Unit 4

UNIT 4
EFFECTIVE TEACHING AND
LEARNING STRATEGIES

Abg Izhar Abg Ahmad

INTRODUCTION
¢ What the trainer needs to do to maximize learning?
¢ Three main questions are of interest:
— 1) Is the individual trainable?
— 2) How should the training program be arranged to
facilitate learning?
— 3) What can be done to ensure what was learned during
training will be retained and transferred from the job?
¢ Answers : from what other designers and trainers have
learned from the conduct of their training programs, and
from some findings from research.
¢ designers and trainers need some knowledge and
understanding of learning principles and theories of
motivation to guide them in deciding which strategies to
use to effect learning.

TRAINABILITY: INTERNAL FACTORS TO
FACILITATE TEACHING AND LEARNING
¢ What satisfies trainability?
— ability and motivation

¢ 1) Ability : possess the aptitude or skills
¢ What are some exampl es of skills or aptitude
that we are goi ng to look for?
— a) muscular coordination
— b) visual acuity
— c) personality characteri stics (or traits)
— d) mental ability

TRAINABILITY: INTERNAL FACTORS
(CON T)
¢ 2) Motivation : efforts, persistence and choi ces
¢ What are some of the moti vational variables:
— a) needs for achievement or competence
— b) feelings of job involvement as well as their level of
career interest (Noe & Schmi tt, 1986: if training
content and assi gnment were based on assessment
of weakness ski ll of learners)
— c) individual s expectancy that parti cipation in
training will lead to desired outcome: hi gher pay,
job security, status, sti mulating colleagues or a good
geographical location (Crandall, 1991)
— d) anxiety effects (facilitated or interfered
depending on the types of l earning: simple or
complex)

TRAINABILITY: INTERNAL FACTORS
(CON T)
¢ Issues /Questi ons regarding the two vari ables:
¢ 1) Must ability and motivation always be together?

¢ 2) Can we i solate these two and say that abi lity is good
enough a criteria to select the trainee, or vice versa.
¢ Performance = Abi lity x Motivation
¢ directly related to performance.
¢ no or zero performance if either ability or motivation is absent

¢ performance also increases as each factor rises in value.

¢ Train only individuals who possess both the ability and motivation

TRAINABILITY :TESTS FOR SELECTION OF
PARTICIPANTS

¢ A. Trainability Tests
¢ How do we assess whether l earners are trai nable or
not?
— 1) instruction and demonstrati on
— 2) perform the task unai ded
— 3) noting errors on standardi zed error checklist,
usually on a 5-point scale.
¢ Findings from trainability tests reveal ed the following
(Robertson & Downs 1989):
— 1) scores produce a worthwhi le level of validity
— 2) predicting subsequent success in training and job
performance

PERFORMANCE : M EASUREMENT DEVICES

¢ 1) A six-point scale measuring devise called a
motivational instrument
— e.g., a ten week trai ning program in SCUBA and
Deep Sea Ai r
— trainee confidence measure i s significantly related to
eventual graduation of the program (Rei mer &
Beisner, 1975).
¢ 2) Sampling of trainer s ability level device (Gordon &
Cohen, 1973)
— task performance for entry-level work in various
vocational fields.
— sampling of trainees ability level can be used as a
valid predictor of subsequent success in training

PERFORMANCE : MEASUREMENT DEVICES
(CON T)

¢ 3) miniature job training and evaluation
approach (Riley & Manese, 1979)
— a) sample of tasks usi ng task anal ytic
procedures.
— b) short training sessions (15 to 30 mi ns)
— c) administering performance test which
measured the amount l earned by each appl icant
during training.
— time to compl ete the mini-course and
performance on several objective tests can be
used to predi ct time to compl ete a training
program .

EXTERNAL FACTORS TO FACILITATE
LEARNING
¢ learning conditions that are external to the learner.
¢ environmental arrangements the trai ner can control
to facilitate learning
¢ 1. Conditions of Practice
— a) active practice
— b) over-learning
— c) massed vs. di stributed practi ce session
— d) size of the uni t to be learned
¢ 2. Feedback
¢ 3. Meaningfulness of the Materi al
¢ 4. Individual Differences
¢ 5. Behavioral Modeling
¢ 6. Maintaining Motivation

TRAINABILITY: EXTERNAL FACTORS (CON T)
¢ 1) Conditions of Practi ce
¢ a) Active Practice
— given the opportuni ty to practice what is being
taught
— verbalization is not enough
— need guidance from trai ners at the earl y stages of
acquiring the new behavi or, WHY?
— to minimizes the risk of developing inappropriate
behaviors by the trai nees.
¢ b) Over-learning
— providing trainees with continued practice far
beyond the poi nt when the task has been performed
correctly several times.
— example the US Air Force Trai ning School s Boldface
Emergency Procedure

TRAINABILITY: EXTERNAL FACTORS
(CONTD .)

