| Learning Strategies for Learners to Do on Their Own |
Corresponding Training Practices to Include in Training Programs |
| Skill |
| Break content into rehearsable units. |
Develop program from task and skill analysis. |
Achieve understanding of content.
Re-read, re-listen, review, or ask about information presentations until you understand them. |
Provide all presentations on media that allow each learner to re-read or re-play each one in whole or in part at will. *
Prepare information presentations in direct, uncomplicated language with simple illustrations and realistic examples.
Include notes and key words in margins, as in structured writing.
During program development, pre-test and revise presentations with members of TPop.
Make coaches readily available to learners in one-on-one interactions. |
Develop advance organizers.
Look for the big pictures. Build visuals showing the functional blocks in each big picture and how they come together. Describe the visuals and how the functions are related to each other. |
Develop graphics that show learner the major parts of the subject matter, system, procedure, or process and briefly explain how they come together. Present graphics and explanations either live or on media. Instruct learner to practice describing and explaining the organization in the graphic to an error-free standard. Or give learner separate functional blocks and instruct the learner to arrange the blocks and explain their organization. This can be done alone or with a colleague and a feedback sheet. |
Rephrase information and instructions in your own language of thought.
Put the content and instructions in your own words. |
Provide all instructions and content in direct, uncomplicated language.
Instruct learners to write or orally rehearse information and performance instructions either alone or with colleague or both in the learners’ own words in their own language of thought. |
Use inner speech and mental imagery to guide performance.
When learning a procedure, practice orally stating the steps, cautions, and reasons and pointing to the related objects in correct sequence before practicing the full performance. |
Add show-and-tell subordinate skills to skill hierarchy. Develop illustrations or models of the objects involved in the procedures.
Instruct the learners to practice stating the steps, cautions, and reasons and pointing to the related objects in correct sequence until they can do so without error. This can be done alone or with a colleague or both with a feedback sheet. |
Tie new learning to previous experience and previous learning.
Build bridges between what you know and what you are trying to learn. |
Instruct learners to recall ways in which a new skill relates to things they already know something about. They can do this alone or brainstorm with one or two colleagues or both. |
Develop appropriate mental imagery.
Practice describing illustrations and diagrams until you can visualize them clearly or reproduce them. |
Provide learners with copies of the illustrations or diagrams and instruct them to practice describing and explaining each illustration or diagram as they point to the corresponding features on it. Have them do this either alone or with a colleague using a feedback sheet that identifies all the key points. |
Use effective memorization aids for definitions, processes, and procedures.
Develop mnemonics that incorporate rhyme, meaningful associations, and images. |
During program development, draft, test, and revise mnemonics (preferably peg word rather than acrostic) with TPop members using rhyme, common associations, and images.
Provide learners with loose flashcards for paired associates information and bound flashcards for sequenced information. Include pictures or symbols. Instruct learners to practice with the flashcards until they can go through the deck without error or peeking. |
Organize content and notes.
Make marginal notes with keywords, symbols, and diagrams on your text and on your printed notes and practice stating the information summarized by each from memory. |
Provide all textual materials in structured writing format with instructions on how to practice stating the information in each block from the marginal labels. Marginal labels serve as notes. |
Organize and explain information.
Make charts to organize information and relationships. Practice recreating and explaining the charts from memory. |
Provide learner with separate coded (icons, names, or colors) blocks or cards. Have each learner practice arranging the blocks or cards and explaining content in each one and the relationships among them to an error-free standard. Have them study alone or with a colleague or both and checking themselves against a feedback sheet that lists all key points. |
Identify significant points (main ideas).
Effectively determine what is important from what isn’t important. |
Provide a clear performance objective for every overt and covert skill to be learned and eliminate all learning activities that do not support a specific performance objective. |
Identify and focus on significant aspects of content.
Take well-organized notes from the assignment. |
Provide complete, well-organized notes in margins as part of structured writing 1n each module with directions on how to use them to practice/study. |
| Take good notes during class. |
| Combine and re-organize assignment notes with lecture notes that place the information in a topical or application contexts or both. Chunk information and skills into appropriate sized pieces with labels. |
Practice each skill in realistic contexts.
When learning a process or procedure, describe what to do and why, pointing to the appropriate actions that you will take on a diagram or model before actually practicing the process or procedure in live situations. |
Provide range of realistic situations and materials for each learner to practice each skill and task safely with feedback until he or she performs to job standard. If unsafe conditions are involved, do this initially as show-and-tell practices and then as live practice performances with supervision, if necessary. |
| Will |
Establish personal value for learning.
Reflect on how you will use the skills you are learning. |
Provide learners with applications of training content and skills in realistic job contexts. Video depictions are best. Otherwise, use verbal descriptions with pictures and sound bites, if possible. |
Build learning self-efficacy.
Take on the learning of difficult skills with the same assurance as with easy skills. |
Explain to learners that some skills may have more parts than others and take longer to learn, but when broken down into parts all skills are within the learner’s ability to learn.
As learners progress in program, recognize and compliment their progress individually. Keep all feedback performance-oriented with no personal put-downs. |
Build performance self-efficacy.
Reassure yourself that you will succeed in the program and later on in the application of your new skills. |
Tell learners how course was developed from task and skill analysis to assure them that success in training insures success on the job. Let them know that all training measurements are identical to job performance requirements. |
Anxiety: worry about doing poorly.
Counter your own fears of failure, both in learning and in test taking. |
Explain to learners that only skill checks (job-sample performance tests) will be used and administered only when the learner is ready. Skill checks will be repeated for individual learners as often as necessary. They practice exactly as they will be tested. There is no failing, just more practice: Try, try again. Do not use multiple-guess tests. |
Remove obstacles to learning.
Clear out all competitive pressures during learning. |
Determine beforehand what obstacles to learning the learners perceive and resolve them beforehand.
Arrange to compensate learners for loss of income or status during training.
Arrange for suitable cover for learners’ job responsibilities while in training.
Insure that training skills will be used on the job and valued by management.
Arrange for appropriate compensation for personal inconvenience to learners during training. |
Motivation to do difficult work.
Take on all learning requirements without complaining, |
Apply the standards throughout training to all learners uniformly with no exceptions.
Sequence the learning of skills so that all prerequisites for complex or difficult skills are learned first. Develop the curriculum from a skill hierarchy. |
| Self-regulation |
Manage study time effectively.
Study the assignment and previous class notes before class.
Adhere to a regular study schedule with ample time in which to learn. |
Plan for all learning activities to occur during class by cutting back on low value learning activities such as lectures and large group exercises. |
Plan learning activities.
Do not wander aimlessly from one activity to another, but periodically plan your next series of learning activities to achieve a specific learning goal. |
Develop training in modules. Each module provides the learning activities needed to achieve the skill objectives of the modules. |
Sequence learning effectively.
Learn subordinate skills before learning larger skills. |
Provide a map that shows the parts of the program and the relationships between them. Provide a chart for estimating progress in the program. |
Self-testing and reviewing.
Periodically test your own learning. |
Build self-checks and reviews into materials for each module. |
Concentration.
Don’t let your attention wander while studying. |
Provide dedicated time on a set schedule and quiet rooms for learning.
Provide study materials that are organized to support study sequences and free of clutter. |
