1-Clarify the problem the training is intended to address
All too often, the design of a training program begins on the basis of intuition, without any formal analysis. Symptoms are observed and attempts are made to resolve them, whereas it is essential to trace the cause and identify the PROBLEM.
How can we find an appropriate solution if the problem is not clearly defined? For example, a sales manager has noticed a gradual decline in his team's numbers over the past six months. He asks you to design a customized training program to help them sell. But why the drop? Is it new, inexperienced salespeople, or is it a break in the supply chain? In the first case, the training could be useful, in the second, it will be a waste...
2-Formulate the learning objective
Once the problem has been clearly defined, the learning objective needs to be correctly formulated, so as to provide an appropriate response or solution. Most experts call "objectives" a list of content to be covered. This is not the purpose of the learning objective. It should describe the participant's state at the end of the training.
At the end of this training activity, the participant will be in a position to conclude a solicitation call with an appointment with the customer. The objective should be brief, use Bloom's taxonomy (for example), be realistic and contain only one cognitive skill (the verb in the statement). The objective should represent the actual task to be improved in order to alleviate the problem.
3-Choosing training content
Having the objective (and the actual task to be improved), the expert/trainer tandem must determine what sub-tasks are performed by an expert making a solicitation call with a customer. What steps does he take? How does he work? What tips and tricks does he use? This is the content of the training.
It's so logical: you want the learner to make a call, so you have to teach him how. All peripheral knowledge must be removed and only the essentials retained. If the pedagogue knows how to do knowledge modeling, this is a real opportunity to use this tool as a team with the expert.
4-Organizing content
If the tandem determined in the previous step that the expert uses five steps to make a follow-up call, then it's easy: the course will contain five sections that can be called learning units (LUs). Each AU will have a single objective, which should represent the result to be achieved by the participant at the end of each AU. These AU objectives must be linked to achieve the overall objective of the training activity.
5-Describing the training sequence
Assuming we have five AUs and a single, operationally formulated objective for each of them, i.e. focused on the task, we now need to describe what will take place DURING the training activity to achieve the task. We don't want the trainer to explain the task, as that would be pointless; we want the participants to actually experience it, to practice it until it becomes relatively fluid.
With a little creativity and a toolbox full of pedagogical techniques, the tandem can come up with a participant-centered sequence. The best pedagogical scenarios are those in which the participants are in action, ideally as a team, and the trainer is merely a guide and observer. In our case, this could involve role-playing situations of increasing complexity, in which participants practice contacting a customer. Or a role-play in which the participant calls a customer played by the trainer. One thing is certain: for learning to take place, the participants have to work, and the trainer has to take a back seat. A trainer who "runs the show" and occasionally asks questions of the participants is not a good trainer, as he or she exerts too much control. Knowledge building needs freedom!
6-Prepare teaching materials
Since the trainer no longer occupies the top of the rostrum and has chosen to let his participants work, often in teams, two things are clear.
He no longer needs to produce PowerPoint slides, and he must now think about his teams and produce a workbook containing tables to complete, diagrams to identify, summaries to produce, questions to answer, but above all precise instructions for teamwork.
For effective teamwork, you need to give them crystal-clear instructions. So you take the scenario you've built and translate it into activities, instructions and task aids for your participants. You'll be amazed at the power of their thinking, particularly in teamwork.
Dare to try it!
You may be thinking that, unfortunately, this won't be possible in your field. That it's too complex and couldn't possibly work. But have you ever tried it? Could you start with an extract, just a small UA, just to see?
I've been working this way for decades with experts from all sorts of fields (networking, pharmaceuticals, auto mechanics, HR, tourism, medicine, aeronautics, etc.) and I've yet to come across any incompatible fields... So, I challenge you: dare!
To find out more :
Educational Approach: Creating Engaging and Effective Trainings
