Gagne's Nine Events of Instruction

Gagne created a nine-step process called the events of instruction that correlates to and addresses the conditions of learning. In my training design and development class, I recently completed the Nine Events of Instruction for Writing an Effective Resume when Conducting a Job Search which follows:

1 Gaining Attention - Hundreds of people are passed every day up for a job interview due to poorly written resumes!

2 Informing Learners of the Objective - Point out the top mistakes made when writing a resume.

3 Stimulating Recall of Prerequisite Information - Handout poorly written resume samples to the learners to refer to for learning how to find the top mistakes.

4 Presenting the Content - Discuss formatting, font size and type, objectives, job history, white space, applicant tracking systems and so on.

5 Providing Learner Guidance - Have learners discuss the problems they see with the poorly written resume samples previously handed out.

6 Eliciting Performance - Engage the learners to fix the problems they see in the resume samples and to share their ideas with the class.

7 Providing Feedback - Share previously corrected versions of the resumes with the class to see if their ideas match the corrected versions.

8 Assessing Performance - Have the learner correct their own resume they were asked to bring based upon their knowledge at this point in the class.

9 Enhancing Retention and Transfer - Inform the learners that the skills they have learned can be applied to presenting their qualifications on an online business networking site such as www.LinkedIn.com or a job board like www.dice.com

Several people in the class asked if I was going to go ahead and setup this class and offer it to the general public. It's a sign of the times we are faced with today.

Thanks for reading,

Kevin Love, MBA
Training and Development Professional
Dallas / Fort Worth Area
Google Voice: 817-778-8540
Personal Email: kevindlove@hotmail.com
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinlove

Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook June 2009 Traffic Data

Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook June 2009 Traffic Data

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Meta-Analysis Shows Online Learning Better, Blended Even Better

A U.S. Department of Education statistical meta-analysis of empirical studies comparing online learning and face-to-face instruction stated:

The meta-analysis found that, on average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction.

The difference between student outcomes for online and face-to-face classes … was larger in those studies contrasting conditions that blended elements of online and face-to-face instruction with conditions taught entirely face-to-face.

From the authors’ discussion section:

That caution [not to assume that an effect is due to a given medium] applies well to the findings of this meta-analysis, which should not be construed as demonstrating that online learning is superior as a medium. Rather, it is the combination of elements in the treatment conditions, which are likely to include additional learning time and materials as well as additional opportunities for collaboration, that has proven effective. The meta-analysis findings do not support simply putting an existing course online, but they do support redesigning instruction to incorporate additional learning opportunities online.

The full report is at http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/tech/evidence-based-practices/finalreport.pdf

Now this analysis primarily targeted K-12 learners. What would the results be for an adult learner?

Thanks for reading,

Kevin Love, MBA
Training and Development Professional
Dallas / Fort Worth Area
Google Voice: 817-778-8540
Personal Email: kevindlove@hotmail.com
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinlove

Informal Learning - Over 70% of learning that occurs is considered informal - are you capitalizing and measuring its impact in your organizations?

This question was recently posed in the Learning, Education and Training Professionals Group on LinkedIn so I'm making my response more visible to those not associated with this LinkedIn group.

Background: At the ASTD International Conference and Exposition, a key topic of discussion is informal learning (supported by social networking and other technologies). In your organization, are you aware of its impact? Are you channeling or capitalizing on its results? Are you actively supporting it as a function of your learning organization?

My response: For a project I previously led, I created a focus group to address the intangible learning that takes place among the field service engineers at Hewlett Packard. We met once per month for one hour and the amount of information I collected was overwhelming. Engineers attended the virtual meeting from all over the world and were eager to have their voices and experience heard.

I found that the engineers were not only willing to share their best practices when servicing computer hardware and software but they also wanted to help me get the information into the training and development courses and the service manuals they used themselves so their knowledge would be shared with others across the organization.

We also discovered that some of the training material and documentation had procedures in it that had not been "field tested" hence the procedures were incorrect in many instances.

Based upon my personal experiences, I strongly support Patricia's statement that over 70% of learning inside an organization is informal. The trick is to figure out the method to tap into that rich vein of information and propagate it to the masses so that everyone can benefit.

Thanks for reading,

Kevin Love, MBA
Training and Development Professional
Dallas / Fort Worth Area
Google Voice: 817-778-8540
Personal Email: kevindlove@hotmail.com
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinlove

Kirkpatrick's Four Levels of Evaluation

We are using ISD From the Ground Up by Chuck Hodell in my Training Design & Development class right now and I am extremely pleased with this book. It is apparent that the author himself applies solid ISD principles because it is laid out with the audience in mind.

While I have been involved with training and development for several years, I find myself being reminded of things I was once taught but needed a refresher on and I have learned a few new things I wasn’t aware of since taking my last ISD class.

The author makes an interesting point about Kirkpatrick's Four Levels of Evaluation. He notes the following:

Level 1 - between 72 to 89 percent of organizations use Level 1 (reaction)

Level 2 - between 29 to 32 percent of organizations use Level 2 (learning)

Level 3 - between 11 to 12 percent of organizations use Level 3 (behavior)

Level 4 - between 0 to 3 percent of organizations use Level 4 (results)

I started thinking about previous organizations I have worked with and how it was rare that we ever went beyond a level 1 analysis as sanctioned by the organization. The only times I can recall ever going beyond level 1 were when I had the time to conduct an analysis on my own and collect the data for myself so I could better design the training I was responsible for within my area of responsibility.

Were the students appreciative of my going above and beyond to engage them and follow-up to see how well the training was working for them after the class? Of course they were and word got around that my classes were the ones to attend because I stayed in touch with the needs of my students and adjusted the course content accordingly. Management's response was positive too but there were no requirements in place for others to follow my lead.

Level 2 and higher evaluations take work, lots of it, and require a skill to get to the nuts and bolts of what really works but I still maintain that it is time well spent not to mention the return on investment back into the organization.

Thanks for reading,

Kevin Love, MBA
Training and Development Professional
Dallas / Fort Worth Area
Google Voice: 817-778-8540
Personal Email: kevindlove@hotmail.com
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinlove