Sometimes it seems like we get caught up in the intricacies of instructional design or the bells and whistles of training technology and forget about the learners\u2019 needs and the end result the training should achieve. In light of that, I\u2019d like to propose three ways to improve the learning environment\u2014they probably appear obvious at first glance, but, in my experience, they often are neglected.<\/p>\n
1. Make It Relevant<\/strong>. At the heart of every effective learning environment lies a group of students who are excited about mastering the content. If you\u2019ve ever taught a class of people who have come to the learning center kicking and screaming, then you know why I start any discussion of a learning environment with the importance of participant motivation.<\/p>\n So what can you do to ensure participants are motivated to learn? Nothing helps motivate participants more than the realization they\u2019re about to learn something to make their pressing problems disappear. Nothing. When you drag people away from the workplace where they\u2019re up to their neck in alligators, the training had better provide alligator repellant of some type.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why savvy training designers refuse to produce and deliver any material that isn\u2019t immediately relevant to the participants\u2019 pressing problems. So start every training design with one question: \u201cWhat do these people need to learn in order to be better prepared to solve their most immediate and important problem?\u201d Design the training around those problems, and your topic will always be relevant and participants will always be motivated to learn.<\/p>\n 2. Make It Helpful.<\/strong> Once you\u2019ve identified a relevant topic, make sure the material you prepare offers genuine solutions. This recommendation seems obvious enough, but far too many training programs pretend to offer solutions when, in fact, they\u2019re merely pointing to desired outcomes. This is particularly true when you teach interpersonal skills. When teaching people how to solve tough people problems, it is common for designers to swap outcome for tactics.<\/p>\n For instance, when teaching people how to begin a routine problem-solving discussion, a course I once attended suggested the trainees needed to \u201ccreate a good relationship.\u201d Who can argue with this? The only problem was this particular piece of advice was part of what they referred to as \u201cskill building.\u201d Unfortunately, it contained no skill whatsoever, merely an outcome\u2014when you\u2019re through, you should have a good relationship.<\/p>\n At some point, in order to be practical, you need to be tactical. That means when you\u2019re teaching interpersonal skills, you have to teach actual behaviors. If not, people are forced to invent the skills on their own, or worse still, they think they\u2019ve learned what to do, exit the training, face a tough situation, and don\u2019t have a clue what they\u2019re actually supposed to do. So don\u2019t confuse outcomes with tactics.<\/p>\n 3. Make It Real.<\/strong> In addition to masking outcomes as tactics, some designers build into every training session something I have come to call a \u201cRed Sea Clause.\u201d Here\u2019s what it means. When Moses proposed to take the Children of Israel out of bondage, one of his followers asked him how he\u2019d manage this monumental task. \u201cIt\u2019ll be easy,\u201d Moses explained. \u201cWe\u2019ll put people in their wagons, gather their flocks, and head off into the wilderness. Eventually, we\u2019ll arrive at the Red Sea.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then what will you do?\u201d the follower asked.<\/p>\n \u201cEasy,\u201d Moses explained, \u201cGod will part the Red Sea.\u201d<\/p>\n For years, I\u2019ve watched people deliver training that called for similar miracles. The training contained a detailed plan, but it wouldn\u2019t work unless something magical happened. For example, in one course I attended, the leaders rolled out a complicated production system employees were supposed to use. It took thousands of hours and tens of millions of dollars to develop the system. Then it took dozens of hours to teach it. Buried deep inside the training manual was the following phrase: \u201cOf course, the system will only work if employees willingly and ably embrace it.\u201d The truth was, nobody wanted it, everyone was fighting it, and it was doomed from the beginning. The course called for a miracle.<\/p>\n If you think this type of na\u00efve thinking is unusual, think again. Once I met with a personal trainer who said he had the perfect plan to help me in my quest to lose weight. He suggested I continue my rigorous workouts and then added the new \u201ckey to success.\u201d \u201cHere\u2019s what you do,\u201d he enthusiastically opined. \u201cFor dinner, load your plate up as normal.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then what?\u201d I eagerly asked.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then you put half of it back,\u201d he said. \u201cThat way, you\u2019ll cut your calories in half and lose the weight you need.\u201d<\/p>\n Duh. I know how to cut my calories in half. What I don\u2019t know is how to motivate myself to do so when I finish the light meal and still crave more food.<\/p>\n Not more than a half hour after finishing this unhelpful conversation, I tuned into a TV talk show where a national guru was offering up his advice for weight loss. \u201cIt\u2019s simple,\u201d he suggested. \u201cFast food and other fatty offerings taste good. Our body craves fast food. That\u2019s why the industry has grown despite all the attention against the horrible health effects. So here\u2019s what you have to do. You have to find a way to make healthy food more attractive.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d I thought to myself, and then, \u201cHow do I do that?\u201d<\/p>\n But that was the end of the interview. He offered no advice whatsoever on how to make healthy food more tasty and desirable. Ah, yes, still another miracle.<\/p>\n So if you want to create a high-impact learning environment, start with genuine problems \u2014pressing problems. End with real solutions. Avoid solutions that mask tactics as outcomes, offer up no tactics whatsoever, or call for miracles. That will save you a (Red) sea of trouble.<\/p>\n