BEST AND WORST TRAINING EXPERIENCES ESSAY

Most of us have had to participate in some type of training on our jobs, such as new employee orientation, lunch-and-learn workshops, Employee Assistance Program training, technical skill training, employee benefits update meetings, or management development workshops.  Some of us have experienced on-the-job training.  Others have participated in professional development workshops or skills-based continuing education classes.  Think about the best and worst training experiences you have had.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT

Write an

8 page essay

(not including cover and reference pages) analyzing both your best and worst training experiences as an employee.  Be specific in discussing what made the experiences good or bad.  Weeks 4 to 8 cover learning theories, the design of training, training evaluation, transfer of training, and training methods.

Your essay should include brief descriptions of the training experiences:

• The target audience
• The objective(s) of the training (see Week 5)
• The training site
• Training methods used (see Weeks 7 and 8)

The major focus of your paper is your analysis, which is worth 65% of the grade for this assignment.  Your analysis should include:

• An assessment of the specific factors that contributed to the success or ineffectiveness of the training; for example, consider these questions:
  • Did the training achieve its objective(s)?
  • Was the training site conducive to learning?
  • Were the methods chosen appropriate for the topic and the audience?
  • Did you have opportunities to practice and receive feedback?
• A discussion of the learning theory or theories that you believe guided the training (see Week 4)

• An assessment of the competencies, knowledge, and/or skills demonstrated by the trainer(s).  In 2013 the American Society for Training and Development (now known as the Association for Talent Development) introduced a new Competency Model for training and development professionals.  Click on the link below to access an interactive version of the competency model (for example, click on Training Delivery to see the definition of this competency and behavioral indicators):

http://www.astd.org/Certification/Competency-Model

• A discussion of whether or not you transferred what you learned to your job, whether or not you had any relapses, and what contributed to your successful or unsuccessful transfer and/or to your relapses (see Week 4)
• Your specific recommendations for improving the training, based on what you now know about effective training programs

The information above should be included in your paper but you are free to organize your essay in whatever way makes sense to you.  You may use the first person (“I attended a program” or “the trainer told us”) in discussing your experiences.

Support your analysis with citations from the readings from this class or other HR courses, and additional resources posted in our classroom.


Make sure you define all key terms and cite the source(s) of your definition.

Since this is not primarily a research paper, no specific number of references is required.

However, you must cite your sources.

Use APA format for all citations, quotations, and references.  References should be listed on a separate page as required by APA style.  Your paper should be double spaced with one inch margins and a font size of at least 11 points; do not include any spaces between paragraphs or sections.

USEFUL LINKS

https://careacttarget.org/sites/default/files/file-upload/resources/TIG%204%20Learning%20Objectives%202010.pdf

http://www.gavilan.edu/research/spd/Writing-Measurable-Learning-Outcomes.pdf

http://www2.gsu.edu/~mstmbs/CrsTools/Magerobj.html

http://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/criterion-referenced.html

http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Tr-Z/Training-Delivery-Methods.html

http://trainingtoday.blr.com/article/most-effective-training-techniques

http://ezproxy.umuc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edselc&AN=edselc.2-52.0-84856789194&site=eds-live&scope=site