Chapter 9: Part 2

The second part of chapter 9 focuses on testing the training plan, for developing a participant’s guide and tips to keep in mind when creating a training plan. The book mentions three methods used for testing a Training plan. They are the following: Focus Group, Pilot Test, and having your plan reviewed by an expert. A focus group is a few people selected to discuss a particular topic so that others can better gauge how people will respond to it. A pilot test is a limited trail run that is performed before the official release. When preparing a participant’s guide it is important to comprehend the significantly of have a guide. To answer this question let think back to how adults learn. Adults like to have a comprehensive summary of the information. It is also important for the trainer because the participant’s guide indicates the trainer’s creditability. Preparing a participant’s guide is a 7-step process. The first step is using the training objective to determine the content that will appears on guide. The objectives will work as your overall outline. The second step is making sure to include all activities and instructions in the guide. All activities and exercise should be present in the order which you plan to use them. It is ideal to include instruction for each activity and exercise (even for easy ones). Keep in mind you have the option of handing out activates/exercise separate from the participant’s guide to avoid an incident like this: “I see that some of you are interested in activity on page 27; we’ll get to that activity later in the day. We’re now on page 14.” The third step is using a lesson plan to organize the guide. This is simply asking you to give titles to module and including a table of contents. The fourth step is determining the format of the guide. This step is meant to further aid you in organizing you information in order to maintain the attention and control of the trainees. The fifth step is number all pages of your guide. The sixth step is citing all borrowed information. It is important that when you cite others information that you provide a bibliographical page at the end of guide or Insert citation at bottom of page. If you are unsure when you should ask for permission on copyrights just remember it applies if you more than 250 words of someone else material. In addition, a general rule of thumb is when in doubt, cite! The final step is using the participant’s guide as your trainer’s guide. The preparation of the trainer’s guide will vary on your experience as a trainer. This book also gives us seven practical tips to keep in mind when creating a training plan. The first step is to determine the amount of detail needed by using the three general levels of details. Level one is a highly detailed plan. This plan is prepared for someone else to use. Level two is moderately detailed. This plan is for you to use in the future. Level three is nondetailed. This plan for yourself and includes minimal detail because you are the subject matter expert. The second step is to draft your participant’s guide. Once you have done the participant’s guide you have essentially created your training plan. The third step is review for the 20-minute rule, which state that should strive to change you method and activity every 20 minutes. The fourth step is to incorporate the 5 -step process for teaching a skill, which is tell, show, invite, encourage and correct. The sixth step is to plan for contingency. The seventh step is revising, revamping, and reconstructing your material. Please read the following article it will provide more information on testing training plan. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/company-success-failure-employee-evaluation-methods-24220.html By: Kimberly Velasquez