Modern day learning and development design
What do you take into consideration when designing a training programme for orgaisations, individuals or teams. The training design must take into consideration the people: their characteristics, there moral and indeed their confidence in their ability to learn. Are they open to learning, how do they learn and therefore how should we apply the training process.
The organisation and trainer must realise the importance of a well-developed and designed programme and for the implementation of the best training methods and best practices. The design will allow for one of the most important goals of training, to “highlight performance standards that attach to various jobs within an organisation”. There must be a consistency running through the training no matter what part of the organisation it is delivered to, but it must also be pitched at the right level depending on the needs of the individual, section or department. This should all be backed up by clear objectives and the ability to review and analyse and appraise all elements of the learning and development process. (Jim Steward, 2014, pp. 84-85).
Understanding learner’s style of learning and developing opportunities to use that style in the training process is key to the design. “Learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience” (Kolb, 1984, p. 38). Effective learning is seen when the learner progresses through a four-stage learning cycle, having a concrete experience followed by observation and reflection on that experience, analysing it and drawing conclusions which are then used to test future experiences, inevitably producing a new experience (McLeod, 2013) . Tied to this process is the individuals learning style, (Mumford, 1986) recognised four learning styles, Activist, Reflector, Theorist, and Pragmatist. Activist like to involve them self’s in new experiences without any bias, while the Reflector like to gather data, ponder, and think it through before drawing conclusions. The Theorist will want experienced trainers, theory based courses with access to plenty of books and articles to allow thinking through of problems in a logical way. While the Pragmatist will want to engage in real life experiences, experimentation with applications and keen to implement new ideas.
These styles of learning must be considered when designing any learning programmes to get the best of the individual. Cognitive or knowledge based training is what we experience the most in our day to day lives. Sitting in classrooms, lectures or reading notes and studying. Remembering facts, comprehending them, and applying them into our job roles. This is relatively easy to design for. Add to the training a great tutor with an enthusiasm for his craft and this can become an experience taken from the classroom by the learner with a curiosity and a thirst to build on the new knowledge. Hopefully to be analysed and have a synthetises take place to develop new ways, new experiences, to drive a higher level of learning. This I believe comes from the tutors. Choosing the right people to deliver the material in whatever form it takes is equally as important as the design. Brilliant designs fall flat on their face if not delivered with equal brilliance. It is important to deliver pilot programmes and evaluating the pilot programmes to make sure that information, design and tutor are all equally matched to provide the best learning and development experience possible.
Then there are the psychomotor skills, how do we design for those physical sometimes complex skills which often have sometimes an almost sixth sense to them? How do we design a training and development programme to develop the physical and perceptual abilities to tie in the cognitive categories of analysis and synthesis but not over a period, but in a split second?
The ability of humans to progress in their ability to do what would have been considered impossible ten years ago, and then ten years and so on has been astonishing. For instance, recently, two French wingsuit flyers recently completed an unbelievable stunt following a B.A.S.E. jump from the top of the highest mountain in Spain, caught up with and flew into a plane in mid-air. (Redbull, 2017)
This is about the impossible actually being nothing but progressive, small steps constantly pushing the boundary of possibility. Its history, technology and training wrapped into one. Not just mental training but physical. “Requiring, incredible psychological and intellectual talents, grit, fortitude, courage, creativity, resilience, cooperation, critical thinking, pattern recognition, high speed hot decision making- on and on, and all under some of the most extreme conditions imaginable”. (Kotler, 2014)
This is development, training at its highest form, not just in extreme sport but also in industry, complex jobs, extreme instant decision making, living saving split second choices, all coming from a combination of tens of thousands of hours training, continuous development, and the much sought-after talent. The process of how people and organisations learn, and how the needs analysis should be conducted has been developed and added to over the life time and growth of the reasonably new field of learning and development. But the desire to learn and develop, grow, and evolve has been ingrained in humans since the beginning of time. The combination of these two facts and the seemingly rapid rise in the limits to which people can perform must point us towards designing not just simple power point programmes or physical training. Training built upon hours of repetition to develop a “second nature”, but to the design of the actual environment and conditions to allow for this learning to take place. The design of an organisational culture towards lifelong learning, and developing home-grown or in-house talent we so often go searching for. The design of the mind-set psychological or at least an environment in which the following mind-set is encouraged and can prosper. People and indeed organisations must be helped believe that talent and intelligence are just the starting point. A mind-set must be I would argue designed into the very fabric of the individual and indeed the organisation. The belief that the most basic of abilities can be developed and nurtured with dedication and hard work. This belief, that if encouraged and driven by the learning and development department in an organisation, by teachers in school settings and by parents in the home setting can lead to a love of learning, a lifelong need and desire for learning, for practice. This is essential for great accomplishment. Teaching this mind-set allows and encourages motivation, productivity in both business and sport. It must be designed into the learning programme of any organisation that want to become market leaders and innovators.
Designing fit for purpose training is limited in its ability to allow for real growth. Teaching a person to do one thing well, efficiently and with an outcome based around quality, quantity and productivity does not allow for any type of growth from the individual. No sense of future prospect or achievement. This turns to boredom, loss of interest and a reverse effect with lack of quality and the desire to leave behind a process that has become a mental burden and stress. Designing and developing a work environment where we encourage diversity of learning, allow for change and innovation, the prospect of growth and promotion in line with the development of talent. Foster learning and build a core group of values and skills that are central to the organisations growth and then champion not just the learning and development department but the individuals, the very people that the business is built upon. I was an accidental trainer, but with the recognition of my talent by a champion within the company, I have been trained and developed. This in turn has led to a deep loyalty and an immediate return on investment. It has allowed me to feel a sense of purpose and an innate need to be the best. This can only ever be positive for any organisation. This should be a foundation stone from the level one to the top tier of management. Design it and think about, not just about tasks, but also about mind-sets, psychology and what makes your very people tick. If your people prosper so will your organisation.
Conclusion
Design of training in industry has in a lot of instances been attached to the accidental trainer, training needs based upon legislation and compliance. Driven and often rushed by production needs.
Modern day learning and development design is steeped in theory and psychology. But more answers can be found by studying not just industrial and business needs, but the needs of sports teams and individuals completing feats that to the average human being seem impossible. This may indeed be a fact, not everyone can reach those levels, but everyone must be encouraged to have a mind-set that allows them to maximise their intelligence and talent. It might not be the easiest thing to achieve if the individual or organisation has not come from an environment of growth encouragement. But in the modern-day environment of business and industry and what people’s needs, we find that it’s not all about money. Design and find a way to enrich the mind and encourage personal growth and you will succeed in your given field.
“It doesn’t make sense to hire people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do. Steve Jobs.