¢ Why is over learning important?
— i) it increases the l ength of time that trai ning
material will be retained.
— ii) it makes the l earning more reflexive
(automatic)
— iii) trainees will be more likely to maintain the
quality of their performance on their jobs during
periods of emergency and added stress.
— iv) helps trainees transfer what they have
learned during training to their job settings
(transfer value)

(CON T)

¢ c) Massed versus Distributed Practice Session
¢ How are we to di stribute or divide the time for
practice? Into segments or one conti nuos session?
¢ depends on the nature of the task

— i) For development of psychomotor skills?
— ii) For learning factual information?
— iii) For less meaningful material?
— iv) How about l ong material?
— vi) How about di fficult material?
— vii) How about the l ess trainable the trainee
possess?

(CONTD .)

¢ d) Size of the uni t to be learned
¢ Issues to consi der:

— i) What is the optimum size of the uni t to be
learned?
— ii) Should we attempt to teach the enti re task at
each practice session?
— iii) Is it more efficient in the long run to teach
individual subtasks initially and as the trai nee
starts masteri ng each subtask begi n the process
of combining them?
¢ Three Basic Strategies (following Table)

(CONTD .)

_______________________________________________
Phase Phase Phase Phase
1 2 3 4
_______________________________________________
Whole A+B+C A+B+C A+B+C A+B+C

Pure- A B C A+B+C
Part

Progres- A A+B A+B+C A+B+C
sive Part
_______________________________________________

(CON T)

¢ Which strategy to use?
— depends on: task compl exity and task organi zation.
— Task compl exity: difficulty of each of the subtask
comprising the total tasks.
— Task organi zation: refers to the degree of
interrelationship among the set of subtasks.
— i) For highly organized task: whol e method seems
to be more effi cient than part methods
— ii) For lowly organized task: both part methods are
superior to the whol e method
— iii) As task compl exity increases: same as above.
¢ Will there be any si tuation where a combi nation of the
whole and part trai ning can be utilized?

(CONTD .)
¢ 2) Feedback : Knowl edge of Results
— without evaluative feedback: retardsl earning
— critical for both learning and motivation
— Forms of Feedback:
— a) of verbal praises
— b) productivity reports
— c) test scores or performance measurement
¢ Functions of Feedback:

— a) make necessary adjustments in the subsequent
behavior.
— b) makes the l earning process more interesting for
the trainees, maximizing their willingness to learn

(CON T)

¢ c) leads to the setti ng of specific goals for maintaining
and improving their performance (Locke & Latham,
1990).
¢ When do we gi ve feedback?

— as soon as possi ble after the trai nee s behavior.
¢ Is it necessary that feedback be i nstantaneous?

— not necessary that feedback be instantaneous
(depends on the situation)
¢ How much feedback do we give?

— related to the ti me of giving feedback and capabilities
of the learner
— too much (too l ittle) feedback at one ti me, or too
early: confusing and leads to a decl ine performance.

(CON T)

— therefore, for each trai nee and for each stage of
learning, an optimum level of feedback shoul d be
given.
¢ Should trainers provide negative feedback onl y?

— positive feedback: usual ly strengthen the behavi or
(Latham ,1989; Latham & Wexley, 1991).
— positive feedback: usual ly perceived and recal led
accurately and accepted more readily than negati ve
feedback.
— negative feedback: is often denied with trainees
who have low self esteem

(CON T)
¢ From whom do trai nees usually accept negati ve
feedback?
— from trainers whom they vi ew as trustworthy,
knowledgeable and powerful and has relatively close
relationship with the trainee
¢ final analysis, trainers should provide both positive and
negative feedback as l ong as negative feedback does not
become a puni tive for the trainee.
¢ Error feedback: Is i t good to design our training
programs so that trai nees have an opportuni ty to make
errors? Are there advantages of doi ng this?
¢ can actual ly obtain positive effects from error training.

¢ to learn to deal with errors on both strategi c and
emotional level.

