Training methods

The training models outlined at the start of this week (performance-based instructional design and instructional design system) reveal how training methods are a core part of the design process.

The choice of training method will often depend on the resources available, as well as which style is most suitable for the identified training needs and the general characteristics of the learners engaging in the training.

Training is undertaken in many ways and settings. Broadly speaking, it can be formal or informal.

• Informal training (or ‘acquisition learning’) is going on all the time. It is concrete and immediate and doesn’t usually end with a test. Examples of this type of learning include parenting, housework and running a home. We are doing it all the time, and often we are teaching ourselves these tasks.

• Formal training is a type of conscious learning or formalised learning, which arises from the process of facilitated learning. It is ‘educative learning’ rather than an accumulation of experience. To this extent there is a consciousness of learning – people are aware that the task they are engaged in is learning.

We will now take some time to consider some of the most common formal and informal training methods utilised in modern organisations. These include in-house training methods, off-the-job training, apprenticeships, job rotation, role-play/modelling and e-learning.