Transfer of Learning: Roles and Responsibilities During Learning (Part 5)
(July 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.

Supervisors

• Participate in or observe training

Discuss with trainers what sessions would be most helpful or appropriate for you to attend (e.g., sessions that include problem-solving discussions concerning implementation of new knowledge and skills at the work site). When practical, attending the training demonstrates your support of the trainers as well as the learners. Training interventions that use on-the-job and self-directed learning components include activities that occur at the job site and therefore provide excellent opportunities for you to be involved in the learning and transfer of skills.

• Protect learners from interruptions

Supervisors have an important role in guarding the learners' time by not allowing others to interrupt or take learners away from training activities. Be prepared to limit your demands on learners during the training period. Missed sessions create learning gaps that decrease the training's positive impact and affect performance. By your actions, you can communicate that training is a priority and that mastering the new knowledge and skills is essential.

• Plan post-training debriefing

Set aside some of your time to meet with learners soon after the training to discuss the implications of what they have learned. Allow a few days for the learners to prepare their notes and organize their thoughts prior to this meeting. Also schedule some time for the learners' co-workers to meet with the learners to share ideas and discuss implementation.

• Provide supplies and space and schedule opportunities for learners to practice

If learners will be introducing a new procedure or service at the work site, you may need to procure additional supplies and possibly some new instruments or equipment. Some procedures and services may require a dedicated space and equipment within the facility. You should arrange for supplies and regular maintenance of equipment, schedule time for learners to practice with the instruments and equipment, and help ensure that learners have opportunities to master the new procedures.

Trainers

• Provide work-related exercises and appropriate job aids

Throughout your course, you should make every effort to help learners draw upon what they already know and connect what they are learning to what they need to do on the job. The design of your course should include activities and exercises to promote the transfer of learning. Here are some ways to facilitate this process during your course:

• Design activities that engage learners as participants and tap their existing knowledge and skills.
• Include realistic exercises that address the challenges being faced by the learners at their work sites. Consider brainstorming with the participants early in the course to focus on problems at their facilities and then use those problems as the basis for activities throughout the course.
• Schedule learning topics in short segments integrated with practice exercises and activities.
• Provide frequent opportunities for learners to reflect on what they are learning and plan how they will use their new knowledge and skills on the job. Give them a notebook to use as a learning journal. Periodically ask the learners specific questions to answer in their journals about how they will apply their new knowledge and skills, what challenges they may face and how they will overcome those challenges. Suggest that learners keep track of problems and questions they need to resolve and resources they will need to put new skills into practice. Remind learners to refer to their written reflections as they refine their action plans.
• Provide opportunities for learners to support each other by giving each other feedback and discussing how they will use their new knowledge and skills.
• Help learners identify or develop job aids they can use to promote the transfer of learning (e.g., a poster describing correct hand washing technique to hang on the wall near the sink). Have learners practice using job aids in situations similar to those on the job.   

• Give immediate and clear feedback

Most workers have a strong need and desire to know how they are doing on the job. Supervisors and trainers are encouraged to provide immediate, individualized, and clear feedback in order to reinforce learners' desired behaviors.

There are numerous opportunities during a course for you to provide feedback to learners:

• during presentations and small-group activities when all learners can benefit from the shared feedback
• individually during skill practice sessions or while marking knowledge tests
• during breaks when you can approach learners or encourage them to approach you
• during clinical training when learners are working with clients (though this may be a more challenging opportunity).

Use a variety of techniques to help ensure that feedback is timely and meaningful, including:

• verbal feedback, such as positive behavior reinforcement or constructive correction

• nonverbal feedback, such as smiling and nodding during presentations.

• Help learners develop realistic action plans

Supervisors and learners are encouraged to capture training expectations by developing preliminary action plans prior to beginning a course. With guidance from trainers, learners develop a more complete action plan during the course. As a trainer, you are in a unique position to help learners decide which skills they need more practice with and how best to structure their practice after the course. If a learner's preliminary plan was not a formal written plan, you can provide an action plan format that will help the learner formalize a plan.

• Conduct training evaluations

Each training course should have an evaluation component. During a course you may administer several types of evaluations including:

• pre-course knowledge and skills assessments to determine whether learners have the prerequisite knowledge and skills
• interim knowledge and skills assessments to measure learners' progress
• post-course knowledge and skills assessments to determine whether learners have achieved the course objectives and are performing to course standards
• course evaluations to give learners an opportunity to provide feedback on how well the course was conducted, whether the course materials were appropriate, and how well the course content met their performance needs.

