Chapter 3 - Learning. Motivation, and Performance
-
Upload
carl-johnave-manigbas-monzon -
Category
Documents
-
view
566 -
download
7
description
Transcript of Chapter 3 - Learning. Motivation, and Performance
Effective Training Blanchard & Thacker
Chapter 3 – Learning, Motivation, and Performance
Carl Johnave M. Monzon, 4PSY3 | 1
A Few Words about Theory
Theories are speculative road maps for how things work.
“Good” theories assemble a number of facts, show the relationship among those facts, and develop a logical
rationale for what is likely to be true, given those facts.
From theories, predictions and hypotheses can be generated and tested.
o If tests show that the predictions are correct, the theory is supported; if inconsistent, the theory is
revised or discarded.
The process of developing, testing and reformulating a theory is the basis of science – how new knowledge is
created, and consequently, practiced since it:
o Explains facts as simply as possible,
o Predicts future events, and
o Provides information on what can be done to prevent undesirable things from happening.
Theory – an abstraction that allows us to make sense out of a large number of facts related to an issue.
Effective training practices are developed from theories and theoretical constructs that describes how learning
occurs, and what motivates people.
Each organization is unique with different elements – different missions, strategies, environments, technologies,
and people – creating a different chemistry in each of them and thus making a “one best way” approach
ineffective.
o Theories provide guidelines, principles, and predictions that allow the organization to create the right
recipe for their situation.
o Successful people in business pay attention to theory. Companies that applied the underlying models
and theories correctly were getting the best results; those that simply put programs into place were
getting the worst results.
To design a and implement effective training programs, you need to understand how people learn, what
motivates learning and performance, how the learning and work environment affect the motivation and
performance
Understanding Motivation and Performance
Your job performance and your behavior in general are a function of what you know, what you are able to do
and what your believe [KSA]. Without requisite KSAs, you cannot perform.
Performance Model [P=M x KSA x E] – indicates that a person’s performance [P] depends on the interaction of
motivation [M], KSAs, and the environment [E].
o Motivation arises from your needs and beliefs about how best to satisfy those needs.
o Both motivation and KSAs are part of your memory and thinking systems (i.e. cognitive structure)
o Environment refers to the physical surroundings in which performance must occur, including barriers
and aids to performance, objects and event you might see that would indicate that performance will be
rewarded/punished.
o This would also indicate that the weakest factor limits the likelihood of engaging in any activity (it also
could be the trainings focus).
Effective Training Blanchard & Thacker
Chapter 3 – Learning, Motivation, and Performance
Carl Johnave M. Monzon, 4PSY3 | 2
Motivation: Why Do They Act Like That?
o Motivation – the direction, persistence and amount of effort expanded by an individual to achieve a
specified outcome
Motivation is part of a person’s cognitive structure and is not directly observable, thus it is
defined in terms of its effects on behavior, which are observable.
o Factors that reflect motivation:
What need/s the person is trying to satisfy
What types of activities the person engages in to satisfy the need
How long the person engages in the activity
How hard the person works at the activity
o It is goal-directed and derived from both personal needs and the decision processes used to satisfy those
needs.
o NEED THEORY
Need theories attempt to describe the types of needs people have, their relative performance,
and how they are related to one another.
ERG Theory (Clayton Adlerfrer)
Existence Needs – correspond to Maslow’s lower-order physiological and security
needs; immediate needs required to sustain life – needs for food, shelter, and the like –
and the need for some security in the future for a safe and healthy life.
Relatedness Needs – reflect people’s need to be valued and accepted by others.
Interpersonal relationships and group membership act to satisfy these needs.
Growth Needs – include feelings of self-worth and competence and achieving our
potential. Recognition, accomplishment, challenging opportunities, and a feeling of
fulfillment are outcomes that can satisfy these needs.
People can experience needs in all three areas simultaneously, but the relative
satisfaction level in each area determines the importance of the needs
Unsatisfied needs motivates us, and motivation decreases as needs in an area are
satisfied; at times, our needs conflict with one another, or one need might become
more important than the others.
