I just recieved a newsletter from Kaizen Training and there was a section on objectives in training courses.
The implication was that "At the end of this course you will be able to..." is now old hat?
I would really like to see some examples of objectives from trainers who don't use "At the end of this course....
Thanks
Steve
13 Responses
Objectives
Hi Steve, good question. My skills courses are not that ambitious. I refer to the outcomes that the course will cover and explain
that the understanding and application of the new skill covered on the course is just the start of a process that will take most poeple
several months of conscious application before they feel that they can apply or "do" the skill with confidence and as an automatic part
of how they respond and react.
I require every attendee to generate their own outcome related to their situaiton and personality and share this with me at least a
week before they attend the course. This provides a much more relavent and engaging set of course objectives and this is the way
we measure how effective the course has been, together.
I also ask attendees what I could do to impro9ve their expefrience and what they could do next time they attend training to improve
their own performance. This usually generates things like, pay attention, read/do the preparation work or stop thinking about work.
Cheers.
Nick
not an answer but…..
…if an old hat still fits, and still does the job it was designed to do, why should we buy a new hat?
Are we just following the next fad?
Are we seeking to use "new" for the sake of being new, rather than because"new" is actually any better than old?
That said I’ve seen lots of (particularly open) courses where:-
BTEOTCYWBAT* state the 7+1 wastes
BTEOTCYWBAT* identify the 4 learning styles
BTEOTCYWBAT* explain the 8 functions of a leader
and similar easy-to-measure-but-possibly-quite-meaningless numerical related "learning objectives"
so my point is that it ain’t what you do, its the way that you do it….
* "by the end of this course you will be able to"
its all about the marketing and positioning
I agree with Russ here
It all depends on the nature of the "training" and the format.
If it is real training – then it is most appropriate to tell participants what they can and should expect.
if on the other hand it is an open learning experience where it is up to the learners to "set" the learning objectives, then do we need to state them in the "traditional" way?
The danger of course is that we as trainers do not declare the objectives, as we will expect individuals to "own" the learning, and at the same time we fail to meet the needs of the business.
As a profession we need to start to differentiate out personal development from training and label it as such. People (inc managers) need to know what it is they are buying.
As for the: fwfwfgtftgh 4 ways.. etc
Its a solid measure that a supplier will deliver, so at least you know the knowledge level and the minimum performance to expect – crude but effective!
Money
Some great points…thank you.
Money also comes in to equation because if I went on a £500 per day course I really do want to know what I will be able to "do" at the end of it!
We have done this one
This is a topic that we did in some depth not long ago I recall…
Has this been done before?
"This is a topic that we did in some depth not long ago I recall…"
If it has been done before could you post a typical example of a "good practice" objective that is now used instead of BTEOTCYWBAT…? Thanks
I know the theory…I just want examples!
Outcomes are the way to go
Hi Steve,
I will have an answer to your question later this week. I have been running a series of videos on the differences and similarities between objectives, outcomes and competencies. In Australia, in the accredited system we have to use outcomes and the old, by the end of the lesson..objectives are gone. Anyway here is a small example.
Outcome
Use a forklift to load boxes onto a truck
Assessment criteria
Check the load is not protruding from the truck
Load twenty boxes
Complete the loading operation within one hour
Assessment conditions
The area must be well lit
The floor surface must be flat and free of hazards
The current videos are here and one more to come out this week.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXS7EUjTATA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5P_kRep7Lo
Outcomes are the way to go
Hi Steve,
I will have an answer to your question later this week. I have been running a series of videos on the differences and similarities between objectives, outcomes and competencies. In Australia, in the accredited system we have to use outcomes and the old, by the end of the lesson..objectives are gone. Anyway here is a small example.
Outcome
Use a forklift to load boxes onto a truck
Assessment criteria
Check the load is not protruding from the truck
Load twenty boxes
Complete the loading operation within one hour
Assessment conditions
The area must be well lit
The floor surface must be flat and free of hazards
The current videos are here and one more to come out this week.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXS7EUjTATA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5P_kRep7Lo
NVQ
Hi
This is exactly the same as the assessment criteria language used in our NVQ system. Perfect, as the candidate needs to be able to demonstrate a specific competency within specific guidelines.
