Do You Really Need Training?

It’s only been 10 days, and this course is deep into theory and rational of instructional design. This week one of the readings focused on the need for instruction and asks, “Why is instruction needed?”

While this may seem like an odd question to ask, it is an important question. This leads me to the needs assessment, which Morrison et al. (2011) states is “used to identify gaps in performance and then determine whether the gaps are worth addressing through an intervention” (p. 32). In other words, sometimes instruction is not the answer. For example, an individual is always late to deliver reports to upper-management. Upper-management believes this is occurring because they have changed computer platforms, and the employee has not received training. In fact, the reason for the employee’s delay is another employee is constantly late providing their portion of the work. While at first blush, it looked as if the employee required training, however, it was another employee causing a bottleneck in the service delivery.  In this case it is important to develop a needs assessment of the situation to see if training really is required, or if it is an externality.

On another note, we also discussed the types of needs. In terms of types of needs my business is considered an expressed need in which “people are often willing to pay to satisfy expressed needs,” like “enrolling in a specific course of workshop” (Morrison et al., 2007, p. 35). In these seminars I am focused on improving an individual’s use of social media.

Further to this point, Cranton (2000) believes it is important for “people to understand their experiences, integrate them with what they know, and make them meaningful” (p. 16). This is an extremely important component to my business! People need to understand the importance of social media, and how the new knowledge will be integrated into their daily lives.

The moral of the story: Figure out why you want to learn. Define a goal for your learning. Seek out that knowledge!