The Course Pilot and a Wedding? More Alike than You Think.
The bridesmaids donned light green dresses with intricate lace overlays. Before the ceremony, the ketubah (marriage contract) was signed by the groom. The groomsmen and bridal party enjoyed sushi and potato pancakes with smoked salmon in separate rooms before the wedding. At the appointed time, both groups entered the ballroom, awaiting the arrival of the bride on the arms of her parents. Each part of the beautiful wedding is executed perfectly, but how? Is it practiced for weeks on end?
No, of course not. Rather, it is choreographed according to a plan, by the couple and aided by a wedding planner. It is designed according to the couple’s traditions, which many of the attendees may know by heart from attending other nuptials.
After celebrating at this very wedding, it struck me that a well-coordinated wedding resembles the successful pilot of a course. Just like a wedding, the pilot needs to have each facet planned and each element timed carefully.
While the wedding plan focuses on where the bride, groom, officiant, and wedding party stand and what they say and do, the pilot plan describes what the instructor, debriefer, business stakeholder, and learners will say and do during the pilot. Prior to the course pilot, the pilot choreographer discusses the responsibilities with each of those groups just as, before the nuptial ceremony, the wedding participants learn what their roles will be. As soon as guests begin arriving at the wedding, the wedding planner begins to quietly guide the festivities from behind the scenes. Similarly, once the pilot begins, the pilot choreographer works in the background to help ensure the pilot runs smoothly.
A course pilot serves several objectives, one of which is to get a sense of the length of each portion of the training. If a facilitator goes off on a tangent, there may not be enough time for the skill-based portion of the class. Should the instructor take too many questions from learners, there may be no remaining minutes to summarize takeaways for the learners.
Similarly, wedding planners must have every element of the couple’s special day planned down to the minute. The bridal party must start their walk down the aisle at the appointed time. Each dinner course must be served on schedule, so the dancing can take place as planned. The band must plan their break carefully. Every element of the event is carefully orchestrated behind the scenes so that the celebrants don’t notice it.
In addition to the timing of events, the order of modules and learning topics can be finalized with the knowledge gained during the course pilot. Sometimes, the original plan may not correlate to the logical order of learning. Likewise, the bride and groom may choose to change the order of events if there is a timing issue during the wedding rehearsal. Perhaps they decide a particular reading or song would lengthen the ceremony and cut into the reception time, so they elect to take it out.
Of course, there are some factors for course pilots that don’t arise in wedding planning. Periodic check-ins with learners, with or without feedback forms, can be very effective for a pilot. Is the class going too fast or too slow for the learners? Are they engaged in the material? Are they bored? All of this information helps the instructional designer.
The course pilot offers many tools to plan the learning solution. It helps create what the instructional designer hopes is a successful course – just like a well-planned wedding rehearsal leads to a well-choreographed wedding, enjoyed by all.
When Learning Becomes Too Much: Seven Ways to Reduce Cognitive Overload
Have you ever been in a class where everyone’s eyes are glazed over? By the end of the first half-day, participants stop, well, participating? Perhaps the course just isn’t engaging them. Or, perhaps (cue music: dut, dut, dut) they are experiencing cognitive overload.
So, what is cognitive overload?
Cognitive overload is an inundation of short-term memory or working memory. This type of memory is easily overwhelmed because it can only hold between two and four “chunks” of information. (Halls, Jonathan. “Memory and Cognition in Learning.” InfoLine: Tips, Tools, & Intelligence for Training, May 2014). Sometimes cognitive overload cannot be avoided; however, it is considered “extraneous” when the learning design or method causes it.
And, why should I care?
Learning can be adversely impacted by stress, including stress caused by cognitive overload. The amygdala is the section of the brain involved with emotions, and it is affected by negative experience or emotions. “When learners experience stress they go into a hyper-stimulated state known as the affective filter, which inhibits information passing through the amygdala to the information processing parts of the brain.” (InfoLine).
An overzealous subject matter expert (SME) could also induce cognitive overload. While SMEs may want to provide as much information as possible, it is the instructional designer’s job to choose the most critical content to achieve the learning objectives.
Inattention is considered a hallmark symptom of cognitive overload. The “glazed eye look” represents an overwhelmed state. If a learner is unable to perform the activities or fails the test, this could be a sign that he or she is having difficulty absorbing the information.
Now, what can I do about it?
There are many ways to combat cognitive overload, and we’ll introduce seven of them here.
- Take breaks. A well-timed intermission allows participants to consolidate their learning.
- Allow for a lot of movement, either within the context of the training, or during a scheduled break time. Physical activity allows for more blood and oxygen to flow to the brain, preparing it for more learning time.
- Keep the training focused on the learning objectives to eliminate superfluous content.
- Arrange material in a logical pattern so that learners may build on their prior knowledge.
- Avoid having the learners multitask, and discourage it when you see it in your learners. Despite the stereotypical view of multitaskers as super-competent individuals, human beings are not made to multitask. When we do, an overload occurs between working memory and long-term memory.
- Repeat fundamental material and key points. This may sound counterintuitive to avoiding cognitive overload, but cerebral overwhelm actually results from too much new material. Once a learner repeats a process enough, it can become automatic, freeing up the working memory (theelearningcoach.com).
- Don’t put the meat in the middle. Unfortunately, many programs are structured just this way. Research tells us that the human brain recalls the beginning and ending better than the middle, so introduce crucial material at the beginning of the course, or save it until the end.
What two tips could you implement this week? Did you notice a change in your learners?
Commit to following even some of these pointers, and your learners will retain and implement more of what they’ve learned well after the training is over.
Blended Learning: Look Before You Leap
Blended learning tools provide an instructional designer with many options, but more choices can also be confusing. How do you determine if the blended solution meets your learning objectives? How do you know which modalities to pick? And finally, how do you know that your mix will work within the culture of your organization?
To start creating a blended solution, you first need to know what your goals are and what you want your employees to learn. Is the material strictly knowledge-based, such as company policies or history, or is it skill-based, such as learning how to use a new software program? Or, will the learners need to create something entirely from scratch or evaluate a product, process, or individual? These different types of learning are represented in Bloom’s taxonomy as different levels of the cognitive domain and include knowledge, comprehension, application, and other learning levels.
For EnVision’s clients, we recommend examining the learners when putting together a specific blend. Where do the learners work, and how easy is it for them to travel? Do they work in similar or different job roles? We also advise instructional designers to look at an organization’s budget and efficiency requirements.
Regarding the organizational culture, consider which training methods have worked well in the past, and management’s attitude toward training. Finally, it is important to consider whether or not the material requires peer interaction and facilitator feedback, which are best addressed with a classroom environment. Factual content can be learned via independent study, either reading or elearning.
Julie Young, now an EnVision consultant, oversaw development and implementation of a blended solution on talent management for a global biopharmaceutical company where she worked. The company wanted to support new employees and educate them in the company’s philosophy in talent management, as well as teach practical skills in delivering performance reviews and engaging reports in career development conversations.
The client wanted the learners to master both knowledge and skill-based domains. However, they also wanted to educate the new employees without investing in a series of lengthy classes, said Young. All potential learners happened to work at the same campus.
Because the company philosophy piece was knowledge-based, Young, together with the EnVision consultant partnering with her, decided to implement an e-learning module to address it. They determined that material such as background information and company philosophy would be addressed effectively by elearning, because these learning chunks remained consistent and did not require hands-on practice.
