BUS 680 University of Arizona Global Campus Training and Development Discussion
A successful trainer needs to effectively engage various types of trainees and adapt quickly in the learning environment to meet their needs. Chapter 8 of the Blanchard and Thacker (2013) text lists and offers tips on dealing with different participant personalities. Review the three scenarios below. Discuss how you would effectively engage and manage each group of participants in a 2-day training seminar. Apply two to three specific adult learning principles and/or techniques to each of the scenarios listed below.
Scenario A
Your colleague is a training specialist who has just concluded an activity on techniques for overcoming challenges in the classroom. He clearly understood the content, but did not ask questions of the group to confirm their understanding. In addition, when explaining activities, the directions were not clear and there was never an opportunity to ask for clarification. What constructive feedback would you give to your colleague?
Scenario B
Your colleague is a department manager who has just opened a training session. Her opening included group introductions, but she went directly into presenting content. About an hour later, a few participants began talking out of turn. What feedback would you give to your colleague on the impact this may have had on participants, and what could have been done differently to avoid this situation?
Scenario C
Your colleague is a human resources manager who just completed an activity followed by a group discussion. The activity went well, but the debrief did not. As the facilitator, he had trouble getting the group to answer his questions. The group did not appear to be very engaged. What feedback could you give him on how he could get participants to participate?
Week 4 Lecture
Development
The first phases of the training process model are necessary to design and develop relevant, useful training materials. The development stage of training is crucial in order to ensure all items that need to be accomplished are aligned and completed. As part of the design process, the training is organized by specific skills and knowledge to be taught into logical teaching units. The design for each unit or module includes its training objectives and a brief outline of the information, examples, and exercises that will provide opportunities for practice using the skills and knowledge.
Development of each training module progresses from the brief design outline to an expanded outline to the complete module. Expanded outlines of the modules specify more completely the information and the types of examples and exercises to be provided in the training. For example, training might incorporate live demonstrations or video. Exercises might include written exercises, group discussions, role plays, or practice. To develop realistic examples and exercises, training developers rely on interviews with technical experts who are familiar with the target population, job setting, tasks, and conditions. Development of complete training modules includes preparation of guidelines for the facilitators who will conduct the course. Finally, the training modules are reviewed by technical experts and field-tested with the target population. The training materials are then revised and finalized based on reviews and results of the field test.
Below are examples of the development phase of training and an example development plan.
Figure 1. Development Phase (Blanchard and Thacker, 2013)
Sample Program Development Plan
Name of Program: Pipe Fitting
Target Population: Apprentices who have successfully passed the gas fitters exam.
Overall Training Objective: Trainees will be able to examine a work project and with appropriate tools, measure, cut, thread, and install the piping according to standards outlined in the gas code.
Learning ObjectiveKSAs (Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes) Outcomes trainees are expected to acquire.
Learning PointsImportant information a trainee must acquire to accomplish learning objective.
MethodsWays used to communicate and deliver content.
MaterialsItems needed to effectively present training.ExamplesUsing a tape measure, determine the length and number of pipes necessary to connect the furnace to the gas meter in a manner that meets the gas code
Account for the extra length needed due to threading.
Take into account length is reduced by different fittings, e.g. street elbow, etc.
How to construct appropriate drop for furnace.
Lecture
Simulation
Trainee manual
Overhead Projector
Assortment of 1-inch & ¾ inch fittings, elbows, street elbows
Mock meter and furnace display
Tape measure
Notepads
Table 1. Instructional Strategy (Blanchard and Thacker, 2013)
Case Analysis
At the end of Chapter 8 of the Blanchard and Thacker (2013) text is a case analysis. In the case, Jim works as a laborer for a gas utility. Please read the case analysis and answer the case questions that follow. (This is not an assignment that needs to be submitted.) Once completed, check your responses with the answers below.
This case occurred a number of years ago, but in checking with some of the workers that are still there, the power equipment operator training has not changed very much. The company has invested in training their service people more extensively, but the power equipment training is still OJT without the trainer.
Case Questions and Issues for Analysis
What are the potential costs to this lack of training? Why do you think the company operated in this manner?
The costs of the lack of training were great. There were charges to the company every time a line was broken and had to be repaired. The potential for a serious accident was great. Not only when digging holes but in driving to and from the job sites. The backhoe is a very unstable machine when being driven as the back end is heavy causing the front to lift off the ground from time to time. Steering can be done with the brakes (there is one for each of the back wheels), but this takes practice.
The cost was much more that what is mentioned above. In the winter months, Jim would use the boom much like a jackhammer to break through the frost, as he was never taught any other way (below pavement frozen ground would sometimes go down four to five feet). Because of the constant pounding, Jim found himself going at least three times a week to the Massey Ferguson repair depot to have a crack welded, hose replaced, or bucket repaired. To his knowledge, Bill Granger hardly ever went for such repairs. The cost of this must have been great, and Jim expected that he would be called in to explain his high maintenance costs to management. This never happened. The company obviously never tracked these costs, and, therefore, did not realize the lost revenue due to constant repairs. It was not that management did not know he was getting these repairs, as such information was on his time sheet, and he did have to sign for repairs.
What type of training would you recommend: OJT, classroom, or a combination? Describe what the training might entail.
OJT would be a possibility, but a better approach would be to use a simulation with one of the backhoes used as the simulator. As described above, the OJT method could end up being very costly. The training would need to begin using the JIT approach, in which the instructor would “tell” and “show” before allowing the trainee to begin operating the vehicle. Issues concerning speed and safety would need to be highlighted prior to going into the field. Classroom training will be needed to address the safety and some of the maintenance KSAs.
What type of training environment would you provide?
The simulation could be done in a training field with steel pipe buried in the ground to allow the trainee to experience what it is like to hit piping in the ground. Advanced training could use lead pipe like that found in the water services. The classroom environment would be less distracting and allow the trainee to focus on the material.
Who would you get to do the training and why?
Bill Granger might have been a good trainer. If so, it would be necessary to provide him with train-the-trainer sessions to the extent his trainer KSAs were deficient. Another option would be to see if this type of training were available somewhere in the industry. Perhaps the manufacturer provided training or another utility company may do so.
In retrospect, Jim believes that Bill would have been a good trainer. He was very relaxed and when Jim did go to him for help; the help provided (on his own time) was very useful. He always took time to be sure Jim understood what he was saying and, when necessary, would show him what he meant. The other backhoe operator at the time was Mike. He was a nervous individual who would have been a poor trainer. Not because he was not as good as Bill (although he was not), but because he would not have had the patience to guide a trainee through the steps.
Would you consider purchasing a training program for backhoe operators? Provide your rationale.
As indicated above, it may be possible to find this type of training provided by an outside party. If it was, you would need to make sure the training addressed all the critical issues faced by the gas utility (e.g., buried utility lines, etc.).