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Demystifying
Training Design
By Claire Belilos
Writing Training and Learning Objectives
A main guideline in the design of a training program or session is
to set aside the ego, the self, and to direct one's thoughts towards
the alter, the other, the trainee or audience; to think in terms of
what the trainee(s) will be able to do, demonstrate, or explain by
the end of the training.
The only exception to this rule is in the preliminary stage of
design, and the subsequent actions you take:
1. "What do I (as instructor or trainer) want the trainee(s) to be
able to do, demonstrate, or explain by the end of the training?"
2. "What training resources and activities will I use to facilitate
learning?"
3. "How will I measure that the desired change in behaviour took
place?"
4. "What tools and process will I use to evaluate my method of
instruction and the training content?"
5. "What is the best way for me to reinforce learning?".
At this preliminary stage of design, you are the central figure as
the planner, decision-maker, trainer, and facilitator. Yet the above
cannot be planned until you will have conducted a needs analysis and
identified training needs, which are conditional on perceived gaps
between a desired and an actual situation, (the measurable or
observable performance and behaviour of the trainee/s), which brings
us back to the truth that the main protagonists here are the
intended trainees and that training takes place only if it is
perceived as needed to help those trainees perform as expected.
With this principle in mind, we can now concentrate on the writing
of learning objectives - you as a trainer have a training objective
in mind (what you want them to be able to do, demonstrate, or
explain), which you have already translated into a learning
objective when expressing it in terms of trainee behaviour, e.g.
instead of planning a training session along the lines "I shall
teach them how to set a table"; an effective objective would be :
"By the end of a 30-minute training session, the trainees will be
able to set a table as described in the restaurant's manual".
Once you have written down the learning objective, you communicate
it to the trainees and even write it down clearly on a white board,
inviting comments, queries or questions.
There are several important points to note in the above-quoted
learning objective:
1. the training (learning) objective is performance-based
2. the objective is clear and not subject to misinterpretations -
the trainees know exactly what is expected of them and how they will
be tested
3. the shift and onus for learning is upon the trainees themselves
4. the training lesson is action-oriented (an active verb is used)
"will be able to set" that guides the learning process (method) and
will demonstrate whether the lesson has been learned
5. the end-result is observable and measurable.
The very wording of the learning objective obligates you as trainer
to plan a training session that will include:
an explanation and a demonstration by the trainer or an experienced
trainee
learner activities (active involvement by the participants,
(rehearsals)
providing learning aids to the participants (a list, restaurant
manual, a table, the required linen, utensils, condiments, etc.)
the training will take place in a simulated work setting or actual
work area
the preparation of an evaluation tool for the actual performance of
each trainee - in this case, a check list based on the restaurant
manual, which can be objectively used by
anyone, including the trainees, to evaluate results
a time-frame has been set
a clear, objective, measurable, observable, and reasonable criterion
has been set and communicated for congruent testing (in line with
the training that took place).
By the nature of the subject chosen, reinforcing learning
(follow-up) will take place on the actual work site and while the
trainees are actually performing the lesson learned, enabling the
trainer to perform follow-up "on-site" evaluations.
Before we wrap up, let us note the three learning domains, which
have their own hierarchies:
Cognitive (knowledge)
Affective (behaviour, attitude)
Psychomotor (skill performance)
The above example is predominantly psychomotor in nature (performing
a skill, (combining operations) but also includes a great element of
cognitive learning (which will be reinforced by explanations on what
and why the table is set up in that fashion, accompanied by the
written list and manual as "hand-outs") and some degree of affective
learning (some aspects of the why, especially as applicable to
sanitation, customer expectations, professionalism, esteem, good
repute).
All Rights Reserved
Copyright 1999 Claire Belilos
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- Claire Belilos is the founder of CHIC Hospitality Consulting Services. Her
background includes Hospitality operations. She specializes in solving people management
problems, organizational training and development, supervisory coaching, training of
trainers, designing effective job, training and evaluation tools, and training for
customer service excellence. For more information, please visit her website at http://www.easytraining.com or
e-mail: or
e-mail: or
e-mail: chic@easytraining.com
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