Program / Course Design

Introduction

(Source Effective Training Sytems, Strategies and Practices, Blanchard P., Thacker J. Ram V, Pearson Education Copyright 2012 Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt. Ltd. )

The design phase of the process of training and development is the phase of identifying the set of specifications that will be used in the development phase for creating the training modules. The training needs identification, organizational constraints and learning theories all act as inputs to the design of training. These serve to start the process of course design with the training objectives or learning objectives. These objectives will then determine the remaining session design.

The following is a discussion of the various design tasks that need to be performed at each phase of the course design process. i. Pre-design analysis

Before actually designing the course, you need to first have a clear idea of your target students, the resources available, and the general curricular requirements of the course. This pre-design analysis falls into the following categories: Target students number of students demographic information student status (undergraduate/graduate) major in cohort group or not goals educational career personal Facilities size of classroom lab availability available technology Resources library online databases software community members and institutions faculty Curricular context course level (introductory/advanced) prerequisites required/elective number of credit hours ii. Determining course goals and scope When you have a clear idea of your students and the context of your course, you are ready to proceed with defining the following aspects of the course: Content scope of course (depth/breadth of content) prerequisite knowledge important concepts Course goals overall purpose of the course knowledge and skills the course is to provide Instructional objectives higher order thinking skills basic academic success skills discipline-specific knowledge and skills academic enculturation career preparation personal development

Learning objectives observable performance expected of students conditions under which student are expected to perform level of acceptable performance Expectations for student performance grading criteria and policies rubrics self-assessment tools samples of assignments iii. Designing course structure and content Once the scope and goals of the course are determined, you are ready to proceed with defining the following aspects of the course: Course structure sequencing of readings and activities content organizational scheme linear cumulative modular Learning activities types of activities types of interactions expected outcomes alternative/backup activities Course materials texts software online resources Procedures/Course management turning in work late submission policy incomplete policy revision policy office hours contact information method and timing of feedback iv. Determining evaluation methods The final phase of the course design process is to determine both the student assessment methods and the course evaluation methods: Student Assessment Format Tests and Quizzes Criterion-referenced Norm-referenced Portfolios Presentations and Demonstrations Observations

Types

Instructor Peer Self Course Evaluation Formative Summative

(Source - http://www.indiana.edu/~icy/course_process.html#outline)

Characteristics of an Effective Course Addresses the training problem Defines the result to be achieved Uses methodical approaches Is interactive Caters to all types of learners Uses appropriate strategies Is measurable Evaluates the effectiveness of the course

Issues / Questions to consider The following points / questions can help while designing a course What is your purpose of this course? What would be the specific outcomes from the course? How would the course benefit the participants? What are the pre requisites of the course? Who are your learners? What are the characteristics of the learners? What are the expectations and needs of the learners?

 What is the main topic and how are the sub-topics interrelated? What teaching methods are going to be used? How will you evaluate the participants? How will you know whether they have understood or not? How will you gather feedback from the participants? What course material such as notes, handouts, videos etc are you going to share with the participants? Developing Training Objectives Training objectives are the objectives or guiding principles for the training program. There are generally four types of objectives as discussed below

Trainee Reaction
Learning Objectives Transfer of Training Organizational Outcome

Describes the attitudinal and subjective evaluation of training by the trainee

Describes the type of behavior that will demonstrate the learning, conditions under which the behavior must occur, and the criteria tht will signify that a sufficient learning has occurred Describes the job behaviors that will be affected by training, the conditions under which those behaviors must occur, and the criteria that will signify that a sufficient transfer of learning from training to the job has occurred Describes the organizational outcomes that will be affected by the transfer of learning to the job and the criteria that will signify that organizational outcome objectives were achieved.

Creating Objectives The TNA is a critical part of determining the training objectives. With TNA, you determine skill gaps, performance gaps and which of these gaps can be addressed through training. From the performance gaps, the learning or training objectives can be set and so can the transfer of

training and organizational objectives. Trainee reaction objectives can be linked to the person analysis. Objectives are statements about what is expected to be accomplished. A good objective has the following three components (i) (ii) (iii) Desired outcome what should be expected to occur? Conditions under what conditions is the outcome expected to occur? Standards what criteria signify that the outcome is acceptable?

Writing a good objective

Even if the stubject you are covering seems very vague or intuitive, you'll still want to have a concrete way to measure what participants learn. For example, you might be giving a seminar on "Diversity in the Workplace," with an overall goal of making employees more sensitive to cultural issues. That's a broad goal, so your aim should be to come up with a way to measure it specifically. When you are developing your objectives, remember that they should be:

Specific -- Objectives should be clear-cut and to the point, without leaving a lot of room for ambiguity.

Good: "Participants should leave today's session with an understanding that much of what we consider everyday language is actually offensive to members of many different ethnic groups." Not so good: "Participants should think about what they are saying."