This is ok for practical based courses but what if the training is knowledge based?
Are we in danger of confusing what is a very good system..ie Bteotcywbat…??? People who attend courses are only interested in what the course will do for them so Bteotcywbat…is the easiest language to understand…in my experience "outcomes" and "deliverables" are not of much interest to the majority of course attendees…
Objectives / outcomes – what people can do and will do is the c
Hi Steve, you have generated many views on this subject. I am not sure it is that important if we call things objectives or outcomes as
long as the expectations of what we are delivering is credible. I have the biggest issue with courses that proport to deliver
big behavioural changes when , for most people, a behavioural change cannot take place over the few hours on a course.
Whatever the objectives or outcomes the claims a course makes should be possible for the attendees to achieve.
For behaviours I would expect this to include the establishment of key skills to be able to behave in the requried manner and a
process including lots of practical exercises to build the confidence to us the skills within the training session and furtehr work to build
the confidence needed to use the skills when away from the training room. This would be followed with a credible action plan
developed by the attendees with commitment and support to realise their change in bahaviour, which could take months to establish.
I have been given pre-designed courses to deliver and attended or observed many more that have a list of objectives as long
as the arm of a person with very long arms, not enough time given to build the basic skills and develop confidence to use them,
and a weak excuse for an action plan, or none at all. In many cases this has been defended by the trainer/ company involved by
referring to the sponsor / client wanting to see value for money and wanting to give the attendees "plenty to think about ".
However we describe the "target" of what people will achieve we need to spend a lot of time and energy ensuring that they can
and will "actually be able to do it" after the training and we need to monitor this to check the effectiveness of the course and amend
the training where necessary.
Cheers, Nick.
Objectives
— Vanessa Randle thinkingvisually Ltd/Graphics Made Easy
At Graphics Made Easy we do things slightly differently. Our Graphics Made Easy ‘Starter’ Workshop is a highly practical day where participants have the opportunity to try out the things that they learn. Our workshop brochure spells out the following for potential participants:
1.What they will learn to do on the day and the impact we believe this will have on the people that they work with and the work that they do
2. We identify ‘Eight workshop worries that people will leave behind’ – these are actual worries that people have expressed to us about learning to draw or using graphics. These worries really resonate with people so we tell them what they’ll learn, and be able to do, in order to address them. We aim to help people see how participating on our workshop can contribute to removing the worries that they have
3. We let people know what topics they can expect to cover during the day.
4.We use photographs from our workshops to show people what they actually get up to on the day.
5. We also send out pre-work to people who sign up for the workshop. This asks them to identify exactly what it is that they want to achieve and be able to do, have, know about to make sure that the day they spend with us is the best possible use of their time (and money!). We then use this to tailor and flex the day, on the day, to make sure everyone gets what they want, what they need and even more!
This model has served us well and we’ve had terrific feedback from participant on both our open and in-house workshops.
Hope this serves to offer an insight into just one other way of doing objectives/outcomes – let me know.
Vanessa
Keep the “bteotcywbat”
Hi,
The term “by the end of this course you will be able to…..” is a well recognised term and it would be a shame to lose it and ultimately confuse people with new ‘trends’.
The terminology in NVQ competency based qualifications – outcomes and assessment criteria, has become standard across vocational qualifications. The introduction of the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) has led to the standardisation of these terms in competency/practical and knowledge based vocational qualifications. Other knowledge based course may follow?
We know “bteotcywbat…” works, long may it continue!
How refreshing!
How refreshing! How many times does this happen???
"5. We also send out pre-work to people who sign up for the workshop. This asks them to identify exactly what it is that they want to achieve and be able to do, have, know about to make sure that the day they spend with us is the best possible use of their time (and money!). We then use this to tailor and flex the day, on the day, to make sure everyone gets what they want, what they need and even more!"