However, the client also wished this group of new employee managers to learn how to write and deliver a performance review, as well as talk with a direct report appropriately about compensation. For these skills, the new employees needed hands-on practice that only a classroom environment could provide.
Young, who delivered the training, states that the company wanted to be efficient with class time, especially given the fact that the number of learners would periodically vary according to the rate at which they were hired. The final product was a four-hour, half-day classroom session of hands-on skill building. “This was a much more efficient way of bringing people up to speed and onboarding,” said Young.
Alison McIsaac, an EnVision consultant, took both learning efficiency and effectiveness into account for her learning blend. As the project manager for a statistics course for a global pharmaceutical company, McIsaac helped to design and pilot the course. While classroom training comprised the bulk of the learning solution, independent reading and computer-based training also augmented the solution.
The learners included professionals from quality control, manufacturing, engineering, and other roles throughout multiple worksites. Prior to attending the 3-day classroom training, learners read a detailed process document and took a 30-minute computer-based training which introduced concepts, provided interactive learning with questions and answers, and assessed knowledge with a quiz. This prerequisite learning enabled the classroom training to focus on applying the concepts to practice scenarios that simulated the on-the-job experience.
As with Young’s project, learning efficiency proved to be an important factor in creating the blend. McIsaac noted that elearning reduces the amount of classroom training, which benefits both learners and employers, since a company loses money every day an employee is pulled out of his/her job. “For every hour you spend in the classroom, you want to maximize that time,” said McIsaac.
When basic concepts are self-taught initially, it also makes the classroom training more engaging for the learners, since there is less lecture and more practice. Interestingly, this particular blend also may prove more effective, because the instructional designer “plants a seed” with the elearning on which the classroom learning later expands, rather than overloading learners at the outset, said McIsaac. “The learners are much more likely to absorb small amounts at a given time,” she explained.
While a powerful option in the instructional designer’s toolkit, blended learning serves an organization best when it follows thorough analysis. The result will be a targeted, appropriate learning solution designed to grow the skills of the organization’s employees.
Through EnVision’s years of experience in planning, designing, developing, and implementing blended solutions, we have prepared a checklist and worksheets to support L&D managers and instructional designers in creating robust, well-constructed blended solutions.
If you would like a complete copy of our blended learning considerations and checklists, please e-mail solutions@envision-performance.com.
Can the Myers-Briggs Help You Achieve a Happy Medium?
Colleen and Stella both work at a medical device company and develop a catalog to market the products. Though they often complement each other well, recently they have reached a stalemate on this year’s catalog drop.
Colleen, a product manager, wants to make sure the catalog hits the printer well in advance of her conservative deadline, that each of her products gets equal billing and promotion, and that the branding and colors in the catalog look similar to last year’s catalog, since that version generated a lot of sales. Colleen has given Stella, the marketing director, specific, detailed notes on what she is looking for on the project, with interim targets ahead of the ultimate completion date.
However, Stella has an entirely different approach. She knows the company just launched a new medical device that is fairly unique and innovative, and has the potential to become a successful product. While she wants to please Colleen, she also wants to ensure the branding is tweaked to feature this new product, and doesn’t mind missing the deadline to allow for these changes. Stella runs the catalog by many colleagues, including several she doesn’t need to. Additionally, Colleen is irritated by Stella’s constantly finding improvements in the catalog and drafting several versions, delaying its completion.
Who is right…Colleen or Stella, and why? The answer is, neither one. Their personality characteristics influence what is most important to each of them, causing the stalemate.
This scenario shows that the most challenging part of each workday can lie in interacting with colleagues; how do we reach consensus with people whose viewpoints are so different from our own? To come to agreement with someone, it helps to understand his/her perspective and approach to the world. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), the subject of EnVision’s most recent team development day in June, provides tools to illuminate another’s perspectives.
The MBTI consists of four scales, each consisting of a pair of opposite behavioral tendencies. While everyone uses all of the behaviors from time to time, each person has preferences that are illustrated with the MBTI indicator. These show how an individual most commonly interacts with his/her environment.
The first scale shows how individuals get their energy; Extraverts (E) get their energy from the outer world, whereas Introverts (I) prefer inward reflection. The Myers-Briggs also captures preferences on information gathering; people who typically rely on Sensing (S) get their information in “real time,” from their senses, whereas those who rely on iNtuition (N) find patterns in information and make mental leaps to the future.
In the third scale describing decision-making style, people who tend toward Thinking (T) analyze a decision objectively and logically. Someone who exemplifies Feeling (F) makes decisions on how results impact other people, and strives to preserve harmony between others. Lastly, those who are commonly Judging (J) like to achieve closure and resolve decisions quickly, whereas people who favor Perceiving (P) prefer to gather more information and not rush a decision.
The indicator yields a four-letter “Type” that has its own description and way of viewing the world. There are 16 possible personality types with the Myers-Briggs.
If Colleen and Stella completed the Myers-Briggs, they would learn that they, unsurprisingly, have very different profiles. Colleen is a classic ISTJ (Introversion, Sensing, Thinking, Judging,). She decides logically what should be done and works toward her goal systematically. She is orderly and organized, sometimes to a fault, and takes pleasure in this.
Stella, on the other hand, interacts with the world as an ENFP (Extraversion, iNtuition, Feeling, Perceiving). She’s imaginative and connects ideas quickly – such as the promise of the new product and the potential to promote this in the catalog. Stella also wants approval from others. She doesn’t prioritize the deadline over continuing to work on the catalog; as a “P,” she is fairly relaxed about meeting her deadline.
Colleen and Stella then took the MBTI, which resulted in greater understanding of each other’s point of view. Colleen agreed to incorporate Stella’s valuable ideas, even though they produced a different catalog than last year. She also allowed more flexibility on her deadline, while Stella in turn cut down on the number of catalog iterations. They also specifically tailored their discussions in meetings, especially when hitting a communication roadblock, something Kathy Maloney, an EnVision consultant, advocates.
During EnVision’s team development day, Maloney and EnVision consultant Ginny Maglio kicked off the session by showing the attendees a photograph of a busy New York City intersection, asking them to state what the picture brought to their minds. Whether people remembered a specific item from the picture or took away a certain feeling from it, their observations reflected their MBTI type.
Moving into the core of the session, Maglio and Maloney led the group in real-world, job-applicable exercises that incorporated organization, problem solving, and decision making. They handed the attendees a scenario of starting a new L&D project, a program on diversity, and split the attendees into two groups. They then asked two groups how they would plan the project.
During this exercise, EnVision’s team learned which elements they prioritized, where they placed emphasis, and how this was reflected in their own MBTI type. For example, someone who has a preference for Sensing and Thinking would want to know why the client believes they have a need for diversity training, what data is available to support this, and which performance improvements the client is seeking in its employees, explains Maglio. These are all task-oriented focuses. An iNtuition/Perceiving type would focus not only on the content of the curriculum, but also on how each team member can have an impact on the learning solution and give members choices about what roles/responsibilities they want to assume, said Maloney.
In the second half of the exercise, each team determined how to complete the project. Maglio and Maloney chose these exercises to mimic real-life work with clients, and also encourage team members to be aware of their MBTI profile to best work with their colleagues. “[The MBTI] is an understanding of yourself and others to work more effectively together,” said Maglio.
In addition, the Myers-Briggs can be used to problem solve. If MBTI types are missing from a work team, members can adopt those preferences, using their past experience. This ensures the problem is approached from all perspectives, leading to a more comprehensive solution.
