Training Industry Magazine - Content Development 2017 Special Edition - 16


By Michael Allen
effective to provide initial content in
the form of help and guidance within
active learning events. If we start at the
elementary level, we may underestimate
what we can teach better in the context
of targeted performance skills.

DESIGN
BETTER
DESIGN
BACKWARD

IT'S IMPORTANT NOT
TO COMPROMISE
WHERE CRITICAL
LEARNING REQUIRES
OUR BEST EFFORTS.
Finally, it's easy to bore learners with
meticulous presentations of content
they already know. It's also easy to
underestimate what learners already know
and can do. We might discover that some
of the groundwork that we were anxious
to lay isn't necessary at all and would have
consumed precious learning time while
boring some of our learners.
JUMP AHEAD

SELDOM DO E‑LEARNING DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS, OR ANY
INSTRUCTIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS FOR THAT MATTER,
INCLUDE ALL THE TIME AND BUDGET WE'D LIKE. COMPROMISES ARE
THE NAME OF THE GAME, SO IT'S IMPORTANT TO MAKE COMPROMISES
IN THE RIGHT PLACES: WHERE DOING LESS THAN WE'D LIKE WON'T
MAKE MUCH DIFFERENCE.
THE TYPICAL APPROACH
We typically design and build projects
beginning with foundational content,
such as basic facts and concepts. We
design the most elementary material
first to address all members of the target
learner group, and we select content
with the expectation that all learners
will be able to understand the content at
that level if they don't already have a full
grasp of it. Design then marches forward
in the path that learners will follow, from
the simplest content and required skills
to the most advanced.

| 16

This intuitive design approach makes
sense, but it actually has serious
disadvantages. First, in the creative
excitement at the beginning of a project,
it's common to spend too much of the
project's resources on the simplest
content. What's left for dealing with the
most challenging and important content
will be insufficient. It's important not
to compromise where critical learning
requires our best efforts.
Since facts and concepts make the
most sense when learners apply
them, it can be both easier and more

In every project, the first question should
be, "What do we want our learners to
do after their training that they're not
doing now?" Of course, we also need to
determine why they're not doing it to
be sure that the reason is that they don't
know how or lack necessary skills. If
there are roadblocks such as inadequate
tools, insufficient time or incentives to do
something else, then training won't make
much, if any, difference on its own.
If the cause of poor performance is
determined to be lack of knowledge and
skills, then you need a clear description of
the behaviors learners need to perform
after their training. Then, make sure they
can demonstrate the required behavior
and practice it to perfection before their
training is complete.
THE LAST LESSON
The targeted performance is where you
should start designing your course. How
can you get learners to demonstrate
their proficiency? If desired performance
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Magazine - Content Development 2017 Special Edition
