Many training programs serve no useful purpose for the learner or business due to poorly defined learning outcomes.

Why go to the bother of writing learning objectives for your training program? An effective learning intervention will create a learning environment geared to learning, and the application of new skills and knowledge.

Application of new skills and knowledge is key. In recent times, technology has enabled more learning courses to be available more than ever. With the current popularity of side hustles, many subject experts identified opportunities for them to share their expertise.  Whilst this is inherently a good thing, making learning available to more than in any other time in history, there is a whole lot of really poor training program and eLearning. Often it is information packaged as learning or training.  This is largely due to poor design craft and genuine understanding of adult learning principles.

An effective learning program will commence with the creation of specific learning objective that is tied to a specific learner group or organisational needs.

What is a “learning objective”?

What is called a “learning objective” is variously named “learning outcome” and “learner objective”. Sometimes the term “student” or “participant” is used in place of “learner”. In any case, a “learning objective” is what the training participant is intended to have actually learned at the conclusion of the training program. “Learning” encapsulates new beliefs, new attitudes and new practical skills and the unlearning of outmoded beliefs, attitudes, and skills.

What are the benefits of defining and articulating a well-constructed learning objectives statement?

• Learners can focus more easily on what is important to their actual workplace performance.
• Learning objectives form a solid basis for sequencing and chunking program content and activities.
• Participants’ managers can be assured that training addresses actual organizational goals.
• Learning objectives determine the relevance of program design features and content, allowing trainers to weed out easily what are ‘nice to know’.
• Trainers can better focus on the key deliverables of the training program, without being too sidetracked to the detriment of the program.
• Learning objectives allow learner tests to be checked for relevance and completeness.

The writing of well-specified learning objectives plays a central role in any training program regardless if it is face to face, eLearning or conducted via video conference.

Formulating and documenting such objectives serves to guide the activities of all of the people involved in its development and delivery; course designers and developers, participants’ managers, trainers and the learners themselves.

The Learning Objectives Process

Generally, learning objectives are written in terms of learning outcomes: What do you want your participants to learn as a result of the lesson? Follow the three-step process below for creating learning objectives.

1. Create a stem. (Context) Stem Examples:

• After completing the lesson, the participant t will be able to . . .
• After this unit, the participant will have . . .
• By completing the activities, the participant will . . .
• At the conclusion of the course/unit/study the student will . . .

2. After you create the stem, add a verb: (you know, a ‘doing’ word)

• Analyse, recognize, compare, provide, list, etc.

3. Once you have a stem and a verb, determine the actual product, process, or outcome:

• After completing this workshop, the participant will be able to recognize foreshadowing in various works of literature.

Learning objective examples:

After completing the training/programme/workshop, the participant will be able to:

• sort _____ by _____ (colour, size, etc.)
• follow directions to create _____ (a product)
• acquire data by measuring with _____ (a yardstick, etc.)
• display data using _____ (a graph, etc.)
• calculate . . .
• record observations of . . .
• exercise the skills of _____ (x.) to . . .
• discuss, interpret, and ascribe meaning to the organized data . . .
• use collected data to answer the question(s): _____
• construct _____
• interpret the results of the calculations . . .
• use a spreadsheet to calculate . . .

 

Abstract Activate Acquire Adjust Analyze Appraise Arrange Articulate Assemble Assess Assist Associate	Build Breakdown	Calculate Carry out Catalogue Categorize Change Check Classify Collect Combine Compare Contrast Complete Compose Conduct Construct Count Criticize Critique	Debate Decrease Define Demonstrate Describe Design Detect Develop Differentiate Direct Discuss Discover Distinguish Draw
Establish Estimate Evaluate Examine Explain Explore Express Extrapolate	Identify Illustrate Implement Improve Increase Infer Integrate Interpret Introduce Investigate	Perform Plan Point Predict Prepare Prescribe Produce Propose Question	Observe Operate Order Organize
Rank Rate Read Recall Recommend Recognize Recruit Reduce Reflect Relate Remove Repeat Replace Report Reproduce Research Restate Restructure	Schedule Score Select Separate Sequence Sing Sketch Simplify Solve Specify State Structure Summarize Supervise Survey Systematize	Tabulate Test Theorize Trace Track Train Transfer Translate	Update Use Utilize Verbalize Verify Visualize Write

 

Understand is NOT a learning objective. So, stop using it!

Take this learning objective for example:

To understand what a metaphor is.

That’s your aim, is it? To have all participants in the group ‘understand’ metaphor? Okay, so…

• What do you mean by ‘understand’?
• Do they all need to ‘understand’ it today?
• What specifically will they understand
• How will you know that they understand?
• How will you determine the level of understanding?

Learning objectives are the first step in creating learning content. These need to align with learning assessments and instructional strategies.

Alignment among three main course components ensures an internally consistent structure. Alignment is when the:

1. OBJECTIVES articulate the knowledge and skills you want students to acquire by the end of the course
2. ASSESSMENTS allow the instructor to check the degree to which the students are meeting the learning objectives
3. INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES are chosen to foster participant learning towards meeting the objectives

When these components are not aligned, students might rightfully complain that the test did not have anything to do with what was covered in class, or instructors might feel that even though students are earning a passing grade, they haven’t really mastered the material at the desired level.