Measurable -- This can be more difficult, but it can be very helpful to develop objectives that you can measure in some way. This accomplishes two different things: first of all, achieving these objectives help both trainers and trainees leaves the session with a better feeling of accomplishment. Second, it's also a good way to be able to use your training results in future grant applications or on other documents where your organization needs to be able to quantify what you have done.

Good: "By the end of today's session, participants will be able to list ten common terms or phrases and explain why they are offensive to members of different ethnic groups." Not so good: "Participants will know that a lot of everyday phrases may be offensive to others."

Attainable -- World peace won't happen overnight. Try to think in terms of what can realistically be accomplished in the time you have. Particularly if this is the first training session your organization has developed, you might try to obtain some relatively simple objectives. Unrealistic objectives will leave everyone involved frustrated. It's important to set yourself up for success.

Good: "Participants will try to be more thoughtful in their actions and speech towards members of other ethnic groups." Not so good: "Members of the session who are now active leaders of the KKK will see the error in their ways and join the NAACP." (Source http://ctb.ku.edu/en/tablecontents/sub_section_main_1111.aspx) You can read more about objectives on
http://ctb.ku.edu/en/tablecontents/sub_section_main_1087.aspx

Why use training objectives? Training objectives can be considered a wasteful exercise by many L & D practitioners. Many find that they are a waste of time that can be spent in designing the course instead, they inhibit flexibility, they are unrealistic for management and other soft skills training and are not practical in todays workplace. A wide majority of HRD practitioners have said that training objectives are important from the following stakeholders perspectives Reduce anxiety related to unknown; focus attention; st expectations; know what is not to be covered; higher chances of success

Trainee Designer of Training Trainer Evaluator of Training

training needs are translated into objectives; content can be checed against objectives to see gaps; provides a clear unambiguous goal for the designer
can facilitte learning process more effectively; determine how trainees are proceeding; help keep training on right track

an effective way to assess if training has accomplished the set goals

Course Design Framework Instructional Design The process by which instruction is improved through the analysis of learning needs and systematic development of learning materials. Instructional designers often use technology and multimedia as tools to enhance instruction. Instructional Design is defined as a systematic process that is employed to develop education and training programs in a consistent and reliable fashion (Reiser & Dempsey, 2007). In addition, Instructional Design models or theories may be thought of as frameworks for developing modules or lessons that 1) increase and/or enhance the possibility of learning and 2) encourage the engagement of learners so that they learn faster and gain deeper levels of understanding. Instructional Systems Design Instructional System Design (ISD) models differ from Instructional Design (ID) models in that ISD models have a broad scope and typically divide the instruction design process into five phases (van Merrinboer, 1997, pp 2-3): 1. Analysis 2. Design 3. Development 4. Implementation or Delivery 5. Evaluation In addition, ISD models use formative evaluations in all the phases and a summative evaluation at the end of the process. On the other hand, Instructional Design (ID) normally only focus on the design and somewhat on the analysis parts, thus they are able to fill in the specific aspects of the design process.

ADDIE MODEL

Analysis phase The analysis phase clarifies the instructional problems and objectives, and identifies the learning environment and learner's existing knowledge and skills. Questions the analysis phase addresses include:

Who are the learners and what are their characteristics? What is the desired new behavior? What types of learning constraints exist? What are the delivery options? What are the pedagogical considerations? What adult learning theory considerations apply? What is the timeline for project completion?

Design phase The design phase deals with learning objectives, assessment instruments, exercises, content, subject matter analysis, lesson planning, and media selection. The design phase should be systematic and specific. Systematic means a logical, orderly method of identifying, developing

and evaluating a set of planned strategies targeted for attaining the project's goals. Specific means each element of the instructional design plan must be executed with attention to details. In the design phase, developers:

Document the instructional, visual, and technical design strategy Apply instructional strategies according to intended behavioral outcomes by domain (cognitive, affective, and psychomotor) Design the user interface and user experience Create a prototype Apply visual design (graphic design)

Development phase In the development phase, instructional designers and developers create and assemble content assets blueprinted in the design phase. In this phase, the designers create storyboards and graphics. If e-learning is involved, programmers develop or integrate technologies. Testers debug materials and procedures. The project is reviewed and revised according to feedback. Implementation phase The implementation phase develops procedures for training facilitators and learners. Training facilitators cover the course curriculum, learning outcomes, method of delivery, and testing procedures. Preparation for learners includes training them on new tools (software or hardware) and student registration. Implementation includes evaluation of the design. This is also the phase where the project manager ensures that books, hands-on equipment, tools, CD-ROMs, and software are in place, and that the learning application or website functions. Evaluation phase The evaluation phase consists of two parts: formative and summative. Formative evaluation is present in each stage of the ADDIE process. (Source - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADDIE_Model)