Sindh, specifically in District Larkana, in secondary and
post-secondary schools. Participants consisted of 200 English teachers in District Larkana
who received training through programs taught in the English language in the Larkana
area. Data was collected through surveys, interviews, and observations (Tunio & Aziz,
2012). The results indicated several findings. First, most of the training programs were
unsuccessful in teaching professional skills development for the teachers. Second, learned
skills were not used in the classroom. Third, using the English language was very
important for students to learn better and they were able to understand other subjects by
understanding English. Fourth, teacher training programs were only beneficial for the
teachers who genuinely wanted to learn. The teachers who went to the trainings only
because they had to did not benefit from the trainings. Lastly, the programs lacked a
follow up system to ensure the skills are used in the classroom. The researchers
concluded that the trainings administered in Larkana offered little benefit to the teachers
and students (Tunio & Aziz, 2012).
The use of online learning has become much more prominent as technology has
advanced in recent years. Face to face learning is still commonly used, but with online
learning on the rise, blended training of online learning and face-to-face learning is
trending. Lee (2010) conducted research about the design of blended learning and
applying it in the workplace. The purpose of the study was to find what factors learners
perceive affect transfer from an online learning module to the face-to-face learning
module. Also, what factors learners perceive that affect transfer from face-to-face
learning to their job (Lee, 2010). Data was collected through the use of literature review,

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document analyses, focus group interviews, one-on-one interviews, and an online survey.
The study was a six-week management leadership development program offered by K-
Smarts Group corporate university in Korea. Employees must take the program in order
to be promoted to the senior manager level. The purpose of the training is for employees
to develop strategic thinking, corporate values, leadership, innovativeness, and
understanding of market and customers (Lee, 2010). The training is conducted in a
blended learning format. The focus group interviews were conducted with four training
designers, contained open-ended questions pertaining to factors that inhibit and facilitate
transfer training in the program, and lasted nearly one hour (Lee, 2010). One-on-one
interviews were conducted with a training designer, consisted of open-ended questions,
and lasted 45 to 90 minutes. The online survey consisted of 58 questions about the
blended program and a few demographic questions. The answers were on a Likert scale
ranging from one to five, one being no influence of transfer from program to workplace
and five being strong influence of transfer (Lee, 2010). The results indicated that face-to-
face learning is ideally recommended in order to provide the learners with a continuous
learning experience. It was also noted that the face-to-face interaction and online modules
must be closely connected to ensure transfer from training to the workplace (Lee, 2010).
Callahan, Ruggero, and Parent (2013) conducted research on training programs in
clinical psychology. The purpose of the study was to identify Clinical Psychology
programs that excel at training, specifically in two areas. The first measurement was the
success of students being placed into internships. The second measurement was their
success at passing the Examination for the Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP).
The data was collected from 233 Clinical Psychology doctoral programs in the United

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States. The study measured pre-doctoral characteristics, emerging professional
benchmarks, and department characteristics. Pre-doctoral characteristics included GRE
verbal and quantitative scores and undergraduate GPAs from 2006 through 2010.
Emerging professional benchmarks involved internship match rates for each doctoral
program and the percentage of the program’s examinees passing the EPPP. Department
characteristics included faculty, student, and training variables related to select training
programs (Callahan, Ruggero, & Parent, 2013). The program that had the highest
emerging professional benchmarks combined was Texas Tech University. The program
with the highest EPPP passing rate was Western Michigan University. The program with
the highest internship matching rate was Eastern Michigan University. All Clinical
Psychology programs examined excelled in different areas, but the program that excelled
most in two of the three categories was Texas Tech University (Callahan, Ruggero, &
Parent, 2013). The results indicated the GRE scores and undergraduate GPAs were valid
in predicting program outcomes (Callahan, Ruggero, & Parent, 2013).
In addition to schools and the workplace, training programs are also used for treat
tobacco dependence. Rigotti, Bitton, Richards, Reyen, Wassum, and Raw (2009)
conducted an international survey of training programs for treating tobacco dependence.
An online survey was created and sent to people in 69 countries in various economic
levels and geographic regions. The populous countries that were strong economically and
politically in their respected region included China, South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt,
Thailand, and Venezuela (Rigotti, et al., 2009). Other participating countries were chosen
from a study that had been recently completed on second-hand smoke. The online survey
consisted of 37 questions and was only given in English due to funding limitations. Some

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of the questions in the survey asked for the year each training program started, the
number of people trained each year, professional background of trainers and trainees, the
cost of the program, the program funding sources, the program affiliation, the content,
topics covered, end-of-program assessment method, and certification offered to those
who successfully complete the program (Rigotti et al., 2009). Of the 69 countries, 48
responded to the survey. Forty-one of 48 countries reported they had or currently have a
tobacco treatment training program. Although the majority of the respondents are aware
of a tobacco treatment training program, not all countries have a program. In 1984 many
high and middle-income countries started training programs. However, the low-income
countries did not start these training programs until the early 2000’s (Rigotti et al., 2009).
The United States and a few countries in Europe were among the few to begin these
programs early. This study was one of the first to address tobacco treatment training
programs internationally. The online survey is a starting point for many more studies to
be conducted on this topic.
It has been shown that there are positive side effects of a job-related training
program. Lee and Choi (2012) conduct a study on the positive side effects on work-
related training programs among older adults in South Korea. The purpose of the study
was to evaluate positive side effects on older adults’ self-esteem, depression, and social
networks. The participants consisted of 70 older adults who had to meet certain criteria.
They had to be over the age of 55 and at least be a high school graduate. Self-esteem was
measured using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE). Answers to questions on the
scale ranged from one to four, one being strongly disagree and four being strongly agree.
Depression was measured using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale

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(CES-D). The CES-D consisted of 20 questions asking how often they experienced
depressive symptoms in the past week. Social network was measured using the Lubben
Social Network Scale (LSNS), which asked questions pertaining to relationships with
family, friends, and interdependent relationships (Lee & Choi, 2012). The results
indicated that a job-related training program is beneficial to employees’ emotional well-
being, social well-being, and mental well-being. The results from the study support prior
research conducted on the same topic (Lee & Choi, 2012).
Training programs seem necessary in our society, but they are a luxury that high
and some middle-income countries have. These programs are made available through
funding most of the time. Training programs are used in schools to assist teachers in what
and how they should teach both in the United States and in other countries. Having face-
to-face interaction is the most beneficial way for people to learn and retain information,
but online modules have become much more common. It is easier to test trainees on what
they learned through an online test after a module. While it is important to gain a
person’s trust in a training program, it is even more important to do so ethically. Principle
B: Fidelity and Responsibility is in effect to ensure people are not deceived. Designing
and teaching training programs in schools, the workplace, and treatment facilities must be
done ethically. Most importantly, if a program is fun and enjoyable to the trainees, they
will likely retain the information better and be able to apply the information to real life
situations better.

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References
Burley, K. (2014). Four characteristics of an effective training program that allows
employees to learn best. Houston Chronicle, Retrieved from
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allows-employees-learn-18052.html
Callahan, J. L., Ruggero, C. J., & Parent, M. C. (2013). Hidden gems among clinical
psychology training programs. Training and Education in Professional
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Fisher, C. B. (2013). Decoding the ethics code: a practical guide for psychologists. (3rd
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Lee, J. (2010). Design of blended training for transfer into the workplace.
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Niles, K. L. (2014). Why ethics is a must for your association. Retrieved from
http://www.asha.org/practice/ethics/assoc_ethics_ed/
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