Aligning these three components is a dynamic process since a change in one necessarily affects the other two.

Articulating your learning objectives will help:

YOU select and organize course content, and determine appropriate assessments and instructional strategies.

Participants direct their learning efforts appropriately and monitor their own progress.

In other words, don’t just rock up and design or teach anything. Lessons that have been designed with a bigger picture in mind, that have a purpose and a place within a wider scheme of work, are more effective than those that aren’t.  So know why you’re teaching metaphor.

---

Want to learn more about adult learning? Check out our An Introduction to Training Adults (Train the Trainer).

Why is train the trainer, training important? It is important to realize that any trainer needs two separate sets of skills and knowledge. First, they need to know the topic they are teaching (subject matter expertise).

And second, they need to know how to transfer that information to the student (instructional expertise). When instructors are hired to train adult students, they need both sets of skills. The problem is, a business’ need people that know the topic material very well; and in order to know a topic well enough to teach it at a high level, they often must have expert experience or a graduate degree in it.

So, most corporations and colleges hire instructors that have graduate degrees or subject matter expertise in the areas they will be training. But this is a sacrifice, as most of the instructors have little or no training in instructional expertise or trainer training.

Most commonly the skills that are learned are traditional lecture style, which is non-interactive and not well suited for non-auditory learning styles. (Which, by the way, is most of their learners.) Training is more than just the simple transference of knowledge. Trainers don’t just open their mouth and deposit knowledge into learners’ brains.

Trainers must know how to organize that knowledge, properly present it in a variety of formats for participants who have different learning styles and preferences and talk about the topic in a way that the students can understand and learn from.

Trainers must also be able to design ways to authentically assess whether your learners have learned what you’re trying to teach them.

And they should be able to address different types of difficulties that students with special needs may have so that they can best assist them in learning the topics they are presenting.

This one-day training course focusses on adult learning principles offers tips and ways to design a targeted training course, including assessments and engaging their audience.  Other topics include utilising learning styles and preferences types of training, creation of learning materials and objectives.  Engaging stakeholders, to the training room set up and managing challenging learners.

They’ll find out:

• Why a session plan is necessary and useful
• Ways to engage stakeholders and learners
• How to adapt learning outcomes to the needs of the learner
• How to create an inclusive learning environment
• Utilising gamification to reinforce learning
• What makes an effective trainer
• Why training is not always the solution
• Delivery tips and tricks

If your trainers implement just a handful of the proven ideas in Train the trainer – an introduction to adult-based learning’ – even just one or two of them – they’ll feel an enormous burden lifted off their shoulders. And your investment will be repaid many times over, starting today and for years to come.  Certainly, their participants will be grateful for a better learning experience.

Investment into the development of your employees is critical for ongoing growth and success of the organisation. It simply doesn’t make sense not to invest in those who will be delivering this development.

Buy and gain access to “An introduction to the adult learning” training package with all you need to deliver a high-powered train the trainer.

Follow the well-structured adult learning format and deliver powerful training.

Our high impact training courses and references have been designed to pay, print and train immediately, alternatively you can customise the training material to add flavours and experiences of your workplace, such as case studies, naming conventions and examples. Designed by experienced instructional designers with an excess of 20 years’ experience designing and delivering professional development courses. High impact slide decks, and workbooks, and guides are included in each course purchase.

Each training course includes:

• Detailed Trainer / Facilitator Guide
• Targeted PowerPoint Slide decks
• Learner Workbooks
• Adult centred training activities
• Learner Handouts and job aids 
• Self-paced learning plan for learning application back in the workplace
• Self-assessment 
• Learning quizzes/ knowledge check
• Learner Attendance Certificate 
• Attendance record sheet 
• Training evaluation

Duration: 1 day 

Audience: subject matter experts, trainers, managers, those interested in training

---

About Facilitated Training.

Learning and Development should not get in the way of business. It should help business excel. That’s what we believe at Facilitated Training. And if that means doing things differently, then so be it.

Our mission is to help organisations thrive through quality, editable professional development training materials and resources. We are not like other training companies; we won’t charge you for every minute of courseware development. Instead, our fixed-priced product ensures you have unlimited access to customisable training materials and our easy-to-understand facilitator guides.

We keep things simple. It is about making things easier, saving you time, removing barriers, and giving you the freedom to do what you love. We want to build a relationship and create a beneficial partnership that goes beyond the menial day-to-day tasks and helps you identify commercial challenges and opportunities.

Facilitated Training can assist your business with everything from leadership training, customer service and other soft skills training, to short courses, lunch and learn materials, reference guides, templates, and more.

If you’ve reached an inflexion point and are starting to scale, using any old generic training, or death by PowerPoint presentations just won’t cut it anymore. We are ready to work with you, to educate and coach you and your team, so that you don’t need us ever again – all for a fraction of the price consultants and instructional designers.

Leaving the creation of training materials to us reduces risks and gives you more time to dedicate to what really matters – the people.

If you are in HR or operations and need learning and development assistance, get in touch today and let’s chat

📩 hello@facilitatedtraining.com 📲 +61 412299202

www.facilitatedtraining.com