CHAPTER – 5

TRAINING DESIGN

A. Introduction

Training design or instructional design is the process of creating a blueprint for

the development of instruction. Whether the training is to be conducted in a
classroom, delivered using an electronic format or using some combination of
methods, the design process sets the stage for the development of a program
that produces results.

• Elements - The design phase of developing training includes establishing

learning objectives, planning the steps to achieve those objectives, sequencing
and structuring the steps to be taken including projects, lectures, videos,
assignments, presentations, readings or other activities, and determining
evaluation procedures.
• Considerations - In designing a training program, the designer considers a
variety of factors that will impact the training, including the current knowledge
level of the audience, availability of various technologies, time frames,
available resources and how the training may complement or conflict with
existing programs.

B. Basic principles of training design

In addition to being guided by a thorough understanding of the problems, design

also guided by certain general principles:

Step1.- Define purpose of the training and target audience

• Become clear about what your training needs to accomplish.

• Purpose and audience will be clear—determined by funders or well-
established professional development needs.
• Prioritize a spectrum of training needs before determining a training focus.
• Clear sense of the training’s purpose and target audience, write it down.
Step2 - Determine participants’ needs

• A brief, written survey as part of registration packet, all participants to collect

general information from all participants.
• Survey a random sample of registrants by phone. This will allow to collect
detailed information from a few participants.
• Review evaluation and feedback forms from past-related training events.

Step3 - Define training goals and objectives

• Clarifying expected outcomes

• Outlining training content
• Planning specific training activities
• Selecting/developing materials
• Designing evaluation procedures
• Communicating program intent to the training participants
• Ensuring that the training is realistic and appropriate for the purpose intended

Step4 - Outline training content

• Introduction: establishes a positive learning environment

• Learning components: participants engage in activities designed to accomplish
the training objectives.
• Wrap up and evaluation component: should help bridge the gap between
training and implementation and promote a positive feeling of closure. Rules
of thumb
• Fill in known elements-such as meals and breaks
• Start with simple concepts and proceed to more complex
• Proceeds from less threatening to more sensitive topics
• Schedule activities which require the greatest concentration when people will
be focused and energetic with a break and discussion and Q&A
• Introduce the day’s events in the beginning
• Schedule 8-10 minutes at the end of each day for feedback
• Review plan with a critical eye
Step5 - Develop instructional activities

• An effective training design incorporates a variety of training strategies, taking

into account;
• Participants learning style , Principles of adult learning ,Group size , Prior
experience and /or education level of participants and type of skill or
information to be presented
• When deciding which activities to use, consider these questions –
1. Are we comfortable with this technique?
2. Does the activity require prior knowledge or skill on the part of
participants?
3. Will we have the time, space and resources needed to accomplish the
activity?

Step6 - Prepare the written training design

• Create a written document that provides a detailed plan of the training

session, including goals and objectives.
• Consider the skill expertise, training style and comfort level of each of your
trainers in making this designation.
• Identify specific trainer who will take the lead in fleshing out different sections
of the training and creating the necessary supporting materials. Use written
training design to stay in track during the training events, make mid-course
corrections and document training details.

Step7 - Prepare participant evaluation form

• Did the participants acquire the knowledge and skill that the trainer was
supposed to provide?
• Were the trainers knowledgeable about training content?
• Were the activities interesting and effective?
• Was the training format appropriate?
Step8 - Determine follow-up activities for the event

• Study groups, in which individuals meet regularly to support one another

during the implementation of new idea or practice,
• Mentoring, in which individuals receives on site, personal support and
technical assistance from someone with experience in the method being
learned,
• Newsletters and web site posting, Per observation and coaching, in which
individuals observe one another performing a newly acquired skill,
• Booster session, in which training participants are brought together two to
three months after the training event to reinforce the knowledge and skills
acquired during the training and Ongoing communication between
participants and trainers via phone or electronic mail.

C. FIVE STEPS OF THE DESIGN TRAINING PROCESS:

The steps in the process are Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement and Evaluate.
The steps work in conjunction with one another, which saves companies time and
money by allowing revisions to be made throughout the process rather than after
the training is launched.

• Analyze - In the analysis phase, the training team works with the business
owners to analyze and assess the goals and objectives for the training being
developed. Deadlines and a project plan may be determined at this time as
well.

