Designing Learning Sunday # 4 – Choosing a Delivery Method
Welcome back everyone, Instructor Dave here. Welcome to the Designing Learning Sunday, a weekly blog where we take a casual approach to instructional design and learning and development, then break it down so that anyone can do it – no matter your experience level.
Each week we will continue to build on top of what was covered the previous week, and at the end of it all, you will be able to design learning for your team.
So, where were we? Last time we were talking about the Design Document and how it was able to provide us with a framework for the training we have been asked to design. The example we were using was ”Customer Service Soft Skills”, right? Let’s continue to use that for now, and if you have a different course request, we will also talk about how to address that too.
This week we will be discussing how to “Choose a Delivery Method”. You may be asking yourselves what a delivery method is, and I’ll tell you. A delivery method, in this context, is “any method of transferring content to learners, including instructor-led training, web-based training, job-aids, etc.” There are several delivery methods available, and their effectiveness is based on who and what is being covered.
A few of the delivery methods commonly used are;
Instructor-Led Training (ILT) is the practice of training and learning material between an instructor and learners, either individuals or groups. Instructors can also be referred to as a facilitator, who may be knowledgeable and experienced in the learning material, but can also be used more for their facilitation skills and ability to deliver material to learners.
Instructors may deliver training in a lecture or classroom format, as an interactive workshop, as a demonstration with the opportunity for learners to practice, or even virtually, using video-conferencing tools; and the instructor may have facilitation and teaching skills, in which they can use different methods to engage learners and embrace different learning styles.
eLearning (Electronic Learning) is a term that is used to cover a variety of applications and processes, such as web-based learning, computer-based learning, virtual classrooms, and digital collaboration.
Job-Aids Provide guidance or assistance, either through audio or visual, to the learner about when to carry out tasks and steps. Usually designed for tasks that have a low occurrence, are complex, and likely to change in the future, or have a high probability of error are good candidates for job aids.
Blended Learning Uses a combination of Instructor-Led and eLearning elements.
Now that we have a basic understanding of what delivery methods are (the method of transferring content to learners), how do you know what the best approach is for your request? Well… that can be as easy as asking the requestor if they have a recommendation? Sometimes they will. Sometimes they won’t. And that is where we step in and evaluate the situation and make a recommendation.
We have been using the “Customer Service Soft Skills” as our request, and what do you suppose is the best way to train someone on soft skills training? Instructor-Led Training, eLearning, Job-Aids, Fight Club? It can be hard to decide without taking it back to the beginning.
If you are unsure of what delivery method is best for the request I want you (we want you, no, you will want) to ask the following question;
WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO?
Seriously. Read it. Say it out loud. What are you trying to do is the most effective question when designing learning, developing training, and providing assistance that can be asked. Write that down!
For example, if we are being asked to improve our customer service skills (which is what we are trying to do), we can immediately draw a correlation to the conversations that occur between our learners and their customers and focus on where it is breaking down. This gives us direction.
When building behaviors and changing attitudes, what will be the most effective approach using the delivery methods we spoke of above?
A Job-Aid, like a handout or visual? No, probably not. They are great if there is specific information like facts or reference material we needed to provide on-demand, or if our learners needed to read from a script, or if the information is regularly updated and they would need a resource to continually refer to.
Think of a job-aid as an item that supports larger content, a one-way transfer of information.
What about eLearning? Maybe, eLearning can be quite effective, however, most often eLearning is a self-paced activity that does not allow for much engagement or interactivity. eLearning is becoming more prominent in today’s society by giving us the option to meet remotely, or virtually, and making our learning accessible nearly everywhere. In this case, if it was only offered by itself, eLearning would not be the best approach. eLearning shines during software simulations, or when complicated topics can be broken into chunks, and have the course or module built to reflect them. In the last several years, eLearning designers have changed the game by building more accessible, engaging, visually appealing courses by including elements of gamification (adding game elements like points, scoreboards, badges, trophies, similar to what you would experience with video games or your shopper's card where you get fuel discounts after you spend XX number of dollars).
eLearning does have its challenges. Most of the time, an LMS (learning management system/software) has to be used by a company to track completions and keep employee records of the eLearning. Also, eLearning can be costly at times – specifically when it is created, and if you need to have updates done later on. Whoever creates your eLearning will also need to have access to the source files of the eLearning courses so they can be updated, and you need to be sure to obtain those files from your eLearning Developer at the time of completion. Content created for your business is yours, be sure to write that into your contract in case you ever change designers or want to get into it yourself.