(CON T)

¢ Intrinsic feedback: the deri ved knowledge of results
from the task i tself (intrinsic) as contrast to
extrinsic (trainer).
¢ What are the effects of intrinsic feedback to
learning?
— will depend on thei r experience in the job being
taught and thei r particular level of self-esteem
(Ilgen, et al., 1979
¢ Conclusion: include both intrinsic and extrinsic
feedback

(CON T)

¢ 3. Meaningfulness of the Materi al
— material that is rich in associations for the
trainees and is thus easily understood by them
¢ How do we make sure that our trai ning materials
can be understood by the trainees?
— i) Provide overview: course outline
— ii) Use familiar examples, terms and concepts;
visual aids.
— iii) Sequence in a logical order

TRAINABILITY: EXTERNAL
FACTORS (CON T)

¢ 4) Individual Differences
— training needs:
— demographi c characteristics and rates of l earning
among individuals.
¢ a) Demographi c characteristic
¢ i) Age: (Tucker, 1985)
¢ younger (40-49): preferred manage ment training
¢ upper age group (50-59): preferred training in technological areas
¢ 60 & above: showed little interest in any kind of training

(CON T)
¢ ii) Management hi erarchy: (Berni ck et al 1984)
¢ first line supervisors: technical factors such as book
keeping, written communi cation
¢ mid-level managers: human resources courses such as
leadership skills, performance appraisal
¢ upper management: conceptual courses such as goal
setting and planning skills
¢ iii) Male-Female managers vi ew of communi cation
and women managers trai ning needs courses in
management (Berryman -Fink, 1986):
¢ both male and femal e: assertiveness, confidence
building, public speaking and deal ing with males.

(CON T)

¢ male managers: l istening, verbal skills, nonverbal
communication and empathy and sensi tivity.
¢ iv) Government workers: (Tucker, 1984)
¢ need for human resource planning with regard to
organization.
¢ b. Differences in Learning Rates
¢ i) as a function of continued practice:
¢ Figure 4.4: Four learning curves of four
trainees. (see handout)
¢ therefore, be fl exible enough to modi fy our training
strategies.

(CON T)

¢ ii) related to the rate of l earning among individuals is
the question: when is learning highest and lowest?
— learning progress follow the S-shaped pattern.
— Figure 4.5: An S-shaped learning curve with a
plateau
— Reasons for the plateau:
¢ may have reached the level of his or her capability
¢ interest may have waned temporarily
¢ maybe in the process of integrating levels of different skills
¢ may need a different method of instruction.

(CON T)

¢ iii) differences among trainees in abilities, motivation level,
interest and prior history will affect performance and
attrition (dropout) in training programs (Christal, 1974;
Ghiselli,1973; Mumford, Weeks, Harding & Fleishman, 1988)
— select applicants for training program who possess
trainability.
¢ iv) individual differences in trainee abilities is related to
learning phenomena.
— abilities are related to a number of different learning
phenomena such as performance during massed versus
distributed practice session, whole versus part training as
well as retention and transfer (Fleishman, 1965;
Fleishman & Ellsion 1969; Fleishman & Parker, 1962)

(CON T)
— Implications are:
¢ shorter training program: if trainees are experienced and possessed
task-related activities.
¢ longer training programs: advi sable for relatively inexperienced
trainees (Fleishman & Mumfo rd, 1989).

¢ vi) trainers differ in the kinds of mental model they
formulate, and that these mental models affect how
well they learn what is being taught.
— mental models : schemata
— employ a training approach whi ch encouraged
trainee exploration and the acti ve development of an
integrated mental model

(CON T)
¢ vi) on the average, older trainees require longer to
reach proficiency levels than younger trai nees and
they may have devel oped alternative ways of
organizing the information which could conflict with
the requirements of the trai ning program. (Sterns &
Doverspike, 1989).
— Older trainees: need slower presentati on rates,
longer periods for study, sequenci ng their learning
from simple to complex tasks, greater hel p in the
organization and memory processes, and the greater
use of training techniques that provi de active
participation in the learning process (Belbin &
Belbin, 1972; Mullen & Gorman, 1972; Schmidt,
Murphy & Sanders, 1981)

(CON T)

¢ 5) Behavior Modeling
— based on Bandura s social learning theory
— we can learn by imitating those actions of others
that we see as l eading desirable outcomes.
¢ How is learning facilitated through the use of a model ?
— a) Positive consequences, the model s action
functions as a cue to what consti tutes appropri ate
behavior.
— b) Modeling occurs: person imitated is seen as
being competent, powerful , friendly and of high
status within an organization (Identification).

