II. Participant will distinguish between effective and ineffective training practices

4. Effective Training Practices - Skill Based Training

Research shows that there are four components that are needed to produce skills that transfer to the workplace.

Component 1: Study of the theoretical basis or the rationale behind the practice or skill.

Learners must have sufficient understanding of the theoretical base underlying the new knowledge to support their trial and error attempts at implementation at their workplace. If participants do not have knowledge of the theory or rationale that supports a practice or skill they are less likely to be able to make needed adaptations of the practice/skill at their workplace.

Component 2: Observation and demonstration by persons who are relatively skilled in the model.

Learners, in whom we wish to see new skills implemented, must have ample opportunity to see the new practice, procedure, or approach demonstrated at a quality level. For many adults, the opportunity to see it demonstrated after having heard it explained is the key to later implementation.

Component 3: Practice and feedback in protected conditions (such as trying out the strategy on each other and then with children who are relatively easy to teach).

The opportunity to immediately try out the new practice, procedure or approach will significantly improve the chances of later implementation. During a workshop/training situation, it is often difficult to arrange for practice in the "real classroom" setting, but role play between participants is a helpful alternative. Adult learners need constructive feedback regarding their performance of a new skill. The feedback should be objectively based on clearly defined guidelines.

Component 4: Coaching one another to include the new practice, procedure or approach into their repertoire increases the likelihood of implementation at the workplace.

Coaching provides companionship at the workplace in helping one another to learn to use the new skills with students, to figure out the optimal uses of the new practice, procedure or approach, and providing one another with ideas and feedback.

There are several other considerations to enhancing the learner's ability to transfer new practices, procedures or approaches to the workplace:

A moderate level of content, with a focus on what needs to be implemented.
A balance of the type of learning is important. To transfer learning from the classroom or workshop to the workplace there needs to be three types of learning:
1. Affective learning - the participant needs to want to learn, this fosters the development of attitudes, feelings and preferences.
2. Behavioral learning - the development of competence in actually performing a task, skill or procedure.
3. Cognitive learning - understanding the concepts related to the task, skill or procedure.
A variety of approaches during the training - discussion, lecture, visuals, activities, etc.
Group participation in the training.
Use of participant expertise.
A lot of reinforcement and repetition of content.
Real life problem solving (allow time for participants to problem solve the real issues they will face with implementation at the workplace).
Re-entry planning (allow time for participants to plan how they will implement what they have learned).