Lastly, we have Instructor-Led Training (ILT) and Blended Learning. This is probably the most effective approach for our “Customer Service Soft Skills” request. Using an instructor will provide an opportunity for discussion and practice. An important training point that I have not seen talked about during my career is that the most effective way to change behavior is through discussion and practice. ILT provides the learners with a focal point with the instructor/facilitator driving the content and discussion, collaborative and experiential learning can take place.
Collaborative Learning is essentially learning that takes place when people are collaborating and working together – think of an escape room where everyone is working together to try and find the way out. Experiential Learning is also known as the process of learning through experience, or commonly defined as “learning through doing”.
The instructor/facilitator can drive the conversation around the topic, and promote engagement and interaction with the learners with questioning activity, and skills practice through something like a role-play. These can, in turn, be supplemented with eLearning or a job-aid to provide information on process and policy, or specific information, and practice.
Instructor-Led Training has challenges too! Everything is built around a timeframe, and people showing up on time. If people do not show up on time, or if the instructor/trainer is late or poorly manages their time, the learning can be impacted. There will be times when it is simply not feasible for your organization to have enough people available at once to attend a class. Instructor-Led training can vary in length, with most short sessions having an effective length of 45 minutes to 3 hours. Long sessions (workshops to new hire training) can run from 4 hours to several days in length. They can be a scheduling nightmare at times.
With our example of “Customer Service Soft Skills”, Instructor-Led Training or a Blended Learning approach would be most effective. But, what is going to be best for you? Again, ask yourself that magical question.
WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO?
Whatever delivery method you choose should support the outcome of the learning, and be as close to what the learners will do with the information covered. Your group size (people to receive the training at once) should also be considered, because you may not be able to get everyone for an extended period, at the same time.
Below are our recommendations on what we believe is the most effective delivery method based on common training requests. This is not a specific requirement, please follow your company or organizational guidelines, these are our recommendations.
For example
Softskills training – Blended learning, discussion, and practice
Software training – eLearning or Blended learning, and practice
Policy update – eLearning and/or job-aid
Procedure update/change – Blended learning and job-aid
NEW policy – Instructor-Led with job-aid
NEW procedure – Instructor-Led with eLearning and/or Job-Aid
Technical training – Blended learning
If the request is for soft skills, choose a delivery method that supports soft skills. If the request is for a policy update, use a job-aid, or eLearning if time permits. If the request is for technical training, use a blended learning approach. If the information is new, high-profile, or changes the way the job is done, use an instructor-led approach so they can address questions or explain the content.
A good rule of thumb is to work your way from least complicated to most complicated when considering a delivery method. When you can, always include a job-aid, it will promote the recall of prior learning after your participants have completed the course content.
Use the graphic below as an example of how to identify a delivery method based on complexity. As the topic becomes more complicated and involved, include an instructor and job aids.
During your Needs-Based Analysis, we asked a flurry of questions to get a better understanding of the training request. In this questioning, there were several approaches to take to complete your analysis. One of them was to observe or interview the expected participants. There is nothing wrong with asking learners what they think the best way to learn the new material or content is. Oftentimes their perspective can be enlightening and create a new opportunity or approach for you as a designer when creating future learning, as they may have a unique point of view or idea we may not have considered.
Reflect on the best delivery method for your learning. Next week in Designing Learning Sunday, we will discuss "Learning Objectives", and how they can impact our learning design.
Reach out to us if you have any questions, or want to chat.
Always be learning. - Instructor Dave
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