A Snapshot of Best Practices

As an Instruction Designer (ID), you may be faced with a project where a “training manager has been frustrated with the quality of communication among trainees in his face-to-face training sessions and wants to try something new.” The trainer may have “plans to convert all current training modules to a blended learning format, which would provide trainees and trainers the opportunity to interact with each other and learn the material in both a face-to-face and online environment.”  Furthermore, the trainer may have pans for “putting all of his training materials on a server so that the trainees have access to resources and assignments at all times.” 

If faced with this scenario it seems appropriate to begin the ADDIE process of analysis with one basic question, “Is converting the program to a blended format necessary?”  See Appendix I for specific questions that guides this analysis.  If the determination is made that the current format does not lend itself to meeting the program goals and outcomes, then a second set of issue must be addressed with the trainer prior to designed the new blended approach: 1) Instructor Issues, 2) Student Issues and 3) Technology Issues.  These issues are essential considerations for distance learning with any project and must be addressed early.

A second primary issue for this redesign relates to the trainer’s new role as a facilitator in a distance-learning environment.  Instructional delivery via distance learning involves different processes than traditional lecture-based classroom instruction. As such, the trainer must be aware and competent across the following three issues:

1.     Moving from dispenser of knowledge to facilitation of learning

2.     Management of content and technology in new ways

3.     Facilitating student engagement in the new learning activities

The third component of best practices offered to the trainer relates to the issue of encouraging student communication.  This is a critical aspect for involving students in the learning process.  Three broad topics are necessary:

1.     Clearly establish expectation for communication

2.     Make communication meaningful

3.     Remove barriers to communication

This snapshot is elaborated in greater detail in "Best Practices"