JHPIEGO TrainerNews™ |
Transfer of Learning: Roles and
Responsibilities After Learning (Part 6)
(August 2002)
Supervisors | Trainers | Learners | Co-workers and Others
This article is excerpted from a recently released publication called Transfer of Learning: A Guide for Strengthening the Performance of Health Care Workers. This guide is a result of collaboration between Intrah/PRIME II and the JHPIEGO Corporation.
Last month, we reviewed the responsibilities of all participants BEFORE learning: supervisors, trainers, learners, co-workers and others. This month, we'll focus on their responsibilities DURING learning.
Monitor progress of action plans with learners and revise as needed
Supervisors, trainers and learners have invested time and energy in creating action plans. Now is the time for those efforts to pay off. Meet with the learners to review together the current action plan and make sure that you are in agreement regarding expectations and how and when they will be met. Supervisors and learners can use action plans as a monitoring tool to gauge progress, identify problems, and work on solutions. Routine supervisory meetings are a great time to provide constructive feedback and check learners' progress toward mastering and using their new skills, as well as to ask what more you can do as their supervisor to support the transfer of learning. When necessary, action plans should be revised to correspond with changing needs at the work site. Using action plans can also help to identify feedback for trainers or facility administrators about problems and solutions that only they can address.
Conduct post-training debriefing with learners and co-workers
Supervisors and learners should involve other staff at the work site in the transfer of learning process by briefing them shortly after the training. This is a good time for you to identify your expectations regarding implementation of action plans and for learners to share what they have learned with their co-workers.
Supervisors and learners should set clear objectives for debriefing meetings to make sure that the discussion stays focused. Consider using these meetings for the following purposes:
Sharing with co-workers the key concepts learned during the training
Providing an opportunity for co-workers to ask the learners questions about the training
Reviewing the needs assessment findings and discussing how newly acquired knowledge and skills can address current needs at the work site and be of value to everyone
Brainstorming on how to integrate newly acquired knowledge and skills into present services
Reviewing key activities from the learners' action plans and assigning resources to facilitate implementation.
Conducting a post-training debriefing provides an excellent opportunity to update all staff and discuss how the transfer of learning will improve service delivery at the work site. It is critical that your staff understands the reasons for any new interventions, services, or changes in procedures and knows how to implement them. This is an appropriate time for you to voice your support for the change process and the newly acquired knowledge and skills.
Be a coach and role model--provide encouragement and feedback
Encourage and, when possible, coach learners as they incorporate new knowledge and skills into their work. A coach must be able to demonstrate the skill, observe and give feedback, and evaluate learner performance against a standard. If you cannot coach the learners, identify someone with appropriate expertise to provide
coaching. Even though you may not be able to coach learners in a particular skill, you can still provide encouragement to help them build their self-confidence and realize their full potential as they master new skills. Encouragement and coaching are very important to the transfer of learning. Below are some specific approaches to consider:
Give frequent reinforcement and immediate constructive feedback to learners as they try out new skills. Voice your support as you observe learners properly implementing newly acquired knowledge and skills by giving immediate positive feedback: "Nice job Anjou, I'm glad to see you preparing those instruments for processing according to the infection prevention practices that you learned."
Use mistakes as learning opportunities. When learners make errors while practicing a skill, call the mistakes to their attention in a tactful and culturally appropriate manner. Your comments should describe the specific behavior that you observed; include steps that the learner performed correctly and those that need improvement. In most cases, unless a client is in danger, it is best to give feedback to learners after rather than during client-provider interaction.
Coach learners as they try new skills. When learners begin practicing skills that are difficult or involve many steps, their skill levels will likely vary--some learners may still be novices while others may be closer to mastery. Offer to assist individual learners in a manner that is appropriate to the degree of progress they have made toward mastering the particular skill. When providing guidance, remember to always point out something that the learner is doing well before you offer suggestions for improvements or ask what the learner perceives he or she is doing well. Very often learners can make appropriate suggestions for self-improvement when given the opportunity to reflect on their performance.