Skills assessments or evaluations are typically based on performing a skill to a standard as detailed in a performance checklist. After training, these checklists can be used on the job in a number of different ways. For example:

• learners can use them as a job aid when applying the skill
• supervisors can use them to coach learners as they practice a new skill
• trainers can use them during follow-up visits to observe and provide feedback to learners.

When used over time, checklists can be helpful in tracking changes in performance from one observation point to the next.

Learners

• Participate actively in the course

The more actively you participate in course sessions, exercises and other interactions with trainers and fellow learners, the more knowledge you will acquire. Active participation allows you to draw from the experiences of others, clarify content, practice skills, and explore how you will apply the new skills in your job. Active participation includes:

• being on time for and actively engaged in all learning sessions including discussions, problem-solving exercises, team projects, and skill practice sessions
• asking questions about the course content as it relates to your specific job
• trying out new behaviors where appropriate during the course, and requesting feedback to improve your skills
• sharing your ideas and requesting feedback from trainers and other learners
• discussing challenges and questions individually with trainers when possible (e.g., after class, during breaks, in between sessions, during site visits).

Additional mechanisms that can promote your active involvement in the course include:

• Identifying one or more learners (buddies) with whom you can complete assignments, share ideas, and discuss what you are learning. It's helpful to exchange ideas about how new skills can best be used in your job and to practice the skills that are applicable. A "buddy" relationship is most effective between co-workers or others with whom you can make a commitment to have an ongoing connection that will permit you to support each other after the training event. Linking with a learning buddy who is your co-worker allows you to identify important performance goals as a team and create a joint action plan for application at your work site, including details on how your plan will be shared with your supervisor and other co-workers. Other post-training support may come from professional associations and formal peer associations.
• Writing reflections about what you are learning. Making notes in a learning journal can help you retain knowledge and skills, share the most relevant information from training with your supervisor, and focus on the best ways to implement new practices at work. Your trainer may give you opportunities to write in your learning journal during the training sessions. In your journal, you can also keep track of problems and questions that you want to pursue with the trainer or other learners and make notes about the support and resources you think you will need to put new skills into practice. If you add to your journal throughout the training program, you can use it as a reference when you complete and implement your action plan.

• Develop realistic action plans for transferring learning

The preliminary action plan developed with your supervisor--or the discussions that you and your supervisor had regarding expectations for the training--provide the foundation for your action plan. If your preliminary action plan was not a formal document, ask your trainer to provide you with guidelines and a format for developing a written action plan. Refer to your learning journal and use what you have learned from your participation in the course as a basis for refining your action plan. Most action plans incorporate areas for improvement (describing measurable and achievable goals and objectives), anticipated problems or barriers you will overcome, and specific actions to be taken. For each action, identify the person responsible, any resources needed, a target date for completion, and changes you expect to occur as a result of the action. Some of the actions may highlight additional skills practice or self-development activities to help you reach your goal.

As you prepare to implement your action plan, consider using the following techniques:

• If feasible, make plans to have a trainer visit your work site or be available to consult with you and your supervisor after training to help facilitate implementation of your action plan.
• Try to anticipate potential areas of resistance (e.g., from supervisors, co-workers or administrative staff) or barriers at your work site (e.g., logistical or supply and equipment problems).
• With your trainer or a learning buddy, brainstorm about how these barriers can be overcome and determine what resources and types of support are needed to surmount the obstacles.
• Include the steps identified for overcoming barriers in your action plan.

Co-Workers and Others

• Complete learners' reassigned work duties

When co-workers leave for training it is often hard to continue to provide good services. You can help by taking on some extra duties while they are in training. This may mean working harder for a week or so. Your supervisor may assign extra duties for you. One way to be supportive is to ask your supervisor if there is anything you can do to help while your co-worker is in training.

• Participate in learning exercises at the request of learners

Some training designs and approaches require learners to practice new knowledge and skills on the job during the course of the learning event. Group-based training that takes place over several different sessions often includes assignments that learners must complete between the sessions. On-the-job and self-directed learning approaches generally incorporate opportunities for learners to practice new skills while they are still learning. At the request of learners or your supervisor, you may be able to assist with the learning exercises by observing learners or helping them practice skills by participating in role-plays.

Next month, we will review in detail the roles and responsibilities of all the stakeholders AFTER learning.

For more information about Transfer of Learning, contact Rick Sullivan at rsullivan@jhpiego.net.

Read the full Transfer of Learning Guide

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