Successful training is based on understanding the needs of the learners. The needs assessment should have clearly identified who the learners are, what their objectives are for training, what skills they already have, and what skills they may be lacking. Ideally, some of the clients (learners) should be involved in the design process. No matter how good the training is, if it doesn’t fit the skill level and the needs of the learners, it will not be successful.
For learning to occur, training programs must contain material that is meaningful to the learners and be based on clear, measurable, learner-centered objectives. The design of training must include opportunities for the learners to practice their new skills and to receive feedback on their progress.
Noe, R.A. (2008). Employee Training & Development, 4th ed., McGraw-Hill Irwin, 155.
The design of the training program begins with the decisions made in the needs analysis and ends with a model for the training program.
Course parameters describe general information about the program, such as course title, audience, prerequisite skills, purpose of the course, location, time, name of trainer and any other details that trainees need to know.
Course objectives were determined in the needs assessment process. A program objective is a broad statement of the purpose of the course. Learning objectives relate to the learning goals established earlier. It is also important to determine how the learning objectives will be assessed. What will the learner do to demonstrate that learning has been accomplished?
The lesson plan will identify the content and sequence of activities that are to occur during training. It is used as a guide by the trainer during delivery of training. Lesson plans ensure that both the trainer and the learners are aware of the program objectives. It also ensures consistency of training even when the training program is repeated and facilitated by a different trainer.
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At this point, it’s time to determine how student learning will be evaluated. It may seem that tests and evaluation should be developed at the end of the process after all courseware and instructional material has been developed. But remember, the purpose of evaluation is to promote learning. The evaluation must test the learner’s ability to accomplish the learning objective. Testing will provide feedback to the learner, and it should measure whether the desired behavior changes have occurred following the training.
Just as the learning objective must simulate the conditions of performance in the real world, the evaluation test should do the same. The instructional material is then designed to explain, demonstrate and provide the student with practice. When students learn, they can then perform the test, meet the established objective and perform in the real world. The learning objectives are the focal point of the whole process.
There are several varieties of evaluation tests that could be used. Most commonly used in training programs are criterion-referenced written tests, performance-based tests and attitude surveys. Each of the three types of tests is used to assess learning in one of the three learning domains.
Criterion-referenced tests evaluate the cognitive domain of learning. This includes recall of facts, procedures and concepts. This is most often done with a written test. A true-and-false test is an example of a criterion-referenced test usually used to evaluate cognitive learning.
A performance test is given to evaluate the psychomotor domain, which involves physical movement and coordination. This is often a skill-based test. A timed keyboarding test would be a performance test.
An attitude survey evaluates the affective domain, which addresses the manner in which learners deal with things emotionally. As attitudes are not observable, a representative behavior must be observed and measured instead. For example, it is impossible to measure if a person’s motivation has improved, but we can observe behavior changes that might indicate a change in motivation. Behavior changes such as being on time, working well with others and increased cooperation may indicate that motivation has improved.
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There are a number of logical ways content can be sequenced. Proper sequence makes the content more meaningful for the learner and, thus easier, to learn. Sequence will be determined by the material presented and the skill level of the learners.
Job performance order: Sequence is in the same order as performed on the job.
Simple to complex: Sequence is ordered in terms of increasing complexity starting with the simplest.
Critical sequence: Objects are ordered in terms of their relative importance.
Known to unknown: Familiar topics are presented first before the unknown.
Dependent relationship: Learning builds on previous knowledge. Mastery of one objective requires prior mastery of another.
Supportive relationship: There are common elements between the objectives so transfer of learning takes place from one objective to another.
Cause to effect: Objectives are sequenced from cause to effect.
Source : Don Clark, www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/sat3.html.
The lesson plan overview is a snapshot of the major activities of the training with time indicated for breaks and wrap-up. It helps the trainer determine the amount of time needed for each topic covered in the program.
The detailed lesson plan is really a roadmap for the trainer. It ensures both the trainees and the trainer are aware of the course and program objectives. It identifies the target audience, the sequence of content, the learning activities, evaluation and wrap-up.
Work on student projects.
Done well, visual aids can enhance learning material. Done poorly, they are distracters and create obstacles to learning.
Source: Silberman, M. (2006). Active Training, A handbook of Techniques, Designs, Case Examples, and Tips. Pfieffer, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 252-254.
