Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2020 - 37

GOAL-SETTING TEMPLATE

OVERCOMING BARRIERS

Individual goal:
Link to organizational goals:
Measure(s) of success:
Actions
What do you need to do to
accomplish the goal?

Resources
What resources do you need
to accomplish the action?

Timeframe
When will you have
completed the action?

Task 1
Task 2
Task 3
Adapted from: Silsbee, D. (2010). The Mindful Coach. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

anxiety associated with being observed
and keep the focus on development.

upon areas for improvement, as well
as describe how their personal goals
support organizational goals.

STEP 2: OBSERVE
Gather feedback from observers to
determine if adjustments need to be
made to the rubric or sampling plan.
Rating quality should be monitored
by assessing observer reliability and
retraining observers as needed.

STEP 3: SELF-DISCOVERY AND
COACHING

DEVELOPING AND
IMPLEMENTING
AN EFFECTIVE
OBSERVATION
PROCESS CREATES
A WIN-WIN-WIN
FOR INSTRUCTORS,
LEARNERS AND THE
L&D ENTERPRISE.

Linking and presenting data from
observation with other sources (e.g.,
learner survey and assessment data) can
help instructors reflect on instructional
practices, impact on learning and identify
areas for improvement. Instructors can
engage in self-discovery and reflection
and participate in developmental
feedback conversations with a manager
or coach by reviewing data from these
sources. Protect learner confidentiality
when data from learners is provided,
such as survey data, particularly when
class sizes are small or still in session at
the time instructors receive feedback.
Coaches can help instructors interpret
feedback, identify areas for improvement
and determine what actions instructors
should take to incorporate feedback in
their teaching practices.

Once an instructor or coach chooses
an area of improvement, they should
define a specific individual goal for the
area, identify the related organizational
goals and specify the measure of
success. Each goal should be supported
by a list of specific actions, and those
actions should be accompanied by a
list of resources needed. It is critical
that organizations provide resources
for IDPs to be implemented effectively.
See sidebar for a sample goal-setting
template for instructor development.

STEP 4: INSTRUCTOR
DEVELOPMENT PLAN

STEP 5: COMMIT, ACT AND
EVALUATE

Working with a lead instructor, manager or
coach, instructors can create an instructor
development plan (IDP) focusing on
chosen areas for improvement. This IDP
should include SMART goals (specific,
measurable, achievable, relevant and
time bound) to address the agreed

Instructors,
learners,
coaches
and
business leaders must commit to instructor
development and improvement by
supporting behavior-based changes. These
efforts need to be evaluated over time
to determine if the changes are having a
positive impact on organizational outcomes.

There are many perceived barriers to
conducting observations, but these
barriers can be overcome with the
right approach.
* Negative view of observations by
instructors. Many instructors are not
comfortable being observed or fear
negative consequences. Create a
positive feedback culture, and use
observations to focus on development
and improvement rather than a purely
administrative process.
* Observation itself can impact the
behavior we are trying to observe.
Develop a supportive feedback culture,
observe regularly and make observation
less obtrusive by using technology (i.e.,
video recording).
* Observation only captures a snapshot
of behavior. Develop sampling plans
to ensure multiple observations of
an instructor at different points in the
training course.
* Observation is time-consuming, resource
intensive and difficult to integrate.
Create an efficient plan for observation
and leverage technology to support
collection and display of observation data
along with other key metrics of instructor
effectiveness. Technology cannot only
be used to systemically capture ratings
but also to provide feedback, develop
and monitor the success of IDPs.
Developing and implementing an effective
observation process creates a win-winwin for instructors, learners and the L&D
enterprise. Adding an observation practice
into an existing feedback practice allows
stakeholders to combine and compare
data from multiple sources. Done correctly
and combined with other sources of data,
observations can have a positive impact
on teacher development, as well as
learning and organizational outcomes.
Dr. Reanna Harman is a director, and Mrs.
Elisabeth Dezern is a client implementation
and experience manager at ALPS Insights.
ALPS Insights provides L&D evaluation,
analytics and insights through its software
platform, ALPS Ibex™, as well as consulting
and analytics services. Email Reanna
and Elisabeth.

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Training Industry Magazine - September/October 2020

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