Most often, company leaders introduce the MBTI when there is a specific need, such as an interpersonal issue within a team, said Maloney, like the example with Colleen and Stella. “To me, there needs to be a business need, and an interpersonal need,” said Maloney. “It’s a great tool, but not the only tool.”
Using the MBTI to put a team together would be a misuse of the indicator, said Maloney. Because the Myers-Briggs does not test ability or knowledge, it should not be used to assess employees’ abilities or performance. Frequently, people may refer to the Myers-Briggs as a “test,” though it is not.
While limitations to the MBTI exist, its framework based on the personality theories of Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung still endures today. The indicator remains one of the most widely used psychological tools worldwide. Add it to your arsenal of tools to have your employees understand each other better, like Colleen and Stella, and grow more productive.
Create Learner Value with the Virtual Classroom
Independent elearning offers convenience for the learner and ease of delivery for the client. Yet, sometimes there is no substitute for discussion with one’s peers, feedback from the instructor, and hands-on activities to cement learning. Can the advantages of elearning and interaction of classroom learning both be addressed in a different modality?
Meet the virtual classroom. With this modality, learners sit where they like, with their own computers, while experiencing the give-and-take of a classroom setting. The virtual classroom enables learners to participate remotely, but in a real-time, synchronous manner, unlike elearning, in which participants learn asynchronously or independently.
In a virtual classroom, learners access training via Adobe Connect, Blackboard Collaborate, or another platform. When they sign on, they may see PowerPoint slides and/or a white board, and sometimes a video of the instructor speaking. In addition to the instructor, there is a technical assistant working “behind the scenes” to ensure the technology and interaction between the instructor and class run smoothly.
Learners actively participate in the class in a number of ways, states Marilyn Kobus, an instructional designer with EnVision. They can “talk” amongst themselves via an online chat feature, or use a text tool to write on one of the instructor’s slides, visible to all the learners. Just as in a traditional classroom, the learners can talk directly with the instructor and with each other. Depending on the size of the group, participants may speak up directly or click on an icon on their desktop to “raise their hand.” The instructor can see the raised hands, and then call on learners to speak.
The instructor can even divide the participants into breakout groups, where they work on an activity, speak amongst themselves, and capture notes on their small group’s white board or notes pod. They can then return to the larger group with their notes to present their findings —just like in a traditional classroom.
A virtual classroom does not equal a webinar. The two differ both in their size and the manner in which the learning is designed. Hundreds of people may attend a webinar, whereas a virtual classroom ideally accommodates 12 to 16 participants.
The virtual classroom allows for interaction with the instructor and peers, as well as practice and hands-on learning, whereas a webinar is a nearly 100% lecture format. “If you really want people to learn skills, you’re not going to get that in a webinar….there’s no practice,” explains Kobus. “Webinars are good for sharing information.”
Virtual classrooms offer many practical benefits to learners and their organizations. Professionals obviously don’t travel to take or deliver the class, so costs decrease. Virtual training may be easier for learners to work into their busy schedules, since content is broken into smaller chunks spread out over time, rather than covered in one or two full days as in a traditional classroom. These smaller learning sessions usually include robust prework assignments, as well as inter-session assignments that enable learners to put into practice what they are learning. This approach makes the best use of in-class time with an instructor while fostering application of learning in action. The opportunity to take what is learned in the classroom, immediately practice it on the job and then return to troubleshoot is a luxury that is not often available in a typical classroom-based workshop, according to Kobus.
Another benefit is that managers and instructors may opt to record a virtual classroom session and reuse it or make it available as a refresher, though it will lack the interactivity and spontaneity of the first iteration (from “Interactive Classrooms,” Rachel Griffith-Boyes and Mark Aberdour, September 2013). Recordings could also augment existing training as a review or job reference.
Despite all the benefits, there are crucial points the instructional designer must consider before embarking on a virtual classroom as a learning modality. First, the L&D professional must believe the class can benefit from learning in a group setting, versus independently. If the curriculum includes prework, the instructor should be sure to discuss the prework and expand on the learning in class. Also, the course must be as interactive as possible, whether the tools used be polls, chats, discussions, or group activities to deepen skill development.
The faculty member must also exhibit different skills in a virtual setting than when teaching in a traditional classroom. He or she needs to be particularly energetic and responsive; there is no student body language to observe, so the instructor must actively encourage a balance of participation in the classroom. Because of the technology barrier, the instructor may need to work harder to keep learners engaged; for example, the instructor can call on learners frequently.
Also, the instructor must be a master juggler. In any given moment, there could be learners with their hands raised while others are chatting, or there could be one or several learners at a computer, and the instructor needs to remember the location of each one. Basically, the instructor needs to multi-task and execute seamless choreography with the technical assistant, all without losing command of the classroom.
Technology challenges, of course, cannot be predicted. Between audio and software applications, things can and will go wrong. In “Interactive Classrooms,” Griffith-Boyes and Aberdour advise the reader to “always have a back-up plan.” Some technology issues, however, can be reduced or addressed quickly with proficiency in the software program, says Kobus.
EnVision recently adapted a classroom curriculum on an ethics-related topic to a virtual classroom setting. The curriculum consists of six modules covering a framework on handling ethical issues, and is geared toward social workers, nurses, and mental health professionals.
This learning solution encompasses both independent learning and virtual classroom time, which allows the learners to get grounded independently in key concepts before the session and then practice the material they learned during class, according to Kobus. The recent pilot of the first module ran smoothly, and design work continues on the remaining modules.
The virtual classroom allows for an engaging, cost-effective experience in an interactive format. Remember that independent learning, no matter how convenient, does not enable learners to discuss and practice the way a virtual classroom does. If you’d like to learn more about developing a virtual curriculum for your company, contact EnVision.
Creating Your Own Sweet Adventure
“When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.” – Regina Brett
Like many people, I have a weakness for chocolate. For a while, I had wanted to take a chocolate walking tour in Boston, enjoying the city while sampling delicacies from various specialty shops. This would be a tasty way to be a tourist in my own backyard, I figured.
So, like any diligent scholar of chocolate, I did my research. I soon found a very convenient option – a chocolate walking tour located right in the Back Bay. This sounded ideal, until I saw the tickets were $40-$50 each.
After this bit of sticker shock, I decided to plan my own Boston chocolate walking tour, putting my creativity and organizational skills to work. Via Google, I located several shops on Newbury and Boylston streets, and off my husband and I went for the weekend.
Our outing included The Melting Pot, where we indulged in chocolate fondue; L.A. Burdick’s, a delicious shop on Clarendon Street which sold its signature chocolate mice; and Max Brenner’s, both a chocolate bar and restaurant, where we sampled cocoa powder-dusted waffle fries.
By far, the most unusual chocolate we encountered (no, we didn’t sample) hailed from the Gourmet Boutique on Huntington Avenue. Camel milk chocolate from Dubai, anyone?? In total, we sampled sweets from 10 chocolatiers, learning more about chocolate than we ever had before.
My husband and I agreed that L.A. Burdick was our favorite. The chocolates were simply delicious and creamy, and the interior of each integrated flawlessly with the chocolate exterior. Based in Walpole, NH since 1992, owner Larry Burdick learned the chocolate-making craft in both France and Switzerland.
In visiting the shops, I noticed different attitudes among the storekeepers. Some held us spellbound, describing the origin of their business, how they learned the craft under master chocolatiers, and the features of their trademark candies. You could see and feel their passion for their craft. No matter how busy they were, they took the time to speak with us and share their love for chocolate.