Additional information about how to create PowerPoint presentations can be found at:
http://office.microsoft.com/training/training.aspx?AssetID=RC011298761033.
www.actden.com/pp/.
www.uwec.edu/help/PPoint03/basics.htm.
www.internet4classrooms.com/on-line_powerpoint.htm.
www.fno.org/sept00/powerpoints.html
There are a number of visual aids that can be used to enhance a presentation. Your choice of visuals will depend on the nature of the material being presented, the audience and the available media.
Handouts are used when the learners desire a hard copy of material presented or when they need additional material beyond what is in the presentation. They are most commonly used when the trainer wants the students to have follow-up material to reinforce the learning after the training is over.
Source: Microsoft, http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/help/HA012111521033.aspx.
Too much variety in a PowerPoint presentation is distracting to the audience. Use a template to keep the layout and style as consistent as possible. The audience should be able to focus on the presentation and not on the style of presentation.
Slides need to be simple – one concept per slide. If there is too much material on the slide, learners will be so busy reading the slides that they won’t be listening to the presenter.
Source: Silberman, M. (2006), 253.
Use appropriate font sizes for visibility of presentations. Use appropriate colors.
Many experts suggest that a dark blue or black background works best for presentations in large rooms.
Dark letters against a light background are best for smaller rooms and for teaching.
Avoid red-green combinations to accommodate red-green colorblind people.
Use text appropriately on your slides. Follow the 6 X 6 rule: six lines per slide and six words per line. If you use more, the slide becomes cluttered and is detrimental to the presentation. Remember, your slides are an outline of your presentation, they should not include every word you plan to say. If you wish, you may include the whole talk in the speaker’s notes that are then provided to the participants as a handout.
Use bullet points – full sentences are not necessary unless using a quotation.
Delete articles (the, a, an).
If concepts can be illustrated with images or visuals, use them in addition to the words, or if possible, instead of words. Use of some images adds interest to the presentation, but too many visuals look cluttered.
Source: Silberman, M. (2006).
Ensure that your chosen font is readable. Fancy scripts, all capitals or strange colors are difficult to read and detract from the presentation.
Remember the color wheel--it will help you determine which colors work together or against each other.
Source: www.wiu.edu/users/sew100/itt351Project/ColorWheel.html.
For color information in PowerPoint, see:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/powerpoint/HA010120721033.aspx.
www.indezine.com/articles/colorpalette.html.
Reds and oranges are high-energy but can be difficult to stay focused on in a presentation – use them sparingly.
Greens, blues and browns are mellower but not as attention-grabbing.
Be careful of dark backgrounds. If you are presenting in a large room with much of the audience more than 20 feet away, white letters on a dark background will not be readable. Light text on dark background is most effective for documents that will be read on a computer screen because the dark background helps cut down on screen glare.
Use images appropriately. Remember, their purpose is to enhance and illustrate the presentation. If that’s not accomplished, then do without the image. Use one image per slide enlarged enough that the audience can see it clearly from the back of the room.
Draw arrows to point to places on the image when needed or to draw attention.
Do not enlarge small images. They blur. Find a larger image.
Do not distort the image. Use the corners to resize the image or hold down the shift key as you resize an image. This maintains the ratio of length to width, enlarging the image without distorting the picture.
Appropriately cite all references.
Credit all images below the image telling where you got them if they are not your own. Cite the author, date, title of the article and journal on the slide in small print at the bottom when reporting research results.
Add references on last slide in either APA or AMA format.
Include the author, date, title of book, journal, article or monograph, with date and then the URL.
For further information on reference citations see:
Indiana University, www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/apa_style.shtml.
APA Online, www.apastyle.org/elecref.html.
Animation should enhance the presentation and should not be a distraction to the audience. Use subtle animation to show concepts, sequence or to focus the audience. Animation schemes should be avoided as they tend to include too may bells and whistles that are distracting. Use the same transition between all slides, not random transitions as this is distracting to the audience.
Plan for the appropriate number of slides for the time allotted for the training. Estimate one slide for every 2-3 minutes allotted. Don’t try to show too many slides; often less is better. Image slides do not take as long as slides with several bullet points.
Time yourself so that the presentation does not go too long or that you don’t have to talk too fast. Leave time for questions.
Use illustrations only when needed, otherwise they become distracters instead of communicators. Ask yourself if the illustration makes the message clearer. If not – don’t use it!
