How to Design a Course for a Training Cycle

Computer stations help set up a classroom for easy testing.

Developing a course for a training cycle requires meeting certain goals. A number of hours to be invested in the overall course must be determined. Specific learning objectives must be established as well. Every training course should focus on teaching specific skills to help learners solve problems in real-life situations. These skills might include, for example, good communication methods or ways to become organized. When the training is over, every learner should have new tools to address old problems in a fresh way. Otherwise, the training has served no purpose.

Things You'll Need

• Training book
• Courseware CD or DVD
• Classroom
• Personal computers
• Writing board

Instructions

1. Select an appropriate training manual or popular books appropriate for workplace learning, along with any CDs or DVDs to accompany written materials. Utilize ideas from existing materials, but as an instructor, do computer-based research to add ideas for the class. Design the course around 10 to 20 basic skills that can be taught clearly and simply to meet learning objectives.

2. Outline the chapters of the training manual or courseware material to fit a specific number of weekly hours. Prepare to teach the class in a classroom with a writing board and personal computers. Cover three or four main points in each session to show learners the best ways to obtain certain skills. Help employees, for example, meet an objective of learning to communicate well by improving listening skills and writing better instructions for co-workers.

3. Plan to teach the class by using scenarios to demonstrate key points and skills needed. For example, talk about how a sales rep increased his profits by asking more questions of clients. Discuss why it pays to gain information versus talking too much in a sales situation. Invite learners to invent their own scenarios of how using better skills might save them lost clients.

4. Develop quiz questions to provide every week or two via computers. Use multiple choice questions to help employees review what they've learned. Develop a final exam from the quiz questions. Test learners often, so they will learn which sections of the training manual or information on a CD or DVD they need to study.

5. Invite learners to think of good solutions to problems that come up in class. Since every training course will address the need for more people skills, time management skills or money management skills, encourage everyone present to talk about their experiences. Have the class vote on the best ideas coming from the class for resolving certain workplace or life issues.

Tips & Warnings

• Use a laptop and projector with photos or charts to make the training more interesting. Visual aids keep a class from getting boring. Pictures with a lot of drama or color might help learners retain more information associated with those pictures.

• Avoid the temptation to develop a class that includes too much information. It's better to have time left over at the end of each session, or at the end of each class, than to discuss so many ideas that no one remembers them. Besides, overwhelming learning with too much studying is a good way to cause them to lose interest.

References

• HR Village: Develop an Effective Employee Training Program
• Total Training: Adobe Photoshop Training with CD Time Frames
• Biz Move: Employee Training and Development Process

Resources

• Management Help.org: Complete Guidelines to Design Your Training Plan
• HIPAA Academy: Training Course Outline