At other stores, the owners did not tell us about their specialties, but rather complained about the hours they worked. Despite working to create and distribute a product that makes most people happy, these people didn’t seem content with their work.
In spite of a few overworked chocolatiers, we greatly enjoyed the tour. I also found parts of the outing that correlated to my work.
With a chocolate tour or with instructional design, choosing a theme concentrates the focus, adding to the enjoyment of the learning experience. For example, had I tried to intersperse portions of the Freedom Trail with our chocolate tour, I don’t think I would have enjoyed the experience as much. Part of the fun was knowing that these two days were devoted to chocolate.
I also saw that enthusiasm really makes a difference, whether it is training or chocolate-making. As a consumer, I found myself impressed by the storekeepers who showed excitement for their chocolate-making, and it positively influenced my opinion of the store. Similarly, learners absorb the material when the design—and instructor—is engaging; it is difficult for them to maintain interest in a dull class.
Finally, I was reminded that learners often rely on take-aways to master new material. In a corporate training class, this could be a job aid or cheat sheet to help translate classroom learning to on-the-job success. For our tour, of course, the takeaways were the chocolate samples we were unable to sample during the tour. We’re going through our take-aways, little by little, remembering the fun we had that weekend and what we learned.
Ingenious Ways to Improve Learner Retention
As instructional designers, we focus on improving employee performance through knowledge and an increased skill set. We strive for learners to retain what they learn and implement it in their jobs.
Yet, with so many competing demands at work and home, retaining what we learn can be easier said than done. For the instructional designer, any guide or “rules” to increase learner retention could really help.
Most recently, I have found such a guide in the book Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath, which describes six sticky principles to incorporate in our ideas and educational material, to make them more memorable and meaningful. I felt so strongly about this book that I made it the cornerstone of EnVision’s 15th EnVisioning our Future team workshop, held this past December.
The first principle we learned at the workshop was simple, or summarizing the essential core of your idea. Nike’s slogan, Just Do It, is a good example of this. Alternatively, the second principle happens to be unexpected, which means surprising people to get their attention. By invoking the senses or enhancing a scenario with details, one uses the concrete principle of stickiness. Appealing to emotion or inserting credible facts/testimonials will also help learners retain material. Finally, introducing a story and carrying it through a training workshop, book, or any other creative endeavor can also help concepts to stick.
After learning about these basic principles in the workshop, we broke into teams to analyze an instructional design case study, finding ways to improve our chosen course using these elements of “stickiness.” In my group, we found ourselves brainstorming original instructional design methods for a financial management course at a major Boston hospital.
While sound financial management is clearly important, the challenge lies in making this material engaging for the learner so s/he retains it. Between three of us, we thought of several ideas to make financial management “stick.” As an example of the concrete principle, an old-fashioned weighted scale could represent the importance of having accounts balance. An easy-to-remember slogan (“haste makes waste” relates to financial management) provides an overarching theme for a learner’s performance improvement and illustrates the simple concept.
Finally, our team recommended that the story principle could help show the learners the degree to which hospitals rely on sound financial management. The trainer could share a story of a hospital that budgeted well, and one that did not, and the consequences of each scenario, while following this story throughout the training. The relevance of a real-life scenario brings the material alive for the learners, placing it in a larger perspective. “…people care more about individuals (or individual hospitals, to paraphrase) than they do about abstractions,” write the Heath brothers in the epilogue of Made to Stick.
I found Made to Stick a novel way of looking at my field of instructional design. Even better, these principles can be applied to the fields of marketing, writing, and more. The Heath brothers have given us all a valuable framework to “raise the bar” and provide more value-add to our learners.
Forging a Path in the Snow
While many New Englanders bemoan this harsh winter, I find I embrace most of it; well, maybe not the snow removal part. Since one of my favorite pastimes is snowshoeing, winter – especially snowy winters like this one—enables me to indulge in it.
What keeps me attaching these cumbersome apparatuses to my feet, and trudging through the cold air and snow, time and again? When I enter the wilds of my local conservation land, I leave the modern world and daily annoyances behind. In forging a path, I experience the sense of wonder that comes to me from immersion in nature.
I enjoy marking my footprint in the clean, fresh snow. When several of these footprints are strung together, they make a path. I don’t always recognize the direction of my path. Sometimes, the journey is familiar; other times, I get lost. Yet, I always feel fairly relaxed, knowing I can simply retrace my snowy steps, use landmarks as a guide, and return where I began, ready to forge a brand new path. I may even make new discoveries along the way.
The instructional design process correlates to snowshoeing. My journey starts from the moment I put on my snowshoes, much like the client kick-off meeting launches the instructional design journey. Out in nature, I scan the horizon for a place to go, just like the design document and its learning objectives lead to a destination for the learners.
When I forge my path, some parts are easy going and others difficult, and I may get lost in designing a course, too. Yet, if I turn around, and retrace my steps, I can get back to where I veered off course. I can then think about where I am, look around, and choose a different trail that leads to the same destination, the learning objective. Perhaps the new path will be more clear-cut. There is a lot of freedom in knowing I can always change my path.
When we get lost or stalled as learning professionals, it’s important not to give up on the learning objectives. We can, however, revisit our journey to see where we drifted off course. We hope our new path leads to discoveries for our learners, too.
Get to the Head of the Class in Writing Learning Assessments
A college midterm for Introduction to Psychology. The Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam. The MCAS (the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System – if you’re a parent to a school-aged child, you know it!)
What do these three items have in common? Yes, we commonly refer to them as “tests” or “exams,” but like the MCAS acronym suggests, they are assessments, designed to determine how well learners have mastered given material. Whether the student learns the material as an accountant or while still in grade school, assessment questions must connect to the learning objectives and reflect an appropriate level of difficulty.
With these tenets in mind, I co-led a training session on Writing Learning Assessments to 40 training professionals at a large pharmaceutical client site back in September. I was excited to deliver the information to this experienced group, several of whom joined the session virtually.
We built the class around the learners defining best practices. First and foremost, it is crucial to ensure that the assessment questions are directly tied to learning objectives, to see how well the employees meet these goals. The learners will master the material better if they apply their knowledge in a realistic scenario, rather than merely parrot back what they have learned. Also, I advised the instructional designers to have someone “test their test” to evaluate the assessment’s timing, difficulty level, clarity of questions, and more. I also recommended considering the test-taking audience; sometimes a question may not apply to all learners.
Predictable answers can doom an assessment. From my experience, I have noticed that many correct answers are often either the most detailed choice, very obvious, or the infamous “all of the above.” Test writers should review their assessments for these types of answers. A high score on a test needs to reflect how well the learner masters the material, not how well he or she strategizes the assessment experience.
Some of the training professionals I met that day knew these tips. However, I shared one best practice which threw many of them a curve: During which stage of ADDIE (Assess / Design / Develop / Implement / Evaluate) should an instructional designer begin creating test questions? The answer is below! **Hint: instructional design professionals need to start thinking of assessment questions early, as this drives course content as well as provides ample time to review and test the questions.
This group of training professionals also needed to pay special attention to the difficulty level of questions, since they work in the pharmaceutical industry. We learned that the FDA includes training in their audits of life sciences companies, and that they are increasingly assessing the difficulty level of test questions to ensure that the employees truly master the material. At the same time, test writers must write questions that learners can comprehend, so this process is a balancing act.