Model new skills or behaviors in your work. To show that you support the changes that learners are implementing, adopt new behaviors along with the learners and their co-workers. Don't expect your staff to make changes if you don't model changes as
well.
Evaluate learners' performance
Supervisors can have a significant impact on the transfer of learning by evaluating performance and providing feedback. Discuss with learners the reasons why evaluation is important, emphasizing that the goal is to provide them with feedback so they know how they are doing. Assure learners that you will provide ongoing guidance as well as formal periodic evaluations. It may be appropriate to include these periodic evaluations on the learners' action plan. If you cannot evaluate the learners' performance because you lack the technical expertise, identify someone who can.
When you evaluate learners, review with them the standard for the desired performance that is included in their job description or outlined in procedural guidelines or a skill checklist from the training course. Discuss how the standard compares to their present performance--are they failing to meet the standard, meeting the standard, or exceeding the standard? Involving learners in a self-assessment is one way to stimulate this discussion. Remember that evaluations should always include feedback on what learners are doing right.
Stay in contact with trainers
Maintain contact with trainers so that you can provide feedback about which aspects of the training were most effective. This allows you to receive information from trainers about how best to facilitate transfer of specific knowledge and skills. The interactions with trainers also serve as your direct contact with the training system, thus providing you with an opportunity to share your ideas regarding other training needs.
Conduct follow-up activities in a timely manner
It is important for trainers to follow up with learners and supervisors to make sure new skills have become part of the routine back on the job or to determine why learners are having trouble applying new skills, if this is the case. This follow-up may include visits to observe, coach, solve problems, gather data (e.g., measuring learner progress and post-course outcomes) and identify other possible gaps in performance.
Help strengthen supervisors' skills
Transferring the responsibility for supporting learners to their supervisors is a key duty of trainers. During follow-up visits, discuss the supervision tools (i.e., performance checklists) developed for the training and how these can best be used. Conduct practice sessions with learners and supervisors, if appropriate, and be open to discussing other performance support and supervision issues. Helping supervisors understand their important role in the transfer of learning process will increase the likelihood of learner success.
Facilitate review of action plans with supervisors and learners
To be effective, an action plan has to be more than a piece of paper. When you review action plans with supervisors and learners, you can help them make sure the activities are described in specific detail and are consistent with the needs of the work environment. You may be able to suggest ways to make better use of time, develop more creative means for identifying and acquiring resources, or find ways in which learners and supervisors can work together to reinforce the learning.
Share observations with supervisors and learners
Be tactful but candid in letting learners and supervisors know what you believe needs improvement. You may want to verify your observations with co-workers at the site, but be careful about sharing information on skill deficits. Often people will identify skills deficits themselves if provided an opportunity.
Your observations should be aimed at improving performance and maintaining your relationships with the learners and their supervisors. Remember to share the positive things you observe and constructively guide any need for improvement.
Maintain communication with supervisors and learners
Staying in touch with supervisors and learners will help them maintain their commitment to working on new skills together. You can help them find solutions to small problems before they become big problems. Staying in touch will also provide you with ideas that will help you adjust future courses and improve other elements within the training system.
Meet with supervisor to review action plan
The meeting with your supervisor that you planned together before training is one of the most effective ways to initiate support for transfer of learning. Meet with your supervisor as soon as possible after the training ends. Review the goals and objectives and mutual expectations for improvement that you discussed prior to training. Go over each activity in your action plan, the resources and support needed, target completion dates, and expected changes. Brainstorm about how your trainer and supervisor can work together to support the transfer of your new skills to the job. Make adjustments to your action plan and establish times for regular progress reviews with your supervisor.
