The document outlines guidance and tips for impactful training course design and delivery, presented by Dr. Sarah Morgan from EMBL-EBI. Key elements discussed include identifying the target audience, defining course aims and learning outcomes, employing effective training delivery methods, and assessing the training's impact both in the short and long term. It emphasizes the importance of adapting course content and approach based on audience feedback and continuous improvement.

1. Course design and delivery:
guidance and tips for impactful training
Speaker: Sarah Morgan (EMBL-EBI)
Host: Marta Lloret Llinares (EMBL-EBI)
CORBEL/EOSC-Life joint webinar series:
Engaging with your community through
events and training

2. This webinar is being recorded

3. Audience Q&A session
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4. CORBEL and EOSC-Life bring together biological
and medical research infrastructures
2015-2020 2019-2023

5. CORBEL
Modern biological and biomedical research involves complex projects and a
variety of different technologies.
Some of the most important discoveries are made at the interface between
different disciplines.
CORBEL will harmonise access and services for complex research projects
involving more than one RI that offer:
• biological and medical technologies
• biological samples and
• data services

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7. Today’s speaker
Sarah Morgan, Scientific Training Coordinator at EMBL-EBI. Sarah has a BSc and MSc in
Biomedical Sciences, followed by a PhD from Cranfield University, and an MA in Healthcare Law and
Ethics. Over a 10 year academic career her research has focused on tumour biomarker
characterisation and cell-surface interaction. Beyond research she took an active role in the
provision of postgraduate taught courses for the University as Lecturer in Molecular Medicine,
leading the development and direction of a number of MSc Courses including the MSc in
Translational Medicine, the MSc in Molecular Medicine, and as director for the MSc Programmes in
Advanced Biosciences. She has lectured on a variety of biomedical techniques and topics, including
ethics and governance of research. Sarah joined the EBI in 2013 initially as training programme
manager, where she is responsible for running the external user training programme, responsible
for all on-site, off-site and online courses. She is additionally the Elixir training co-ordinator for the
EMBL-EBI node and course director for the PgCert in Biocuration at the University of Cambridge
Institute of Continuing Education.

8. Dr Sarah Morgan, Scientific Training
Coordinator, EMBL-EBI
sarahm@ebi.ac.uk
Practical tips for course
design and delivery

9. Session overview
- Key elements to ensure your training meets the needs of your intended
audience
- Tips for successful training delivery
- How to assess the impact of your training in the short and long term

10. Why do people look for training…...
“How do I do….?”
“I need to be able to….”
“What does this mean?!”
“What is……..?”
“Where do I go to find more about…?”
“How does this work?”

11. ...and what influences their choice of course?

12. Where do you start with designing your training?

13. Identifying your target audience
The “best course in the world” will never be successful without an appropriate
audience!

14. Key target audience questions
- Who are they?
- Where are they?
- What are they trying to do?
- What do they want / need to learn about?
- What do they know already?
- (Does this audience actually exist?)

15. Defining your audience
Defining your audience also lets the learner know the course is for them. Make
sure you tell them:
- Who you designed the course for
- What they need to know to make the most from the learning opportunity
- What you expect them to gain from the course

16. Course aims and Learning outcomes
“This course provides an introduction to……”
“At the end of the course learners will be able to….”
These set the scene for the course, they enable you and any trainers you have to
agree upon what the course is aiming to provide to your trainees; it will also help
the trainees decide whether this is the course for them.

17. Course aim
Your course mission statement - it should be a concise statement of what the
course is setting out to achieve; it tells trainees what they should be able to
expect from a course.
Ask yourself:
- What is the purpose of the course?
- What is the course trying to achieve?

18. Learning outcomes
Learning outcomes tell the learners what they will gain from a course, a set of
concise statements which set out the skills / competencies they should gain by
the end of the learning.
Learning outcomes should be SMART
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Realistic
- Timebound

19. Blooms taxonomy of educational objectives
For more details on Blooms, you can start here:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloom%27s_taxonomy#cite_note-anderaetal2001-
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20. Using Blooms taxonomy to write LO’s
Learning outcomes need to state:
- What a trainee will be able to do
- In a specific context
- & potentially how well
Eg
Able to:
“Access and explore a range of protein
resources to retrieve information on a
specific protein of interest”

21. Tips for successful delivery - what makes good training?
- Knowledgeable, enthusiastic, empathic, flexible trainers
- A comfortable learning environment - in space and trainer approach
- A mixture of learning methods - keep people motivated and inspired
- Opportunities for discussion and reflection - group work, poster sessions, Q&A
- Good event management - don’t forget the coffee (or the bathroom breaks!)
Providing the learning needed!

22. A comfortable learning environment
Comfortable in what way?
- Physical comfort most obvious - think 3 bears (not too hot, not too cold, just
right)
- Mentally comfortable - more tricky?
- Set out “rules of engagement” - encourage discussion and questions
- How you want the session / course to run
- Look out for quieter (and louder) members of the group
- Ensure everyone has a voice
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23. Learning methods
Try and include some
variety;
- Keeps people
motivated
- Stops them falling
asleep!
- Build in time for
reflection and peer
learning

24. Assessing course impact
Assessing learning in short courses can be difficult, and assessing the impact that
learning has had can be even more difficult. There are three main questions we
may pose as trainers:
- Is learning happening during the course?
- Do trainees feel they have learned something at the end of a course?
- Have they retained and used this learning after the course?

25. Projects, challenges and problem solving
Using problem, challenges and short
projects during courses allows trainees
to put into practice what they are
learning
- Enables you as a trainer to see what
they have taken from the learning
- Opportunities to further embed the
new learning in trainees minds
- Allow trainees to assess what they
have learned
- Opportunity to work through final
questions / thoughts /
misunderstandings

26. Quality and Impact post-course
Most employed method - post course surveys
- Short term assessment - end of course survey
- Keep it short, focus on questions which give you useful answers!
- Long term assessment - long term survey (6 months onwards)
- More focus on what people have achieved since the course
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27. ELIXIR Quality & Impact assessment
1) Assess the following:
• Audience demographic being reached by ELIXIR-badged training events
• Quality of ELIXIR-badged training events in the short term (i.e. directly after
training)
• Impact that ELIXIR-badged training events have had on the work of training
participants in the longer term (i.e. 6 months to 1 year after training).
2) Improve training quality and impact by providing best practice for ELIXIR and
non-ELIXIR training.

28. Audience demographics & training
quality (short term)
Demographic Metrics Quality Metrics
Career stage Have you used the tools/resources covered in the course before?
Employment sector Will you use the tools/resources covered in the course again?
Country of employment How would you rate your satisfaction with the training, overall?
Gender Would you recommend the course?
Additional Core, Short Term Metrics
•Where did you see the course advertised?
•May we contact you in the future for more feedback?

29. Impact metrics (long term)
How often did you/have you use/d the
tool(s)/resource(s), covered in the
training, BEFORE/ AFTER attending the
training?
Did attending the training event led
to/facilitated: publication, submission of
dissertation, collaboration etc.?
Do you feel that you are able to explain
to others what you learnt in the training?
How many people have you shared the
skills and/or knowledge, that you learned
during the training, with?
Are you now able to use the
tool(s)/resource(s) covered?
Would you recommend the training to
others?
How did the training event help with your
work?

30. Assessing Quality & Impact of Courses
19 participating ELIXIR
Nodes
561 training events
surveyed
8900+ short term feedback
survey responses
captured

31. Assessing Quality & Impact of Courses
Quality
Impact
“I would recommend the course to others”
~ 90%* of survey respondents
“The training improved my ability to
handle data, work more quickly, or
communicate with a bioinformatician”
~ 85% of survey respondents How did the training help with your work?

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33. Remember course design is not static...
Every course needs revision
- Minor revisions after each or every couple of courses?
- Major revisions after a few years
- Don’t be afraid to try different things
- Every course group will be different
- Use your feedback!

34. Thank you - Any questions?
All generic images from Pixabay.com