I led several activities to solidify the instructional designers’ knowledge. After reading sample questions, teams rewrote them to increase clarity and effectiveness. They also wrote original questions based on a case study provided by the client. Finally, we directed the test writers to determine an action plan that they could implement during their workday.
What did I observe from leading this workshop? When I read many of the groups’ test questions, I was surprised how many asked learners to repeat facts, rather than apply knowledge. This omission reminded me of learning math in school; while it is important to know basic math facts, you truly master a math concept when you solve a word problem. Math facts don’t test a learner’s true ability as much as his/her memory. And for memory assistance at work, of course, there are job aids. The most competent workers will be those who can navigate a real-life challenge quickly and easily, illustrating their proficiency. Walking out of the workshop, the trainers understood this better than they had coming in.
** Answer: “Design.” However, if you answered “Assess” you are off to a good start, and should exercise caution in writing the questions until you have an approved set of learning objectives. The majority of the test writers in the workshop selected “Develop.”
Making New Discoveries Next Door
Recently, I was privileged to enjoy a stroll with Free Tours by Foot (www.freetoursbyfoot.com/boston-tours). I really love walking tours, and decided to visit Harvard Square, a place I had been many times before.
I soon gained a new perspective of this historic area favored by out-of-towners. I got a good view of the Widener Library, a large brick building in the Beaux-Arts style complete with two imposing columns and a large staircase (examiner.com). Walking by Lowell House, I heard the replica of the famous Danilov bells ringing. I marveled at the intricate stained glass windows in Sanders Theater, the site of speeches by Winston Churchill and Martin Luther King Jr. (www.fas.harvard.edu/~memhall/sanders.html). And I chuckled when I spotted the Dewey, Cheetem and Howe sign, the nameplate representing the fictional law firm at the corner of Brattle and JFK streets. All of these landmarks appeared new to me, though I had walked by them countless times before.
This experience made me realize how often we pass things by without seeing them at all. It also caused me to reflect on my work life, and what one can discover by looking at situations with new eyes. While we may not expand our work horizons with a walking tour, we can stretch our minds by brainstorming with colleagues, or by participating in a professional development session or networking event. We can simply open our minds and become willing to see and do something new and different, rather than stick with the tried and true because “we’ve always done it this way.”
This willingness and effort to gain a new perspective helps us in our professional lives. As instructional designers or trainers, we could gain a new way of presenting material to learners, such as a student self-assessment, an educational game, or unique role play. We could discover a new way to make a meeting engaging. As emotional intelligence continues to contribute to success in the workplace, finding a new way to approach a challenging topic with a colleague opens the line of communication, enabling us to collaborate. Most importantly, being open to innovation gives us the freedom to find a solution to an issue, whether the challenge be in employee performance, cost overruns, or employee turnover.
Marcel Proust wrote, “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” Let your new eyes lead you to all your best ideas in 2014. And when you have a chance, check out Free Tours by Foot. I hope the tour inspires you, also!
Don’t Forget the Roadmap Before You Start Your Trip – the Value of the Needs Assessment
Before starting to design a learning solution, which tool can help guide your work? Just like embarking upon an unfamiliar road trip, starting a learning project requires a blueprint, a guide. To ensure you don’t get lost along the way, a map is essential (assuming this scenario takes place in the pre-GPS era). The map would provide direction for your trip, helping you to reach your destination. Without the map, you could find yourself somewhere you never intended to be and didn’t want to go.
Similarly, designing a learning solution without conducting a needs assessment can often lead a client down the wrong road and to ineffective training. While a training program without a needs assessment may appeal to the client, it could potentially fail to address business objectives. In this way, the needs assessment functions as a roadmap for the training, getting the client to their destination (the business objective) in the most efficient way possible.
To perform a needs assessment, a consultant must first learn the client’s business objectives and determine if there are gaps in reaching those objectives. To do this, she/he engages the sponsors of the proposed learning in conversation about their business needs. With this information, a consultant can begin to figure out the learning objectives needed to achieve the business goals, according to Marilyn Kobus, an organizational and learning consultant with EnVision.
Questions such as the following can kick off a strong needs assessment:
- What are your current business goals?
- What type of performance will be needed by people in your group if your business goals are to be realized?
- What do you want learners/employees to be able to do more effectively or differently?
- In what ways are your employees prepared or not prepared to perform in the manner described above?
- What has worked or not worked when you have tried to improve the performance of people in this employee group before?
The learning professional then typically seeks a deeper understanding of challenges and learning needs and conducts focus groups and/or interviews with representatives of the target audience and perhaps their managers. After this process, the learning professional recommends specific tactics and tools to achieve the learning objectives. “In every situation, it is important to keep in mind the change the client is trying to accomplish,” explained Paula Spizziri, an instructional designer and EnVision team member.
Kobus knows firsthand that what you learn – or don’t learn – in the needs assessment can impact the success of the future curriculum. While consulting to a manufacturing company, Kobus interviewed the VP of Manufacturing about training a group of line supervisors. The VP was interested in repurposing an overseas training program for supervisors in the United States. Kobus conducted two focus groups with both managers and supervisors to learn more about the supervisors’ challenges as well as their skill levels.
While preparing the needs assessment, Kobus quickly recognized that the supervisors faced distinctly different issues from their overseas counterparts. For starters, the supervisors were overwhelmed by managing too many people. Operational difficulties also impacted their productivity. The plant didn’t have an automated system to track where the “widget” was in the manufacturing process, so the supervisors frequently ran around the plant to monitor production. In addition, the American supervisors had several more years of experience than their overseas counterparts and required a different type of training. Finally, the manufacturing company had a tough time retaining the line supervisors due to these issues.
Though the VP of Manufacturing pushed for the training, Kobus instead recommended that the company consider addressing other improvements first. They did. The executives adopted new computer systems to fix the operational challenges. Per Kobus’ recommendation, management assigned fewer workers to each supervisor, and hired new supervisors, which distributed the workload more fairly.
Once these changes had been made, management could revisit their learning objectives. The original training for less experienced supervisors had incorporated modules on communication and performance management. Kobus modified the training to include advanced communications skills, time management, and tips on “managing up.” The training was a success.
If Kobus had gone ahead with training the supervisors immediately as the VP requested, she could easily have alienated her target market. “The audience was more ready to receive the training [later],” said Kobus. “By participating in the needs assessment, they really felt heard.”
With another project, Kobus was unable to complete a needs assessment; the vice president at this second company didn’t allow her to interview the employees. Per the VP’s request, she created an L&D solution anyway. After a great deal of time and money, the client had a high-quality learning solution….that didn’t meet the company’s needs and learning objectives.
The needs assessment can truly make or break the success of a project. Based on her experience, Spizziri believes an incomplete or poor needs assessment often yields extraneous curriculum content that doesn’t meet the learning objectives. Conversely, a thorough needs assessment can identify valuable content for the future solution, according to Kobus. “The time you spend upfront is really time well spent, because you can discover some things you didn’t know,” explained Kobus. “The needs assessment gives you great content for your solution, and helps ensure that the learning delivers value and is linked to business results.”
A Shoreline Ride in New York City
“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Whether creating a learning solution or completing a challenging athletic endeavor, a plan provides the necessary blueprint. Though in my work life I am very much a planner, I was recently reminded of how crucial preparation is in all aspects of life…when I completed the New York City Century Bike Tour, though a bit shakily.