(CON T)

¢ c) Modeling is increased: person to be i mitated is
seen as bei ng rewarded for how he or she acts as
and when the rewards recei ved by the model (e.g.
status, influence, friendship) are things that the
observers woul d like for themselves.
¢ d) Observer i dentification with the models is
maximized when the model is similar to the
observer.
¢ e) Showing a trainee a negati ve model (showing
trainee the wrong way of doing things) together
with a positive model appears to facilitate transfer
of learning to other situations.

(CON T)
¢ 6) Motivation
¢ What ways are there to moti vate trainees?
¢ Two theories of motivation: goal setting and
expectancy theory
¢ a) Goal Setting (Locke & Latham, 1984,1990)
— a goal is anything an individual is trying to achieve
— states that an i ndividual s conscious goals or
intentions regulate one s behavior.
— hard goals result in higher performance than easy
ones
— specific hard goals result in high performance tha do
no goals or the general ized goals as do your best

(CON T)
¢ some research done on the i mportance of goal setting to
increase performance of employees:
¢ i) Latham and Lee (1986) fi ndings:
— Learning objectives of the training program shoul d be
conveyed clearly to the parti cipants at the outset of
training and at vari ous strategic points throughout
the training process.
— Training goals should be difficult enough so that
trainees are adequatel y challenged and thus are abl e
to derive satisfaction from the achi evement of
objectives.
— The distal goal of should be supplemented wi th
periodic sub-goals during training such as trai ner
evaluation, work sampl e test and peri odic quizzes.

(CON T)

¢ ii) Bandura (1982); Locke and Latham(1990):
— show importance of goal setting for increasing self
efficacy because wi thout specific goals people have
little basis for judging their capabilities.
— self-efficacy refers to the person s conviction that he
or she can master a gi ven task (Bandura, 1986).
— low self-efficacy can resul t in a decreased level of
performance.
— however, goal setting also leads depressive reactions
since their adequacy of performance is measured
against their personal standards.
— depressive reactions often ari se from stringent self
evaluation.

(CON T)
¢ b) Expectancy Theory
— instrumental ity theory
— states that an i ndividual will be more moti vated to
choose a behavi or alternative that is most likely to
have favorabl e consequences.
— What am I goi ng to get out of that?
— If the individual perceived that putti ng effort may
result in something of value then the individual is
motivated to choose a particular behavior.
— The key concepts in the theory are
¢ i) Outcome:
¢ salary increase, promotion, dismissal, illness, injury, peer
acceptance, recognition and achievement.

(CON T)
— ii) Valence
— desirability of or attracti veness of an outcome to the
individual.
— iii) E ----- P Expectancy
— employees perceived probabi lity that a given
amount of effort will result in improved performance
that is quantity and/or qual ity of work.
— iv) P------ O Expectancy
— perceived probabi lity that improved performance
will lead in turn to the attai nment of valued
outcomes (e. g. bonus, pay i ncrease, promoti on).

(CON T)
¢ the theory assumes that before deci ding how much
effort to exert empl oyees ask themsel ves whether or
not the following:
— that the acti on has a high probability of leading to
better performance (E-P)
— that improved performance will lead to certain
need-related outcomes (P -O)
— that those need -related outcomes or organi zational
rewards are of val ue (valence).
¢ here are two condi tions to effect the two expectanci es:

— the P----O expectancy depends on a person s
perception of the rewards conti ngencies presently
found in the organi zation.

(CON T)
— the E---P expectancy depends in part on relatively
stable characteristics of the workers such as
intelligence, motor abilities, and personal ity traits
and the individual s perception of what makes the
successful employee of whether effort can be
transformed into an effective performance.
¢ What are the i mplications of expectancy theory i n
motivating trainees?
— The trainee must bel ieve that there s something in
it for me in terms of val ued outcomes--higher
wages, opportuni ties for advancement, ski ll
acquisition, etc.), if not then trai ning program wi ll be
viewed as a waste of ti me or will just lead them to
nowhere.

(CON T)

— Trainers should not assume that thei r trainees
have accurate percepti ons of reward
contingencies.
— Organization should ensure that each trai nee has
a high E-----P expectancy by providing effective
instructors, el iminating obstacles to effective
performance, provi ding accurate rol e perceptions
and selecting trainees with requisite ability and
motivation.
— Only high valence outcomes shoul d be used as
incentives for superior trainee performance.