Apply new skills and implement action plan
After discussing your action plan with your supervisor, share it with your co-workers, especially those you have identified to help implement action plan activities. Explain to them that you will be practicing new skills and carrying out special activities as your action plan is implemented. Orient them to any new procedures you will be using and share any materials that might interest them. (Note: Unless you have been trained to train others, you should not be expected to train your co-workers, especially in complex clinical procedures.) Explain the activities that will involve your co-workers and ask them to provide the feedback that you need. It is best to have your supervisor present during debriefing sessions with your co-workers to reinforce and show support for your activities.
Post your action plan on the wall or other prominent place and check off activities when you complete them. Be sure to set aside time to review the training content and practice new skills using any job aids provided during training (e.g., flow charts and
checklists). If other co-workers participated in training and you developed a joint action plan, carry out the activities according to the action plan assignments. Meet periodically for progress reviews with each other and with your supervisor.Meet regularly with your supervisor (and with your trainer if a training follow-up visit is scheduled) to discuss progress and any constraints to transferring your learning. Work with your supervisor to identify any additional support and resources needed to implement the new skills. Many steps are often necessary to ensure transfer of learning occurs--carefully identify these actions and then follow each one. Implementing your action plan and applying your new skills is a team effort that can only succeed with the cooperation and support of everyone in your organization.
Use job aids
Training courses often provide learners with job aids that are used as memory cues for how and when to perform a task. Sometimes learners will develop job aids as part of their training course. Use these job aids frequently and, if appropriate, share them with your co-workers. They can help you remember what you learned and incorporate your new knowledge and skills into your job tasks.
Network with other learners and trainers for support
A support network of learners or a learning buddy can increase the likelihood of transferring learning after training--if there is a commitment to maintaining these relationships. Find ways to continue your contact with other learners through regular meetings, telephone conversations, and visits. You can share experiences in implementing action plans, discuss problems encountered and lessons learned, celebrate successes, and help each other set new goals or revise action plans.
When trainers contact you for follow-up, use that opportunity to share successes and problems and receive feedback. In post-training surveys or interviews, give concrete and constructive feedback to the trainer on how the program could be improved. Also mention additional skills training and support that you think would help improve your performance and the quality of health care services that you provide.
Monitor your own performance
Conduct regular progress checks to help ensure continued transfer of learning. You can monitor your own performance by setting aside time to review your action plan and the feedback or observation data from your supervisor, trainer, and other learners and co-workers. Consider keeping a chart of your scores on skills evaluations. If possible, also chart the health service statistics related to your action plan, such as new services or changes in services. Continue to maintain a learning journal to keep track of your experiences, the questions you have and barriers you face in applying knowledge and performing skills. Share these notes on a regular basis with your supervisor and seek help in reviewing and updating your action plan.
Be supportive of learners' accomplishments
Soon after the learning event, ask the learners what they have learned that is most helpful; ask them about ways to apply knowledge and skills at your site, and assure them that you will help them with the transfer of learning. Although the initial conversation might be just a friendly chat, make sure that you set aside time to talk about their learning experience in more detail. In most cases, especially when complex clinical procedures are involved, a learner will not have the skills to actually teach you what they have learned. However, they will be able to share basic principles with you that will allow you to support their learning efforts. Try using some of the following suggestions to support the transfer of learning:
Ask learners to share copies of learning materials, then review the materials to update your own understanding of the topic. Discuss with the learners things that you find interesting in the materials and ideas they have shared.
If the site supervisor has agreed that new standards or procedures are to be adopted (e.g., stricter infection prevention practices), ask the supervisor how you can assist in their application. Although you will need training to upgrade your own knowledge and skills, the learner can provide you with an initial orientation to the new practices.
If the learners acquired a new skill, watch them demonstrate the skill or offer to participate in role plays with them so that they can continue to practice what they have learned. Find ways to encourage them to apply their new skills.
People are influenced by those around them--you can help your co-workers apply their new knowledge and skills so that everyone can benefit.
Next month, we will review some tips for ensuring a smooth transfer of learning.
For more information about Transfer of Learning, contact Rick Sullivan at rsullivan@jhpiego.net.
Read the full Transfer of Learning Guide