Some background: I love New York City, and I really enjoy cycling. So the NYC Century Bike Tour, the proceeds of which benefit Transportation Alternatives in NYC, was a perfect fit. I was also attracted to the event because I could choose the distance I would cycle. I selected 55 miles, a challenging but entirely doable day-long ride. The plan was working out fine.
Prior to the ride, I focused on my training, logging a 50-mile ride a few weeks earlier. I made sure my bike was all tuned up and in working order. The morning of the ride, I ate a nice, big breakfast at 6:00 a.m. I set off on my bike at 7:15 a.m., eager for several hours of riding.
Initially, I enjoyed the ride. The weather was wonderful…partly sunny, in the high 70s. The crowd proved to be spirited and colorful, with some cyclists even dressed up as Superman and Wonder Woman. As we traveled through the streets of Brooklyn, I found myself impressed by the vast diversity of the neighborhoods, which included Italian, Middle Eastern, and Jewish areas.
Once we reached mile 40 or so, however, I started to feel very fatigued and a bit strange. Though we refueled with bread and peanut butter at occasional rest stops and snacked on protein bars along the way, clearly these were not enough for me.
I began to feel out of touch with what was occurring around me. This led to a dangerous situation when a car pulled out of a driveway and I didn’t see it coming, narrowly avoiding an accident. I wanted to take an unplanned break from the ride, but didn’t want to stop in an unfamiliar area.
My limited resources were seriously tested when we crossed the RFK Bridge, a maneuver that required us to carry our bikes. This was especially challenging in my exhausted state, given the fact that we needed to climb three flights of stairs in the wind. A footbridge from Randall’s Island to Manhattan led us to the final leg of our journey, and a successfully completed ride.
Once I rested a bit, I started to feel more like myself. I realized that by mile 40, I had not had enough to eat, and was probably a bit low on electrolytes. I also recognized that with all of my training preparations, I never planned lunch. The few snacks I quickly consumed were not nearly enough to sustain me through six hours of cycling.
This endeavor reminded me that as professionals in the L&D field, we always need to recheck our plan…for a design document, course pilot, or train-the-trainer workshop. What may seem like an insignificant detail – like a short job aid or new insert in the learner’s binder – can, if omitted, greatly impact the learning experience, just like my lack of fuel affected my ride. Still, I am very proud that I did finish. Like any day in the office, it was a valuable learning experience. I look forward to another challenging ride soon!
Educating Boston about Emergencies: the DelValle Institute Teams Up with EnVision
April 15, 2013. 2:49 p.m. Boylston Street in Boston.
For the citizens and guests of Boston, the events that occurred on this date will forever be memorialized. Since that day, we are only too aware of the need to prepare for and respond to emergencies, an understanding most of us didn’t have before.
The professionals at the DelValle Institute for Emergency Preparedness, however, have been planning for a long time. DelValle has been educating first responders, public healthcare workers, and healthcare agencies since 2003. For the first time this year, DelValle will offer an online course entitled Community Preparedness Basics: Ready, Safe, Healthy designed for the residents of Boston.
Community Preparedness Basics was funded by a U.S. Department of Homeland Security grant via the Metro Boston Homeland Security Region and the City of Boston Mayor’s Office of Emergency Management. Launching in September, Community Preparedness invites all citizens to Get Ready, Be Safe, Stay Healthy.
This messaging also underscores the course’s structure. In Community Preparedness Basics, the virtual instructor walks the resident through preparing an emergency plan and kit; learning about city resources that can help during an emergency; taking care of oneself and others during an event; and staying healthy physically and emotionally.
Most important, the learner begins to understand why he or she should prepare. Learners are asked what they would need to do in an emergency, bringing the course to life for them. After each citizen has learned how to ‘Get Ready, Be Safe, Stay Healthy,” he/she is also invited to “take the pledge,” a series of specific actions he or she promises to complete. Community Preparedness Basics allows the learner to choose the order of topics and takes about an hour to finish in its entirety. The course is in English and can be accessed via a home computer or at any local library.
While Community Preparedness Basics is available to anyone, DelValle’s staff clearly designed it for Bostonians. Surrounded by photos of Boston landmarks, the people depicted in the course frames are real Boston residents. “This signals to people, ‘this was built for you,’ “explains S. Atyia Martin, Director of the Office of Health Preparedness at the BPHC. “It gives people an opportunity to start a conversation about emergency preparedness.”
DelValle’s focus on online learning began in 2011. Mea Allen, Senior Program Manager for Online Learning at the Office of Public Health Preparedness, led the effort to grow online learning at DelValle. Approximately one year ago, Allen started the work on Community Preparedness Basics and hired EnVision Performance Solutions to help with the project. EnVision had helped DelValle develop a previous course, Continuity of Operations Planning Made Practical.
EnVision performed the instructional design and managed the production of Community Preparedness Basics, proving to be a valuable partner. “We hired EnVision a few years back, and we were happy to have them on board,” said Allen. “We knew we could depend on them to help us meet the deadlines while still supporting high-quality design and production.”
Community Preparedness Basics is one of several delivered by DelValle, which has also launched the following in 2013, with the help of EnVision: Emergency Operations Planning (EOP), Hazard Vulnerability Analysis (HVA) Planning, and Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) Triage. The planning courses are designed for emergency managers of healthcare institutions such as hospitals and community health centers, while first responders will benefit most from the MCI Triage course.
The events of the marathon bombing show that emergency preparation does not solely reside with traditional first responders. With the expert help of the DelValle Institute, we can all become qualified to manage the unexpected. “Preparing for disaster is each person’s responsibility, because at the end of the day, we are all first responders,” says Allen. “We need to take care of our families as best we can while help is on the way. If we’re all individually prepared, we become better prepared as a city and ultimately more resilient.”
Stay tuned – in our next Building Bridges, we will provide a link to Community Preparedness so you can experience the course yourself!
Lessons from a Cozy Igloo
Now that we are deep in the midst of a sweltering summer, it may be the perfect time to reminisce about my vacation last March to chilly Quebec, and more specifically, to a night spent in its world-famous Hôtel de Glace, or Ice Hotel. This was a unique experience, and I appreciated both the hotel’s beauty as well as the care the hotel staff showed to the tourists during my stay.
Built of ice imported from Montreal, the Hôtel de Glace accepts visitors each winter from early January until late March. Adorned with beautiful carvings of flowers and animals, the 42 frigid rooms are kept at a constant 27 degrees Fahrenheit and are lit by LED lights. In addition, the hotel boasts an outdoor spa and sauna, as well as a bar that accommodates 300 people. According to the travel website Gadling.com, Jacques Desbois founded Hôtel de Glace when he started building igloo-like structures in 2001, and the project expanded from there. The hotel continues to add rooms each year.
Though the hotel is beautiful and unique, staying there was not without its challenges. Your choice of clothing can contribute to shivering; any garment that retains humidity, like cotton, brings on the chills. There is no bathroom within the Hôtel de Glace, so when nature calls, a walk to a nearby heated building is in order. And forget about “sleeping in” and lounging about your room with a cup of coffee….the staff awakens the guests early each morning to prepare for check-out.
Despite these mini-obstacles, I was thoroughly impressed with how well the hotel’s staff made the guests feel welcome, comfortable, and appreciated. Animal skins draped over each frozen ice bench provide the rooms with a cozy look and feel. The staff rakes the snow-covered floors every morning and evening. A well-insulated fireplace in our room emitted a soft glow. While enjoying drinks at the bar, all patrons were given tools to create an original ice carving.
