Training Industry Quarterly - Spring 2013 - (Page 3)

From where I sIt | doug harward Volume 6 Issue 2 spring 2013 www.trainingindustry.com/tIQ Back to the Basics A number of years ago, National Training Laboratories conducted a study to understand how the various types of interaction used within a training activity impacts a student’s level of retention. From this research came a simple model called the Learning Pyramid, which showed that some of the traditional training approaches, such as lecture (5%) and reading (10%) in the classroom, produced the lowest level of retention. Conversely, they found that the highest level of retention (90%) comes from those forms of interaction we call participatory learning. Most importantly, the research found that the single form of training that produced the highest level of learning, or retention of content, was from the practice of teaching; meaning that the best way to learn something is to teach it. In some respect, this may not be new information or radical thinking, just common sense. However, I will contend it is often overlooked or taken for granted. The study showed that the more the student participates and becomes active in the learning experience, the more the student will learn and retain. To the contrary, the more passive the student is in the learning experience, the less the student will learn and retain. It seems that over the past decade our profession has moved away from the pure science of how adult learners learn, and we have adopted the art of how to make training more fun and cost effective. While those aspects are important, if we don’t focus on the basic fundamentals, we will continue to spend well-intended dollars and energy chasing the holy grail of learning and never achieve it. We have strayed too far from the basics and I believe this is a contributing factor to why companies fall short and training is not viewed as effective. From where I sit, as simple as this research appears to be, the more profound it is. I’ve been in the training profession for more than 25 years, but until recently, I had never heard of the Learning Pyramid. For that matter, I had never heard of the National Training Laboratories, but after reflecting on this research study, I believe this type of simple science is exactly what our industry needs. For this reason, we wanted to focus this issue of Training Industry Quarterly on the science of learning. It’s our ode of respect to getting our profession and our industry back to the pure fundamentals of why we exist. Doug Harward is CEO of Training Industry, Inc., and a former learning leader in the high-tech industry. Email Doug. Training Industry Quarterly, Spring 2013 / A Training Industry, Inc. magazine / www.trainingindustry.com/TIQ Publisher training Industry, Inc. 401 harrison oaks Blvd., suite 300 | Cary, NC 27513 (919) 653-4990 ChIeF exeCutIVe oFFICer Doug Harward dharward@trainingindustry.com eDItor IN ChIeF & ChIeF operatINg oFFICer Ken Taylor ktaylor@trainingindustry.com eDItor Michelle Eggleston meggleston@trainingindustry.com aDVertIsINg DIreCtors North & East: Dan Weller dweller@trainingindustry.com West: Kristin Bolduc kbolduc@trainingindustry.com South: Taylor Cutts tcutts@trainingindustry.com CoNtrIButINg authors editor@trainingindustry.com Ken Blanchard Scott Blanchard Deirdre M. Campbell Michael Lamport Commons J. Keith Dunbar Michelle Eggleston Conrad Gottfredson Doug Harward Sam Herring Charles Jennings Ruth Kustoff Connie Malamed Bob Mosher Claire Raines Terri Lee Robinett Karen Sieczka Ken Taylor Paul Terry CoVer art: © VLADGRIN | istockphoto.com eDItorIal BoarD editor@trainingindustry.com Shawn Andrews, Senior Training Manager, global medical affairs, allergan Robert Campbell, VP of Learning, Cerner Corp. Derek Cunard, Dean, american heart university, american heart association Vince Eugenio, Senior Director of Talent and Organization Development, the weather Channel Carol Gajus, Ph.D., Assistant Vice President, hr talent management, Fifth third Bank Nancy Gustafson, Workforce Learning and Development Manager, american red Cross Lorna Hagen, Vice President, Human Resources, ann taylor Jeanette Harrison, Vice President, Enterprise Learning & Development, pitney Bowes John Hovell, Manager, Learning Operations and Technology, Bae systems Kaliym Islam, Vice President, Depository trust & Clearing Corp. Barbara Jordan, Chief Learning Officer, Jackson hewitt tax service Karen Kocher, Chief Learning Officer, Cigna Meredith Lubitz, Vice President, Talent Management, Dow Jones Laura Moraros, Vice President, Sales Learning & Development, Yahoo! Krys Moskal, Vice President, People Development, pearson Scott Neeley, National Training Manager, Newell rubbermaid Scott Nutter, General Manager of Flight Operations Research, Quality and Training, Delta Steve Sitek, Head of Learning, Education & Communications, Ethics & Compliance, Novartis Kee Meng Yeo, Director, Global Learning and Development, amway 3 http://www.trainingindustry.com/TIQ http://www.istockphoto.com http://www.trainingindustry.com/TIQ

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Training Industry Quarterly - Spring 2013

Training Industry Quarterly - Spring 2013
From Where I Sit: Back to the Basics
Table of Contents
Ad Index
Guest Editor: A Brave New World
Extracting Learning From Work
Poor Behavior: Your Brain is Partly to Blame
How to Design Engaging Training Programs
The Missing Link in Learning
Don't Let Training Be Half-Baked
What the Latest Brain Research Tells Us about Designing Learning that Sticks
Motivation: The Key to Learning Transfer
Improving Learning Outcomes with a Bite-Sized Strategy
Adult Development: Predicting Learning Success
From One Brain to Another: What We've Learned about Learning
Formalizing Informal Learning
Tracking Trends
Tweet Suite
Company News

Training Industry Quarterly - Spring 2013