Needs in each area tend to renew themselves as well as expand.
The best training incorporates opportunities to satisfy all three categories of needs.
o Training facilities and accommodations partly address existence needs.
o Demonstrating how the training will improve the trainees’ competencies, in
turn, increase job security and fulfill existence needs will also motivate the
trainee.
o Building a network of positive relationships among trainees and between
trainees and the trainer will address relatedness needs.
o Using methods that provide challenging experiences that lead to attainment of
the target KSAs will address growth needs.
o By having training address all three types of needs in some way, you can be
assured that all trainees will find at least one need that can be satisfied.
Effective Training Blanchard & Thacker
Chapter 3 – Learning, Motivation, and Performance
Carl Johnave M. Monzon, 4PSY3 | 3
Need theory leads to implications for the training process even after completion of
training. Trainers must make sure that trainees can see how learning fulfills their needs.
o PROCESS THEORY
Process theories attempt to describe and explain how a person’s needs are translated into
actions to satisfy the needs.
Process theories of motivation describe how a person’s needs translate into action.
Classical Conditioning (Ivan Pavlov)
Classical conditioning – the association of a generalized response to some signal in the
environment.
It typically involves learning to emit a non-voluntary response to some signal that in the
past did not produce that response.
o STEP 1 – unconditioned stimulus Unconditioned response (automatic)
o STEP 2 – conditioned stimulus paired with unconditioned stimulus
Unconditioned response (automatic)
o STEP 3 – Conditioned Stimulus Conditioned response
Reinforcement Theory (B.F. Skinner)
Foundation of this theory is E.L. Thorndike’s law of effect, which states that behavior
followed by satisfying experiences tend to be repeated, and behavior followed by
annoyance or dissatisfaction tends to be avoided.
Operant Conditioning
o A person is faced with an object or event in the environment (stimulus) and
behaves in a certain way (response). That behavior results in an outcome
(consequences) to the individual that is positive or negative.
o A person’s motivation (i.e. direction, magnitude, and persistence of behavior),
then, is a function of her reinforcement history
o Types of Consequences:
Positive Reinforcement – occurs when your behavior results in
something desirable happening to you – either tangible, psychological,
or some combination of the two.
Negative Reinforcement – occurs when your behavior results in
removing something you find annoying, frustrating, or unpleasant.
Both positive and negative reinforcement increases the likelihood that
the behavior will occur in similar future circumstances.
Punishment – occurs when behavior results in something undesirable
happening to you and decreases the likelihood of the response
occurring in the future. Punishment can be tangible, psychological, or
both and can come from the environment or be self-administered.
Extinction – occurs when a person’s behavior no longer produces the
desired outcomes, and thus the behavior becomes less likely to occur in
the future.
Effective Training Blanchard & Thacker
Chapter 3 – Learning, Motivation, and Performance
Carl Johnave M. Monzon, 4PSY3 | 4
Desirable Consequences
Undesirable Consequences
Trainee Receives
Behavior Positively
Reinforced
Behavior Punished
Trainee Loses
Behavior Punished
(Extinction)
Behavior Negatively Reinforced
Reinforcement vs. Punishment
o Punishment
It can eliminate undesirable behavior in the workplace, but due to
several reasons, is undesirable as a management and training tool.
It does not motivate people to do things, only no to do things.
It requires constant vigilance on the part of the supervisor, and
encourages employee efforts to “beat the system.”
If a person’s undesired behavior is rewarding, the punishment must be
severe enough to offset the behavior’s reinforcing properties, which
could raise ethical, moral and commonsense objections.
Someone must do the punishing, and this person will become the one to
be avoided which could lead to leadership problems.
o Positive and Negative Reinforcement
Negative reinforcement can cause the desired behavior to become self-
reinforcing.
The person doing the reinforcing does not always need to be present for
the desired behavior to occur. Sometimes, the employee actively seeks
to make the reinforcing agent aware of his/her behavior.
Used in combination, positive and negative reinforcement appear more
effective than either used alone.
It does not provide explanation of the processes involved in storing, retrieving, or using
the lessons of past reinforcement. It leaves us wondering how future behavior becomes
influenced by previous reinforcement history.
Nevertheless, the theory does convincingly predict the various effects on future
behavior caused by the consequences of past behavior.
It suggests that any training must be concerned not only with teaching KSAs but also
with the consequences that are attached to the following:
o The learning process,
o The old way of doing the job, and
o The new way of doing the job
Expectancy Theory (Victor Vroom)
o The theory describes the cognitive processes involved in deciding the best
course of action for achieving our goals (i.e. satisfying our needs).
Effective Training Blanchard & Thacker
Chapter 3 – Learning, Motivation, and Performance
Carl Johnave M. Monzon, 4PSY3 | 5
o Cognitive process – mental activity such as information storage, retrieval, or
use.
o The theory proposes that a person’s motivation can be explained by the
relationship among three conceptually distinct elements
Effort = Expectancy 1ij x ∑ij(Expectancy 2ij x Valenceij)
The level of success expected by the individual (expectancy 1)
The individual’s beliefs about what the outcomes will be if she is
successful. The expected outcomes and their likelihood of occurrence
make up expectancy 2
The individual’s feelings about the various outcomes’ positive or
negative value. An outcome’s subjective value is referred to as its
valence.
o Effort is the individual’s motivation to engage in a particular course of action.
o Expectancy Theory in Training:
For Expectancy 1 – for a person to be willing to try, a person must
expect that there is a reasonable chance of success.
For Expectance 2 – trainers must make sure that the right outcomes are
attached to the successful completion of training. Trainees should be
able to see the clear connections between the content of the training
and important organizational and personal outcomes.
For Valence – the training outcomes must be as desirable as possible
for the trainees rather than just for the organization, the supervisor, or
the trainer.
Self-Efficacy and Motivation
o Self-efficacy – feeling about our own competency.
High self-efficacy is associated with a belief that we can and will perform successfully, while
those low in self-efficacy are preoccupied with concerns about failure.
High Self-Efficacy = better performance, and tries harder in difficult situations
Low Self-efficacy = reduce effort, give up
o Factors that provide the employees the estimate of their ability to be successful:
Prior Experiences – past success and failures, and their consequences.
Behavioral Models – success and failure of others observed attempting the behavior.
Others’ feedback – the encouragement or discouragement provided by others.
Physical and Emotional State – the physical and emotional conditions the person believes will
affect their ability to perform.
o It is the prime factor in Expectancy 1 evaluation, and such feelings are translated into behavior.
Expect success – work harder, longer and more creatively.
Expect failure – acts to minimize the negative consequences of failure.
Self-efficacy sets up the person’s behavior to fulfill the self-efficacy beliefs. Thus, determining a
trainee’s self-efficacy before training and, if low, providing means to improve the trainee’s self-
efficacy would seem to be worthwhile endeavor.
o How to improve self-efficacy?
Effective Training Blanchard & Thacker
Chapter 3 – Learning, Motivation, and Performance
Carl Johnave M. Monzon, 4PSY3 | 6
Persuasion from the supervisor (confidence)
Seeing others who are similar to the employee succeed
Training (can affect self-efficacy directly or indirectly)
Understanding Learning
What is learning?
o Learning is closely tied to memory; whatever is learned, must be retained if it is to be useful.
Electrochemical changes created during learning apparently create a relatively permanent change in
neural functioning that becomes what is commonly termed Memory.
It is clear from physiological evidence that learning is related to changes in the physical,
neuronal structure of the brain and its related electrochemical functioning.
There is little evidence that learning is stored in the central nervous system.
o Definitions of Learning:
Behaviorists – relatively permanent changes in behavior.
A relatively permanent change in behavior in response to a particular stimulus or set of
stimuli.
Cognitive – a relatively permanent change in cognition occurring as a result of experience.
A change in the content, organization and storage of information/building and
reorganization of schema to make sense of new information. (i.e. the ways in which
people respond to information and the ways in which different types of behavior are
grouped or separated.)
Cognition – mental processing of information
Implications of Behaviorist and Cognitive Approaches
o Control in learning
Behavioral approach suggests that the environment controls learning. That is, the trainer
controls learning by controlling the stimuli and consequences that the learner experiences; and
the learner depends on the trainer to elicit the correct associations between stimulus and
response.
Learning occurs when new consequences are experienced
Cognitive approach suggests that the learned controls learning (both what is learned and how it
is learned).
ISSUE COGNITIVE APPROCH BEAHVIORIST APPROACH
Learner’s Role Active, self-directed, self-evaluating Passive, dependent
Instructor’s Role Facilitator, coordinator, and presenter Director, monitor, evaluator
Training Content Problem/task-oriented Subject-oriented
Learner Motivation More internally motivated More externally motivated
Training Climate Relaxed, mutually trustful, respectful and
collaborative
Formal, authority-oriented, judgmental, and
competitive
Instructional Goals Collaboratively developed Developed by instructor
Instructional Activities Interactive, group, project-oriented, and
experiential
Directive, individual, and subject oriented
Effective Training Blanchard & Thacker
Chapter 3 – Learning, Motivation, and Performance
Carl Johnave M. Monzon, 4PSY3 | 7
Example of Cognitive Theory
o Cognitive Processes Critical for Learning (Piaget):
Accommodation – the process of changing our construction (cognitive map) of the world to
correspond with our experience in it. Through the creation of new categories, or schemata, to
accommodate experience that does not fit into existing categories.
Assimilation – the incorporation of new experience into existing categories.
Accommodation changes the map, whereas Assimilation fills in the detail.
Integration of Cognitive and Behavioral Approaches
o Learning – relatively permanent change in cognition resulting from experience and directly influencing
behavior.
It is not defined here as not dependent on behavior, but rather in cognition – thus learning can
occur in the absence of observable behavior. However, it is through engaging in behavior that a
person would know that learning had taken place. Moreover, it is through the frequency of its
use that it becomes permanent (i.e. resistant to forgetting).
Thus behavior is both an important measure and means of learning.
Social Learning Theory (Albert Bandura)
Also known as Observational Learning and Vicarious Learning.
Basic Premise: Events and consequences in the learning situation are cognitively processed before they are
learned or influence behavior. Consequently, the processing of information leads to learning, and finally to
changes in behavior.
o Consequences of behavior (reinforcement & punishment) influence the likelihood of that behavior in the
future, but they do as a result of how they are perceived, interpreted, and stored in memory.
o Thus, a person can learn by observing the behavior of others and the consequences that result
(Contradictory from the behaviorist’s views that it must be a result of a person’s own behavior)
A T T E N T I O N
Learner’s Cognitive Processes
External Environment
Consequences of Behavior
Reproduction
STIMULUS
STIMULUS
STIMULUS
STIMULUS
Motivation
Retention
1. Symbolic Coding
2. Cognitive Disorganization
3. Symbolic Rehearsal
Behavioral
Effective Training Blanchard & Thacker
Chapter 3 – Learning, Motivation, and Performance
Carl Johnave M. Monzon, 4PSY3 | 8
Cognitive Processes Involved:
o Motivation
o Attention
o Retention
o Behavioral Reproduction
Motivation
o The learner’s needs determine what things receive attention and are processed for retention.
o Social learning theory incorporates the operant conditioning concept of behavioral consequences (i.e.
the more rewarding the consequence, the more likely it would done in the future), however, compared
to operant conditioning, social learning theory suggests that behavioral consequences can be acquired
through anticipatory learning.
o Anticipatory Learning – occurs when a person learns what consequences are associated with a behavior
(or set of behaviors) without actually engaging in the behavior and receiving the consequences (e.g.
through observing someone else’s behavior).
Attention
o The beginning of the learning process, wherein the person becomes focused on particular objects and
events in the typical environment (stimuli).
o The things that we pay attention to and are more likely to be our model of behavior is someone who is
spotlighted in some way/receives a lot of reinforcement than of someone who is not.
o In training, learning is improved by making key points stand out so that their trainees will focus
attention on them.
Elimination of extraneous objects keeps trainees from becoming too distracted during training.
Retention
o Once attention is focused on an object or event, the incoming information is processed for possible
retention.
o The more training is designed to facilitate the retention processes, the more learning will occur.
o Phases of Retention:
i. Symbolic Encoding – the translation of the information into symbols of meaningful to the
individual.
ii. Cognitive Organization – Once objects and events are transformed into internal images and
verbal symbols, it is then organized into the existing cognitive structure through associations
with previously stored information.
e.g. ask trainees to provide examples of how the new information related to what they
already know (this exercise allows the trainee to code and store the information more
easily, and it allows the trainer to see whether the desired association are being made).
iii. Symbolic Rehearsal – after which, the learner should “practice” the learned material through
visualizing or imagining how the knowledge or skill will be used (mental practice).
Behavioral Reproduction
o Repeated practice; the more a person practices using new information, the more it is learned and
retained.
Effective Training Blanchard & Thacker
Chapter 3 – Learning, Motivation, and Performance
Carl Johnave M. Monzon, 4PSY3 | 9
o Behavioral reproduction is part of both the learner’s cognitive processes and the external environment.
This duality reflects the fact that the person’s cognitive processes initiate the behavior (i.e. retrieving the
appropriate behavior from storage and directing the body to perform) and then the behavior actually
occurs in, and becomes part of, the environment.
o If consequences are to affect behavior and obtain the desired effect, the individual must be aware of
these consequences.
o Effective training programs need to call attention to the desirable consequences of learning and of using
the learning back on the job.
Aligning Training Design with Learning Process
Gagne and his associates suggest that for instruction to be effective, a “set of events” external to the learner
must be designed to facilitate the internal learning process.
o Micro Theory of Instructional Design
A guide for designing training events to achieve the learning outcomes (KSAs) that you want to
create, consisting of nine (9) steps/set of events to which would be followed in developing
training for a leaning objective.
To be most effective, it must be done in the specific order, as specified in the table;
however, not all are necessary for every learning objective or that that sequencing must
be exactly as indicated.
Each event is used to stimulate the internal information processes.
Instructional Event This Event Causes the Trainee
1) Gaining Attention To focus on the trainer
2) Informing the trainee of goal (objective) To begin to focus on the goal
3) Stimulating recall of prior knowledge (learning) To retrieve prior learning to working memory
4) Presenting the material To selectively perceive important parts of training
5) Providing learning guidance To consider how the new material fits into the trainee’s overall schema and clarify where it belongs for ease of retrieval
6) Eliciting the performance To do it
7) Providing Feedback To perform effectively by reinforcing correct responses and assisting when incorrect
8) Assessing Performance To attempt a number of similar problems to determine if the trainee has the concept
9) Enhancing retention and transfer To do more complex and varied examples of the concept and assess the success
Motivation to Learn
It is the intensity and the persistence of the trainee’s learning-directed activities related to the content of the
training program.
Resistance to learning occurs when the trainee’s motivation to learn is not high enough to overcome with other
forces acting on the trainee that discourage learning.
Effective Training Blanchard & Thacker
Chapter 3 – Learning, Motivation, and Performance
Carl Johnave M. Monzon, 4PSY3 | 10
The trainee’s motivation will be determined by individual factors (i.e. self-efficacy, valence, anxiety, and
cognitive ability) and environmental factors (i.e. organizational context such as climate for learning, peer and
supervisor support)
Environmental Factors and Resistance
1) Peer Support
It is the encouragement and assistance that trainees receive from their coworkers.
The effect of group dynamics in the work unit on individual group member behavior and
motivation is significant and is one reason trainees might resist new learning.
The power of the group comes from the rewards the group gives to members who
follow group norms or punishment for those who do not.
Group dynamics is a powerful force that can drastically inhibit both learning and transfer
of skills. Peer support for training is a strong predictor of the likelihood that trainees will
transfer what they learned to the job.
Positive results occur when the norms created within the group are in line with the
organizational goals; to ensure that the right norms are developed, these work groups need to
be nurtured and made to feel that they are a valuable part of the organization.
2) Supervisor Support
Supervisors are the official source of rewards in most organizations.
If the supervisor thinks that the training is not worthwhile and communicates them to the
trainees, he/she will probable think the same way and that their attitude with the training will
be negative.
3) Climate for Transfer
For learning to be successful, the learning must be transferred back to the job, and thus
requiring a positive climate for transfer.
It includes alignment of organizational systems and procedures to support the new job
behaviors and the training process in addition to removing the barriers.
It also includes organizational reward systems, job materials and equipment, and job
procedures.
Individual Factors and Resistance
o Difference in personality and other individual characteristics are related to trainees’ motivation and
ability to learn and thus are also factors in resistance to learning.
o However, in most organizations, personality traits are measure, since it would be too complex, costly
and impractical.
1) Cognitive Ability
It refers to individual differences in information-processing capacity and the level of cognitive
resources that a person can bring to bear on a problem.
Also known as General Intelligence
Goal Setting
Goal setting as a motivational incentive does not always operate with the same
magnitude for high- and low- ability individuals.
When those with low ability are starting to learn a moderately difficult task, providing
goals to them will inhibit, rather than enhance, learning.
Effective Training Blanchard & Thacker
Chapter 3 – Learning, Motivation, and Performance
Carl Johnave M. Monzon, 4PSY3 | 11
The same consequence also occur for high ability individuals but is not nearly as sever. It
seems that these individuals have the additional cognitive capacity to focus on goals in
addition to the new learning in the early learning stage.
Once the task has been learned, goals then enhances performance for both groups.
In training, it is suggested that difficult tasks should be broken down into a set of
simpler tasks so that they are easily mastered; if not possible, then it is best not to
introduce goal setting as a motivational device early in the training process.
KSA Base
Trainees with higher levels of cognitive ability not only process information more quickly
but also typically have a larger store of knowledge. Thus, those with less knowledge will
need to have more training materials available to them than the others.
Speed at which trainees can process the training information can also make a big
difference (slowing down will bore more knowledgeable trainees, while hastening will
hinder those less in cognitive ability from keeping up with the material).
o One solution is to design separate training programs;
o Another is to create two phases with the first phase designed for developing
KSA base and other prerequisite knowledge to be used for the second phase;
o Another approach is to use electronic, self-paced training methods that would
allow each trainee to move through the material at a pace consistent with their
cognitive abilities.
2) Valences
If training is perceived as leading to attractive outcomes, there is a higher probability that
learning will take place and transfer to job will occur.
However, even when trainees acknowledge the value of the training, they might believe that the
effort required to master the learning is just not worthwhile.
Accommodation is difficult since it would require a learner to create new categories,
and then link them to other related categories; while Assimilation is relatively easy since
the learner simply adds new elements and rearranges associations among elements
within a single category.
3) Anxiety
It is a heightened state of arousal related to feelings of apprehension or fear.
High levels of anxiety interfere with other cognitive processes and cause the trainee to withdraw
from or actively resist the learning process; moreover, change creates anxiety.
Anxiety can be reduced through pre-training counseling, the setup of the training facility, and
the way in which training is introduced.
Fear of Incompetence
Rooted from the experienced trainee or newbie trainee feeling that they are not good
enough and thus should be sent to training; from being told that the trainer knows more
about how to do their job than they do; and many more.
It leads to defensive behaviors to protect themselves.
Effective Training Blanchard & Thacker
Chapter 3 – Learning, Motivation, and Performance
Carl Johnave M. Monzon, 4PSY3 | 12
For adults, the key factor in discarding old learning and acquiring new learning is its
practical usefulness. Thus, training that can demonstrate its value and practical utility
will find trainees eager to learn.
4) Goal Orientation
It is the degree to which an individual is predisposed toward either a “learning orientation” or
“performance orientation.”
Those with a Learning Goal Orientation focus on the learning process; seek challenging tasks to
increase competence, see negative feedback as important information to master a task, and see
failure as a learning experience.
One result of this is persistence when having problems doing a complex task; they are
more motivated to continue to try and solve the problem.
They also focus on mastery of the task to develop their competence, acquire new skills,
and learn from their experience.
Those with a Performance Goal Orientation differ because they focus on the end result; wishing
to be seen as competent and therefore desire favorable, not negative feedback.
They prefer easier tasks wherein they could demonstrate their competence rather than
learning something new.
Avoidance of complex tasks for fear of failure, limited persistence and a tendency to be
easily distracted; strong desire to impress others and focus on the outcome of their
performance.
However, learning orientation is a trait that can be influenced by the situation.
Training that Motivates Adults to Learn
Learning occurs quite frequently in adults when it appears to offer practical application immediately or in the
near future.
Training Relevance, Value, and Readiness to Learn
o Most often reasons for adults engaging in new learning
Problems on the job
Job/occupational changes
Home and personal responsibilities
Competency at some hobby or recreational activity
o The need to learn and the readiness to learn are critical aspects in the success of adult learning
programs.
Need to Know – the value of knowledge to the learner.
Often life-, task-, or problem- centered.
Readiness to Learn – the amount of prerequisite knowledge (KSAs) the trainee possess and the
trainees’ belief that they can learn the material
Expectancy 1 – that if they put forth effort, they will be successful in their learning.
Expectancy 2 – they must feel that the benefits of learning KSAs outweigh the benefits
of not learning them.
Effective Training Blanchard & Thacker
Chapter 3 – Learning, Motivation, and Performance
Carl Johnave M. Monzon, 4PSY3 | 13
o The challenge is to provide instruction in a context that overcomes the natural resistance of adult
learners to changing their cognitive structures.
Making the relevance and value of learning clear as it relates to the trainee and the
organizational goal addresses one source of resistance to learning.
Ensuring that the trainee believes he/she can successfully master the training content is another
important motivator.
Allowing Trainees Control Over their Learning
o Trainees often view differences as hindrances to their learning and resist training with others who are
dissimilar; however, these can be viewed as learning resource if the trainees are willing to share their
experiences and strategies and if the training environment supports such exchange.
Adult learners prefer sharing their learning experiences with others if the environment is
supportive.
Have the desire to set their own pace, adopt a self-directed approach, establish their own
structure for learning, and employ flexibility in the learning methods.
o Training that provides instruction on the “how to” and includes the “why” and “when” results in
improved performance and continued use of skills across appropriate situations; while, those that only
provided instructions on how to perform a set of skills improve performance, but fail to generalize them
to similar situations.
Involving Trainees in the Process
o Involving trainees in the learning process from needs assessment to design and evaluation addresses
many issues; moreover, Involvement is a key part in overcoming resistance to change.
Involving those affected by the change in planning and implementing the changes create a sense
of ownership, which results to increased commitment to the change and better implementation
of the changes (especially the supervisors and trainees).
Supervisors have a clearer understanding of why new KSAs are necessary, how they fit in with
the overall plans for the work unit, and the consequences of their employees learning or not
learning the new KSAs.
The trainees see what KSAs they need to improve, and understand why those KSAs will be of
value.
Principles in Developing Training Programs for their Employees (9)
o Identify, where possible, the trainees’ strengths and challenges relating to motivation to learn and
design the training to address as many of these as is practical.
o Align learning objectives to organizational goals and show how learning is important to the trainee and
organizational success.
o Describe program goals and objectives clearly at the start of training.
o Engage the trainee early, thus maximizing attention, expectations, and memory.
o Use a systematic, logically connected sequencing of learning activities so that trainees master lower
levels of learning before moving to higher levels.
o Use a variety of training methods.
o Use realistic job- or life- relevant training material.
o Allow trainees to work together and share experiences.
o Provide constant feedback and reinforcement while encouraging self-assessment.
Effective Training Blanchard & Thacker
Chapter 3 – Learning, Motivation, and Performance
Carl Johnave M. Monzon, 4PSY3 | 14