Most important, the staff shared essential information about staying in the ice hotel and provided crucial support. They conducted a 45-minute training session and showed us how to use a special arctic sleeping bag during the night. In addition, the Hôtel de Glace offers a tour package with the Sheraton Four Points in Quebec, and many patrons elect to book rooms in each for the same evening. That way, the staff can drive you back to the Sheraton in the middle of the night, if you’ve had your fill of ice. Although we didn’t take advantage of this, just knowing the option was available reduced a lot of the anxiety we may have otherwise felt spending an evening in such a foreign environment.
The experience showed me what a difference the staff’s care made during a challenging stay. It reminded me of the need for us, as learning professionals, to extend the same welcome and comfort to our learners when they are being stimulated and “stretched” during a training session. We need to make sure our training room can accommodate our group and that the room temperature is comfortable for people (though keeping participants comfortable should be easier in a training venue than in an ice hotel!).
In addition, I find it helpful to start a training session with an activity where the attendees can interact and get to know each other – an “ice breaker,” similar to the ice carving we did in the bar. With this addition, the attendees will feel more comfortable, which in turn makes it easier for them to both participate and learn.
Honestly, I don’t know if I will ever return to the Hôtel de Glace. I do know that the first-rate staff made an impression on me, and that we all can look to their example of excellence as a model for ourselves.
When the Project Isn’t Perfect: How to Prevent Client Misunderstandings
As an instructional designer at Big Corporation, Jessica enjoys her work and interacts successfully with many internal clients. However, she recently experienced a disagreement with Joe, Director of Quality Assurance at Big Corporation. While Jessica originally hoped to rectify the misunderstanding, it has continued. Because of this, Joe has become frustrated with the training team, and is starting to grumble about them to his colleagues.
The trouble began when, on May 28, Jessica submitted an agreed-upon deliverable, a design document for a training curriculum to help improve the accuracy of the quality control department. Joe believed the deliverable was incomplete.
To complete the design document, Jessica needed the input from several employees, including line supervisors. When Jessica and Joe first discussed the work, however, Jessica didn’t mention needing to speak with the line supervisors, figuring she could discuss the participation of these employees later.
This turned out to be a significant mistake. Jessica was unable to secure time with the employees, who were too busy to speak with her and uninformed about the project. Joe didn’t know that the substance of her design document could not be delivered without the crucial input of his team. How could such a mistake be avoided in the future?
To determine this, we relied on our own experience at EnVision as well as Peter Block’s Flawless Consulting, a valuable resource for all consultants—internal and external. There are several strategies Block advises for achieving success in consulting projects, and they should be implemented even before starting work on your project, during the contracting phase.
- Speak and behave authentically and honestly with the client from the very outset. “Authentically” is a word used by Block, though an interchangeable term would be “candidly.” Be frank about what you need to achieve the project goals, address questions and concerns, offer your opinions of your assignment, get everything on the table. “You should be able to…elicit the client’s expectations of you; clearly and simply state what you want from the client…It is always necessary to talk about control, vulnerability, your wants, and chances of success,” writes Block. The author also encourages difficult conversations with the client, as it will lead to greater trust in the relationship.
- Obtain permission to speak with employees and to access company information. It is important to give context to the client when you ask for this. Explain what you need, why it is important for the work you are doing, and what the impact will be if you don’t secure this information. It is also helpful to specify which employees will be involved, and clarify the amount of time required of them. If Jessica had been frank about the interviews she needed, Joe would have better understood her process and approach, and her work would have met Joe’s expectations.
- Define the boundaries of your work, including which responsibilities will be handled by you and which by the client or others, says Block. What is the scope of the work? This question will be answered in the contracting phase and can be repeated in the design document, which may include a list of any out-of-scope work. This document also typically contains a roles and responsibilities section, so all project team members understand what their work will entail. In the case of Jessica and Joe, they hadn’t discussed Jessica’s role interviewing employees or the employees’ involvement in the project.
- Determine together what the deliverable(s) will look like. In the contracting phase, work with the client to define deliverables such as a produced elearning course, storyboards, participant materials, job aids, and/or instructor guides. Agree on the level of detail – will the instructor guide include a word-for-word script for the instructor, or just key points? Will storyboards be prepared in PowerPoint or Word? It is crucial to include these details when contracting; it may be more difficult to change them later. In the case of Jessica and Joe, they were quick to disagree because they didn’t agree on what the design document would include.
- Agree on completion dates, reviews, and other milestones. There may be factors driving the completion dates, and Joe and Jessica must discuss these and include them in the project plan. When Jessica initially discussed the work with Joe, she failed to include employee interviews (a milestone) and review sessions in the schedule. A detailed project plan will include who the reviewers are and the time they need for their work.
While any consulting work has the potential for misunderstandings, these can be minimized by a candid conversation with the client before you begin work. Follow these steps, and you’ll be well on your way to positioning yourself for success!
To Teach, Learn: How Instructional Design Professionals Take Time for Their Own Learning
Though instructional designers create courses that facilitate learning, we also must prioritize our own education, like everyone else. So, which learning methods work best for us? How do we make time for learning when confronted with looming work deadlines? And what tips do we have for fitting in learning time?
To answer these questions, we spoke with two instructional designers, Mea Allen from the DelValle Institute for Emergency Preparedness, a program of Boston Emergency Medical Services that educates EMS employees, hospital employees, and public health workers; and Alison McIssac, an instructional designer at EnVision, about effective ways they stay informed of the newest developments in their field.
Alison finds that she learns a great deal from observing other professionals’ work and leveraging what she learns in her instructional design. She pays careful attention to video presentations, since these are such a large part of instructional design. Alison may notice a new animation technique, for example, and later incorporate that into her own work.
Both women rely on the availability and convenience of Internet resources. Mea has enrolled in webinars of interest and also favors the eLearning Guild, which offers online forums and articles that she can bookmark for future reference. Alison spends time on the LinkedIn group for Adobe Captivate, an elearning authoring software, which helps her to refine her skills.
Alison has found that e-learning or distance instruction correlates well with her schedule. In 2010, she furthered her learning with a Certificate in e-Learning Design and Development from the University of Washington. This program required both group and independent projects. “For me, it’s about fitting [learning] in where it makes sense,” says Alison.
Mea is also advancing her education, pursuing a Master’s program in Instructional Design at UMass Boston, which features both traditional and online learning. She explains that she enrolled in the program to add a theoretical background to the practical skills she already has. This program has the added advantage of allowing Mea to incorporate projects from her job into her coursework, such as her Intro to Design class at UMass.
Even with a busy work schedule, Mea underscores the value of focusing on her own education. “I make the time because we are so busy, and just started blocking out time on my calendar.”
As vital as formal learning is, it’s important to remember that we all can further our own education with choices we make each day as professionals. What steps can you take today to increase your knowledge base?
Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Learning can be informal as well as formal, and happens every day. Leverage your observations to add to your skill set.
- Utilize Internet resources to their fullest capacity. Do some research to determine the resources that will be most helpful to you. Bookmark these and review them regularly.
- If you are enrolled in an educational program, consider using a work project to fulfill an assignment. It’s a win-win!
- Fit in learning whenever you can, even if it’s only a few minutes. Every bit helps you in your career.
Do you have a tip to share? E-mail your favorite learning ideas or resources, and we’ll share it in the next edition of Building Bridges.
How is Your Organization Implementing Blended Learning?
Not all that long ago, employees received nearly all of their training in a classroom, listening to lectures delivered by an experienced manager or subject matter expert. While some companies still rely exclusively on this traditional model, most organizations have implemented blended learning. (Skillsoft, March 2010).
