Training and Development Resources

Norm Gustafson, M. S.; wngus@hotmail.com
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Instructional Design TIPS:

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The most important lesson factors in instructional design have to do with:

  1. Hooking the student immediately (This is a challenge. There are often different levels, needs or student agendas.)
  2. Involving the student:

Other Helpful Instructional Design Considerations:

One issue for instructional developers and trainers is accelerating the development cycle time for new training and custom modifications. As the pace of change increases, this problem will become more critical. Diane Gayeski's article, "Out-of-the Box Instructional Design: Moving from Assembly-Line Models to Non-linear Performance Models," and discussion threads on the internet, are thought-provoking.

Templates

One of the helpful ideas I've come across is the creation of Templates. It is similar to the concept of "boilerplate" document construction in real estate, where standard recitals and conditions are put together to create a document that will do the required functions. These can be switched around depending on specific needs.

One example of this concept applied to training is Thiagi's template ideas. A few of the ideas (my favorites) are reviewed and summarized below.

From Susan Markle, on teaching concepts:

  • Set a clear example;
  • Use pairs of examples and borderline non-examples;
  • Then use a set of divergent examples.

    Information Mapping:

    Thiagi lists Information Mapping (a proprietary system of Information Mapping Europe) on the template page. I have never reviewed the actual method, but the steps summarized from the web site seem like a sound instruction design checklist-- not necessarily template design.

    1. Analysis:
      • audience's information needs
      • purpose, accuracy, and structure of your information
      • technology of delivery (media)
    2. Organizing
      • chunking
      • labeling
      • relevance
      • consistency
      • integrated graphics
      • accessible detail
      • hierarchy of chunking and labeling
    3. Presenting
      • emphasize visual presentation

    Gagne's "Instructional Events"

    Gagne's "Instructional Events" is also cited as an example of a template. As an educator who for years has written daily and weekly lesson designs, I agree that such a format provides a good structure. Gagne's steps are:

    1. Gain attention
    2. Informing the learner of objectives
    3. Stimulate recall of prerequisite learning
    4. Present stimulus material
    5. Provide learning guidance
    6. Eliciting the performance
    7. Providing feedback of correctness
    8. Assessing the performance
    9. Enhancing retention and transfer

    (This list is simplified from Gagne and Brigg's book Principles of Instructional Design. Another part of this chart deals with the behavioral psychology principles behind the steps. I don't think you need to worry about those "whys.")

    My Basic Template

    These steps will seem familiar to most trainers and educators. My basic template is:

    1. What is the knowledge and competence of the trainees right now?
    2. How can I grab their attention and involve them immediately?
    3. How can I get the trainees to think about, process and use the information and skills in class?
    4. How can I get them to use and apply the content on the job, independent of the training process?

    I would add one caution. Just because you enjoyed a training experience in one situation doesn't mean it is transferable to your particular training needs. You must balance student fun with the appropriate design to transfer needed skills. Still, I think Thiagi's work is very creative. See links for his site.


    Home =>
    Instructional Design =>
    Tips =>
    (This page)
    Examples:
    Business Plan
    TQM-Service
    TQM-Education
    This free download page is from the Organizational Change, Training and Development web site of Norm Gustafson. You may print or store it for personal use. Copyright 1998, reserved for all commercial uses.