• Design - After questions are assessed and answered during the analysis phase,
the training designer begins to layout the training content and to develop the
design document. Quizzes or assessments will also be included in the design
document as will any types of training exercises the participants will be
required to do.
• Development - The development phase is when storyboards for the training
are developed, and graphic designs are created or chosen. The graphics will be
implemented into the training and will enhance the training by giving the
learning visuals to complement the content. After the training content is
developed, it is then sent to the business owners and the subject matter
experts(SME) for review and approval.
• Implementation - After the course content is finalized and approved by the
business owners, the training is ready to be launched. This occurs during the
implementation phase. Facilitators must review and understand the
curriculum as well as the testing process. Any necessary travel arrangements
are made for facilitators or participants during the implementation phase.
• Evaluation - During the evaluation phase, feedback is generated by the
participants of the course. This can be done by surveys, either paper based or
electronic. The evaluation process will allow the instructional designers to find
out if learning objectives are being met and how well the course is being
received. These types of evaluations are summative and are completed after
the training.

D. Training design and execution cycle :

The training design and execution cycle is the process of initial design of a
Program based on goals > to the execution of the training > to the measurement
of results > to the modification of the program to meet those results.

Obviously, if we meet our initial goal, then the next step when redefining the goal
is to set the bar higher. This cycle repeats itself as many times as necessary to
meet the goal.

E. Following are the components of cycle:

A static goal is potentially a set score on a qualification, or a specific accuracy

requirement for those who have a specific numerical goal.

A dynamic goal is something that is potentially changing and a bit less

measureable, such as a person’s performance during a particular event.
Needs Analysis- This is where we get very specific about the details of meeting
our target goal. We can refine, or possibly re-define its goal in this step (if our
initial goal is flawed). This step is the analytical step where we define what we
need to do and have to meet the goal.

F. Program Design-.

The steps to program design are:

• Plot time factors (set deadline on a calendar, and count the hours, days, or
weeks we have to meet our goal).

• List the skills and sub skills that are needed to reach our goal.

• List the critical components of each skill

• List the time each skill will take to teach/train (estimated).

• Build the Micro and Macro drills needed to train each skill.

G. Execution-

Once we have designed our training, and now it is time to execute our program.
This is the critical step in the process, and the following must be observed:

• Execution must be perfect in order for us to receive the proper training benefit

.• Failure to execute our training drill repetitions correctly will skew the actual
results

H. Measure

Performance-This is where we assess whether or not our training blocks are

effective or not. Ineffective design and execution of a training program will always
show up here.

• Fail to meet performance objective so we will then modify the design or

execution of the training program, and re-start the training program.
• Meet performance objective so redefine and/or raise the standards measure
and begin the cycle over.

I. Instructional Design Documents

The Role of the Design Document

At the end of the instructional design phase, the training specialist writes an
instructional design document.

A training specialists instructional design document provides detailed instructions

on how to build the course, but it doesn’t contain any actual course content; its
similar to an architect’s blueprint or a software engineers design document.

Generally, an instructional design document will perform the following tasks:

• Describe the overall learning approach Identify instructional media choices

Cluster and sequence objectives Describe course exercises, activities, and
assessments
• Together these five elements create the overall instructional strategy for the
course.
• The instructional design serves as a major quality assurance checkpoint.
• The training specialist and the client discuss and agree to the design before
development begins.

J. Instructional design documents may also contain additional project-

Step One: Determine what training is needed. The first step in designing a training
system for a company is to determine what kinds of training is needed. You will
need to conduct an organizational analysis, a task analysis, and a person analysis.

This three-tiered examination of a company’s training needs is required to

identify - factors that will inhibit and aid training, to identify tasks that most
employees will need to be trained in, and to identify employees that need to be
trained.
Organizational Analysis An organizational analysis is used to identify company
factors that can negatively or positively impact the effectiveness of a training
program.

K. Task Analysis

A task analysis is a process of identifying what skills and activities need to be

taught. A job analysis is basically just an examination of a job and a listing of the
"minimum" duties and skills that are required to successfully perform the job.
Example: Job Title: Secretary

L. Job Skills:

After identifying what tasks are involved in each job, the next step is to identify
what tasks need training.

