Instructional Skills - Professional Development course: train and teach staff on the job.

• Become an excellent instructor and trainer!
• People need to learn new things, every day at work, and their managers and supervisors need to know how to teach them.
• Understand how people learn, and you have a foundation for helping them learn.
  Improve your ability to instruct and you improve your capacity to get jobs done in the workplace.
• Course Duration: 100 hours of self-paced study.

Suitable for -

• Instructional Skills is an ideal course for anyone who needs to train staff, instruct employees, supervise staff, or manage change in any workplace.

Course Structure and Lesson Content

There are 11 lessons in this course, as follows:

Lesson 1. Introduction to Training

• Communication channels
• Skills for an effective communicator
• Responsibilities of a trainer to achieve effective communication
• Main approaches to helping learning; psycho-dynamic, phenomenological, behavioural, cognitive-behavioural and transactional analysis
• Understanding communication barriers
• Trainer responsibilities beyond communication
• Leadership concepts
• Public speaking skills
• Causes of confusion
• Writing a speech to communicate a learning point

Lesson 2. Understanding Learning

• What is learning
• How learning is influenced by the teacher, student and materials
• Learning terminology
• Teaching strategies
• Common teaching modes
• Class size
• Teaching models
• Questioning
• Recognising the learners needs
• Adult learners
• Children/adolescent learners

Lesson 3. Determining Training Requirements in The Workplace

• Assessing Needs
• How to gather information
• How to use the information you gather

Lesson 4. Commencing Training

• Arranging resources
• Administration
• Planning
• Training program support

Lesson 5. Developing a Lesson Plan

• Lesson aims
• Structure of a lesson plan
• Contingency planning
• Writing a lesson plan

Lesson 6. Assessment and Evaluation of Training Programs

• Assessment
• Tests and examinations
• Assignments
• Evaluation of training programs
• Evaluation checklist

Lesson 7. Training Aids

• Overview
• Using audio visual equipment
• Visual materials; illustrations, whiteboard, charts etc
• Audio materials
• Handouts

Lesson 8. One-To-One Training

• Leadership communication
• Tutorial sessions
• Conversation development
• Motivation for learning
• Self esteem
• Reinforcement
• Trainer relationship building
• Body language

Lesson 9. Motivation Skills and Techniques

• What is motivation
• Motivational theories
• Improving motivation
• Competency

Lesson 10. Promoting Training

• Overview
• Persuasion
• Influencing opponents
• Influencing neutrals
• Handling criticism
• Logical persuasion

Lesson 11. Assessor Training

• Recognition of Prior learning
• Evidence
• Assessor training
• Research skills
• Interviewing skills
• Asking effective questions

Course Aims

• Analyse the communication effectiveness within a training environment.
• Explain characteristics which influence the effectiveness of education, including aspects of both learning and teaching.
• Define training requirements for a specified workplace.
• Prepare for commencement of a training session.
• Develop a lesson plan for training a small group (less than twelve).
• Develop skills in the assessment and evaluation of training programs.
• Demonstrate the use of audio-visual equipment for lesson presentation.
• Demonstrate the instruction of a learner in a one-to-one situations.
• Determine the use of simple motivational skills in a training environment.
• To promote training and monitor the result of promotion.
• Prepare trainees to meet the requirements of the competency standards for assessors.

What You Will Do

• Identify interactions that can occur between teacher and learner in a case study.
• Compare adult learning characteristics with child learning characteristics.
• Diagnose in 4 case studies, common barriers for learning, including - Class Disruptions; Concentration; Motivation; Fear of Complexity.
• Investigate how different training programs are promoted through newspapers, magazines, brochures, handbooks, trade show displays, radio advertising etc.
• Consider the effectiveness of different promotions you discover.
• Describe an appropriate procedure for the notification of trainees of a forthcoming (hypothetical) training session. This training session can be on a topic selected by you
• Identify eight different methods which may be used for promoting training courses for a training provider who you are familiar with. These may be methods which are already being used, or they may be methods which you think may be worth trying.
• Collect information on assessment procedures.Look at assessment procedures in several courses.
• Talk to a number of teachers/trainers about how they assess their students/trainees.
• Look at school handbooks to see if they list assessment methods for the different courses they cover.
• Talk to people who have done courses recently. How where they assessed? Would they have preferred to have been assessed in a different manner? If so, how?
• Make a short audio recording giving instruction on a subject you feel comfortable about, for example, discussing vehicle performance, a discussion on bird breeding, the use of natural remedies, etc.

How Do People Learn Effectively?

There are many different concepts and theories that can be used to understand how people learn.

Education theorist, David Kolb, published one such concept in 1984; designed to help us better understand "experiential learning".

Kolb’s experiential learning theory works on two levels which are:

• The four learning styles (dimensions).
• The four stage learning cycle.

His theory suggests that there are four dimensions or stages to the learning cycle; and that throughout the cycle a person will experience all four areas.

For effective learning then, a learner needs to move through these stages. The whole process may then be repeated to reinforce the learning.

These four stages are, feeling, observing, thinking then doing.

Feeling is a "Concrete Experience"

A concrete learning experience is when the person has an experience or does something.

Learning from experience and how we relate to other people. It also involves being sensitive to the feelings of others.

Watching involves "Reflective Observation"

A reflective learning observation is when the learner reflects or reviews the experience they have had. Observing then giving considering consideration to how the same thing may be seen differently, in different contexts. This type of learner will look for the meaning of things.

Thinking involves "Abstract Conceptualisation"

Abstract Conceptualisation is when the learner learns from or concludes the experience, so learning from experience. Learning as a result of logical analysis. So the person aims for an intellectual understanding of any situation.

Doing is "Active Experimentation"

This stage involves taking the experience and knowledge, and putting it into practice. The learner will apply what they have learned. Learning from both mistakes and successes by taking risks and doing things.

So, to summarise, the learner has an experience, they reflect on it, conceptualise on it and then experiment with it, by putting it into practice.

Kolb believes that each stage of learning was supportive of the next and feeding into the next. So it is possible to join the cycle at any stage and learn through the logical sequence.
The most effective learning occurs when the learner is able to go through all four stages of the procedure.  

“This makes sense when we realise that all learning is linked, one area of learning expands our thinking and knowledge which then means this newer knowledge can be used to solve or learn in the next set of learning situations”.

Kolb’s Four Learning Dimensions

Kolb considered four learning dimensions. Kolb’s model differs from others in that it offers a way to understand individual learning styles – which he calls LSI (Learning Styles Inventory) and also an explanation of the cycle of experiential learning that applies to all learners. 

Kolb argued that different people prefer a different learning style. Your learning preference according to Kolb is affected by a range of factors, such as educational experiences, the individual’s cognitive structure, and their social environment and so on.

The learning style preferred by the individual is actually shown by their preferences on two axes – the processing continuum which looks at how we approach a task and the perception continuum which looks at our emotional response, how we think and feel about the task.

How the Course Works

You can start the course at any time.

It is studied by distance learning, so you can study in the comfort of your own home. But this doesn't mean you are all alone in your studies.  Our highly qualified and friendly tutors are there to help you every step of the way.  If you have any questions at all, they are always happy to help.

You can enrol today

If you have any questions, we will only be to pleased to help - phone us on (UK) 01384 442752, or (International) +44 (0) 1384 442752, or connect with our tutors using our FREE COURSE COUNSELLING SERVICE.