This Tip discusses the first decisions that trainers should make, which are the content decisions and the degree of content complexity.
Content Decisions
How to Determine Content Complexity Required
How do we decide what degree of difficulty or complexity of content is appropriate for our learners? Our needs assessment will have to determine:
- Who is the target audience?
- What general content needs to be covered?
- What will our learners be expected to do once they leave the training session?
- What is their current level of skill or knowledge in this content area?
- What post-training reinforcement is available to the participants?
The Answers to Needs Assessment Questions
The answers to these questions will help us to decide what level of complexity in the content is necessary and appropriate.
For example, suppose that we determine that our learners will be expected to independently perform a responsibility that is entirely new to them. We will know then that we have to start simply with the basics. Then we should gradually increase the degree of difficulty and complexity of knowledge and applied practice . We do this to the point that they have learned and demonstrated all of the necessary skills to perform that responsibility.
On the other hand, suppose that the general content is a series of changes to a procedure. We know that the learners are already very familiar with the procedure and their supervisor will reinforce their performance back on the job. In this case, there is a limited degree of difficulty and complexity. This is because the key outcome is that the learners become familiar with and understand the changes. The real application of their new learning will occur on the job, not in the classroom.
A Mathematical Equation
It is really a simple mathematical equation. We subtract what they already can do (the answer to question #4) from what they will be expected to do (the answer to question #5). The remainder is what they will need to learn.
Clearly, this is not a situation where one size fits all. If we want to be effective trainers, we must have answers to these question. We also need the flexibility to tailor the content to meet the learners’ needs.