A blended learning environment includes multiple learning methods, such as an assignment before class, independent online learning, team projects, or job shadowing. The learning may be accomplished synchronously (same time) with or asynchronously (different time) from other learners; at the workplace or outside of it; with peers, with a mentor, or independently.
Blended learning often mixes formal instructional time with immediately applicable, on-the-job activities. Organizations may also choose to deliver training focused on actual workplace issues or scenarios, rather than prepared content (www.ispi.org, The Present and Future State of Blended Learning in Workplace, Kim/Bonk/Oh, 2008).
Because of its flexibility, blended learning thrives on employee initiative, and treats learning as an ongoing process, rather than a unique event. “Blended learning expands the traditional role of training beyond the usual scope of formal training by providing a robust set of tools that allow employees to obtain the information and instruction they independently and uniquely need, all within the daily flow of work.” (Skillsoft, August 2010)
Since 70% of workplace learning occurs through informal activities such as interaction with peers and trial and error, informal learning is an area in which blended learning may flourish (Skillsoft, August 2010). In addition, there are specific stages of the learning process where blended learning can be especially beneficial. This instructional approach can be used by learners to Prepare, Practice, and Polish.
Prepare: Students may complete an assignment before starting classroom training. This saves time in the classroom and assures that all learners begin the class with a similar foundation of knowledge. Students may prepare in a variety of ways, including reading a document ahead of time and answering questions about it. Instructional designers have also developed innovative methods for learners to “prepare,” such as a “treasure hunt” in which students seek glossary term definitions or locate information in a software program, helping them learn to navigate it.
Practice: The learners take the time to practice between class sessions or on the job. The learners may use a checklist, questions, or job aid as support. Regular practice helps assure the ongoing transfer of learning to the job.
Polish: The most effective program needs to support long-term learning, incorporated into an employee’s workday. This can be done through webinars or “brown bag” lunch meetings. It can also be accomplished via a social media forum, where employees can post questions and answer queries from other employees (with moderator support).
EnVision has leveraged blended learning to help clients meet a variety of needs. For example, EnVision recently developed a learning solution for a client’s performance management curriculum, including an online course that introduced the components of performance reviews and demonstrated the computer application steps; workshops that provided the learners an opportunity to practice delivering performance reviews; and job aids to support the employees when they prepared to conduct actual performance reviews.
Tell us about a creative blended learning solution you recently implemented at your company. How did different learning modalities augment the success of employee learning?
Every Entrepreneur Needs a Big Onion
Achieving an ambitious goal takes an exceptional focus. Becoming a doctor, or a university professor, for example, requires years of schooling, sacrifice, and commitment. When someone follows such a dream, she may relinquish other potential opportunities that are attractive. She hopes that professional and even financial success will be the reward for her choice.
Sometimes, however, letting go of a long-held ambition at the right time yields the greatest personal fulfillment. This is certainly true in the case of Seth Kamil, founder of Big Onion Walking Tours. I was fortunate enough to recently enjoy a Big Onion tour of the Lower East Side in New York City, and was interested to learn Seth’s story.
In 1991, Kamil was pursuing a PhD in history at Columbia University, planning a dissertation on 19th century Manhattan. He left the prestige of an academic career to create a walking tour company, Big Onion Walking Tours. Big Onion spotlights the little-known history of the city, offering tours such as Brooklyn Heights, Immigrant New York, and “Satan’s Seat,” or New York City during the Prohibition.
This decision was a leap of faith for Kamil, and the results have been impressive. According to UMass Amherst’s magazine, Big Onion has grown to offer 2,000 tours per year with 34 guides (Kamil is a UMass alumnus.) The company has earned accolades from New York Magazine and TripAdvisor.
Part of Big Onion’s success lies with its guides. According to its website, Big Onion hires graduate students, usually prospective PhDs, who are working on their dissertation and have teaching experience. Thus, Kamil hires very qualified guides with similar backgrounds to his.
Kamil’s experience shows the importance of taking risks as well as keeping one’s eyes open to the possibility of new experiences. What risks have you taken lately? What was the result? Which great ideas have you rejected in an effort to remain on the “straight and narrow” path? It’s never too late to change your route.
By the way, if you ever find yourself in Manhattan with some time to spare, I highly recommend a Big Onion tour!
Revitalize Your Training With a Course Audit
Suppose you want to make home improvements, but are not sure exactly where to start. You could hire a contractor and interior decorator to completely overhaul a family room or great room, with new room structure, colors, wall coverings, and furniture.
Yet, is a completely new room more than what you need? Maybe the room just requires a new coat of paint, or a comfortable easy chair, or a more streamlined layout. Similarly, your organization may not need an entirely new training curriculum – perhaps an experienced learning consultant could evaluate your course to find the new “color” that will make a difference to your company.
EnVision offers such an assessment, our proprietary 80-point Course Audit. We can analyze one of your current courses or complete curriculum – whether or not your organization has delivered it – and determine which changes will take it to the next level. Which methods could better engage your learners? How well do visual aids like slides explain the material? Will the learners take away the key points that they need to, and be able to successfully incorporate them during their work day? Does the course include too much information? Not enough? EnVision’s Course Audit can help you answer all of these questions, and more.
During a Course Audit, EnVision’s consultant assesses the course’s goals, instructional integrity, evaluation methods and more. She will also examine its logistics planning and communication with management and learners. The consultant then incorporates observations and suggestions into a customized report, which includes the course’s strengths and immediate action items for improvement. Finally, the consultant reviews the report with the client.
This product provides many benefits. Because the work can usually be completed in about 16 hours, the turnaround time is short, crucial to clients on a deadline. The price point appeals to clients who find themselves limited by budget constraints.
Most important, the 80-point Course Audit prioritizes the most critical elements necessary for improving learner engagement and course efficacy. This service works well for those clients who have a strong sense of the organization’s goals and the course’s objectives, and it can help clients who could benefit from guidance in these areas. If you think a Course Audit may improve your company’s learning program, contact EnVision.
For Whom Are You Grateful in Your Work?
A successful training program propels a company forward, engaging its employees and positively impacting its bottom line. It is the role of the learning and development (L&D) specialist or consultant to successfully design and deliver the learning material. In the process of determining a company’s training needs, creating the curriculum, and launching the course, the L&D professional may on occasion take his or her relationships with key stakeholders for granted. Expressing gratitude is a way to recognize everyone’s value in the process, while strengthening relationships for the next big project.
The L&D professional may wish to acknowledge:
His or her own manager, often an HR Director or line of business manager, who provides information and direction about the company’s goals, as well as overall buy-in for the chosen curriculum (depending on the organization).
The subject matter experts (SMEs) who are the authority on the curriculum content and provide valuable guidance for the course.
The learners who use their new knowledge to improve their performance and that of the company. Also, their written evaluations and enthusiasm may determine if you run the class again.
How can we express gratitude to those who help us develop and deliver learning throughout the organization? The simple ways are often the best – an e-mail note, a text message, a handwritten card, or even a simple “thank you” in person. People need to feel appreciated, and a little gratitude goes a long way toward establishing a strong and meaningful working relationship.
As a business owner, I am reminded this November of all the people who help me to do my job here at EnVision…our clients, whose projects challenge and engage us; the EnVision team members, each of whom contributes her or his own talents to EnVision’s success; and all the vendors, learners, and colleagues who help us along the way. Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving!