This article was originally published on eLNinsights
As an early Christmas gift, our instructional designers have gathered together some of our favourite tips for L&D people like you!
Let the learner objectives mould your content
Luke Helgesen – @luke_saffron
Step one for any e-learning course should be to draft out the behavioural outcomes that any learner should be able to do following successful completion of the course. Don’t let your instructional design get carried away by the amount of information that you get from your Subject Matter Expert; constantly review your work at all stages and ensure that it contributes to and tests the desired behavioural change throughout.
Watch your optimism and don’t be shackled by the plan!
Nick Baum – @nick_saffron
It’s natural to be optimistic and to believe that everything will go right. Try to keep a lid on this and keep asking yourself, what could go horribly wrong and how will I manage the situation if this happens?
You should also remember that project management is a people business. Don’t spend all your time updating the plan and documenting the process. Spend your time working with your team, understanding their issues and managing the risks
Try a randomised control trial
Moira Nicolson – @moira_saffron
How can you tell if a training programme is working? How about using randomised control trials. Imagine that you’ve introduced a new performance management scheme for people who are under-performing. How will you know whether those receiving the extra support might not have improved anyway? And if their performance does improve, how would you know it wasn’t something other than your training that improved it (such as a change in their personal circumstances outside work)?
What makes RCTs different from other methods of evaluation is that they involve randomly assigned control groups – groups of people who aren’t given the training – which allows you to compare the effectiveness of a new intervention against what would have happened if you’d done nothing.
To find out more, read my blog post and look out for our upcoming Advance article about implementing RCTs in your organisation.