If an employee already has an identified skill it is a waste of money to train them

in that skill. If you identify a skill that does require additional training then you will
need to formally identify it as a training objective in writing.

This objective should identify

(1) what the skill is,

(2) how the trainee is to learn the skill, and

(3) how proficient they need to be in the skill after the training process is
completed.

M. Person Analysis

The final step in determining what training is needed is to conduct a person

analysis. A person analysis is the identification of people in your company that
need training. There are many ways that this identification process can be
handled.

Step One: First an examination of past and current performance appraisals can be
made to identify employees that have areas that need improvements.
Interviewing employees can also be used to identify skills that are needed or
desired by employees, as can skill and knowledge tests.

The final way a person analysis can be conducted is to evaluate and review critical
incident reports that have been filed in personnel.

Step Two: Determine what training approach to use. After we have identified who
needs to be trained in what areas, we will need to determine what training
methodology to use.

N. Seminars are a popular choice for large-scale training issues like professional
standards updates and customer service issues.

The benefits of this type of training methodology are:

They are usually given by an expert Organization that has extended knowledge of
the area, they cover all the issues related to the issue is a short period of time,
training materials are provided, and employees enjoy the fact that they get out of
work to attend the seminar.

The benefits of this training methodology are that they train employees to
perform specific skills needed for their job, and simulations help train employees
to respond appropriately to unexpected events in a controlled environment.

Therefore, simulation exercises that utilize these kinds of devises are often times
limited to larger businesses or to companies that are located close to companies
that lend out simulators.

Role-playing is an inexpensive training methodology that most companies can

use. In this case employees act out scenes from their job in which they face
challenges and situations that they normally will come across during the average
day.

Step Three: Putting together your own training program.

Once we have identified the skills that need to be focused on, the employees that
need training, and the methodologies that will be used, you need to put
everything down in writing. Documentation is the key to protecting yourself
against lawsuits relating to employee relations. The following training materials
need to be cemented in writing.

Training objectives:

Training objectives need to identify

(1) the skill,

(2) how training is to be conducted, and

(3) what proficiency the employee needs to attain by the end of the training
process.

Training materials:

Training materials, depending on the nature of the skill, should be written out in a
manner that is easy to understand and easy to follow. Step-by-step instructions
should be written out for every job, no matter how insignificant it may seem to
the employer. An instruction sheet should include:

(1) the skill title,

(2) when it is to be performed,

(3)who is to perform it,

(4) what supplies are needed and where they can be found,

(5) step-by-step instructions, and

(6) what to do with the end product.

Evaluation materials:

Evaluation materials are as important to a training program as the actual training

materials. They will let us know how effective our training materials are and
whether you need to adjust any of your methodologies.

The evaluation materials that we need are:

(1) evaluation procedures,

(2) evaluation form for employees,

(3) evaluation form for the employer (or manager), and

(4) response (rebuttal) form.

Step Four: Training employees.

Now that we have all of your training materials in order we will need to let our
employees know about the programs and their processes. They will need to know
what training objectives are, how their progress will be monitored, what training
methodologies are available and which ones are required, and what paper work is
required. This documentation will help to protect you from unfounded lawsuits.

Step Five: Evaluating the program.

After an employee has completed a training program we will want to have them
fill out an evaluation form of the program that goes over how well the
information was presented, if they found the training helpful, if there are any
areas that need improvement, if there are any areas that seemed redundant or
unnecessary, and if there are any other skills that they feel that they need to
perform their jobs.

A manager, will also need to fill out an evaluation form on the employee’s
progress and proficiency in the skill or skills that were focused on during the
training program.

We can use the evaluation forms to identify areas that really don’t need to be
covered and you can eliminate these things from your training program and save
your company time and money spent on employee training.
CONCLUSION

Designing formal training is time-consuming and expensive. Once it is designed,

however, it needs updating only as operational changes are instituted. Every new
employee may then be trained using the training plan and all materials that are
already prepared. There is an initial investment of time and money, of course, but
thereafter training is consistent and convenient.

Once the initial effort has been expanded, the employee can take the delegated
responsibility and free the manager for other tasks. Many employees excel when
given opportunities to take on more responsibility.