(CON T)

— in sum, the practi cal implications of the two
theories are that they can be appl ied in
motivating learning by making certain that :
¢ trainers see the value for them of participating in the training
¢ understanding the goals or target behaviors of the program

¢ clearly perceiving the link between their actions during

training and their receipt of valued rewards.

RETENTION AND TRANSFER OF LEARNING

¢ Issue: What can be done to ensure that what i s
learned in training will be retained ad transferred to
the job?
¢ Transfer

— the extent to whi ch what was learned during
training is used on the j ob.
— three transfer possi bilities:
— a) Positive Transfer: Learni ng in the training
situation results in better performance on the j ob
— b) Negative Transfer: resul ts in poorer
performance on the job.
— c) Zero Transfer: has no effect on job performance.

RETENTION AND TRANSFER (CON T)

¢ How can we opti mize the possibility of getting
positive transfer?
¢ 1) Before
— a) Conduct a needs anal ysis that includes
multiple constituencies.
— b) Seek out supervi sory support for training.
— c) Inform the trai nees regarding the nature of the
training.
— d) Assign tasks prior to the trai ning sessions.
¢ 2) During
— a) Maximize the similarity between the trai ning
situation and the job situation.

— b) Provide as much experi ence as possible with the
task being taught.
— c) Have the trai nees practice their newly learned
skills in actual situation back on thei r jobs.
— d) Provide a variety of examples when teachi ng
concepts or skills.
— e) Label or identify important features of a task.
— f) Make sure that general principles are understood
(and not merel y memorized) before expecti ng much
transfer.
— g) Provide trainees with the knowledge, skills and
feelings of self-efficacy to self-regulate their own
behaviors back on thei r jobs.


— h) Design the training content so that the
trainees can see i ts applicability.
— i) Use adjunct questi ons to guide the trainer s
attentions.
¢ 3) After
— a) After completing a training program, trai nees
should be assigned specific behavioral goals.
— In addition, the trainees and/or thei r supervisors
should complete behavi oral progress reports to
monitor the extent of the goal achievement back
on the job.

— Post-training strategies for facilitating transfer of
training:
¢ i) Assigned goal setting

¢ ii) Participative goal setting

¢ iii) Behavioral self management approach

— b) Have the trai ner collaborate with each of the
trainees in using the applications plan principle.

— c) Make certai n that the trai ned behaviors and
ideas are rewarded i n the job situation.
— d) Use the rel apse preventi on strategy whi ch
relies heavily on behavioral self-management .
(Marx,1982)

ORGANIZATIONAL FACTORS AFFECTING
TRANSFER OF LEARNING

¢ Factors that affect trainee outcome expectanci es
(Latham & Crandal l, 1981) are pay and
promotion policies and environmental constraints.
¢ 1. Pay and Promoti on Policies:
— Research suggests that pay and performance
systems are effecti ve methods for about and
sustaining performance (Heneman, 1990;
Latham and Huber, i n press).
¢ 2. Environmental Constraints:
— Have deleterious effect on trainee/s outcome
expectancies.

ORGANIZATIONAL FACTORS (CON T)

— Empirical investigations show the effect of
environmental constraints on an individual s behavior.
— Peter, et al (1982) found that three types of
situational constraints affected performance on goal
setting tasks:
¢ a) completeness of task information,
¢ b) ease of use of materials and suppl ies,

¢ c) similarity of work environment to training environment
¢ To minimize the probability of low outcome expectanci es:
— Conduct organizational assessment to identify any
barriers to transfer before training begins, in addition
to the traditional organizational and person trai ning
needs assessment.

SOCIAL VARIABLES AFFECTING THE
TRANSFER OF LEARNING

¢ Other environmental variables are social in nature
and stem from i nteractions with peers and
supervisors.
¢ 1. Peer Group

— The interactive dynamics between the i ndividual
and his peers is a potent force i n the socialization
process within an organization.
— Interaction can provide support and
reinforcement for not onl y learning what is being
taught in the training program but al so in
applying what was learned in the job.

SOCIAL VARIABLES (CON T)

¢ 2. Supervisory Support
— To increase the probabi lity of transfer of training
to work in the workplace, supervisors need to
reinforce the appl ication of what as l earned in
training to the job.
— Do this effectively by the following:
— 1) The supervi sors must be ful ly aware of the
training objectives as well as the training content
for attaining the objectives.
— 2) Another way to publicize commitment to
training objectives is to have the supervi sors and
the trainees sign a contract.

Unit 4

More Related Content

What's hot

Viewers also liked

Similar to Unit 4

More from Abidin mokhlas sdn. bhd

Unit 4