Context changes the design
A companion to Chapter 11 of the book, Sector-Specific Training. The same ideas in several forms: film, conversation, 2 infographics, a mind map and 6 activities. Start with whichever suits you.
Chapter 11 in two minutes
Some things hold in every industry. Working memory is finite, prior knowledge shapes what people take in, and attention has to be directed. Chapter 11 argues that generic training models go wrong by assuming that because the principles are universal, one design will transfer anywhere.
The chapter filters the science through five dimensions of context: the regulatory environment, the risk profile, the pace of change, the workforce and how success is measured. It works through seven settings, from schools and corporate training to leadership development, safety-critical work, healthcare, professional services and the public sector.
Corporate training tends to prize time to competence, while safety-critical sectors need mastery with little room for error. Across all of them, the chapter calls for measuring retention, application and performance change rather than attendance and satisfaction, and for professional judgement informed by insight into the group.
Measure what matters, not what's easy.
Watch or listen
Prefer to take it in by eye or by ear? Both cover the core ideas of Chapter 11 in a few minutes.
Film, 1 min
How context shapes training design
Why the same learning principles lead to different training designs once a sector's rules, risks and people are taken into account. Captions are built in.
Conversation, 6 min
Why generic corporate training fails
A conversation about the five dimensions of sector context, what seven different sectors demand, and how to measure outcomes instead of activity.
Chapter 11 at a glance
A quick overview, then the full argument with the evidence. Select either one to see it full size.
How the ideas connect
Every idea in Chapter 11 on one page. Look at it before you read to see the shape of the argument, or afterwards as a recap.
Put it into practice
Short activities to run with a group or work through on your own. Each one has a printable card.
With a group (3)
On your own (3)
Go deeper
The research and writing behind Chapter 11.
- Salas, Tannenbaum, Kraiger and Smith-Jentsch, Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 2012The Science of Training and Development in OrganizationsA thorough review of what the evidence says works in workplace training, before, during and after a programme.
- Donald Kirkpatrick, ResearchGateEvaluating Training Programs: The Four LevelsA review of the four-level evaluation model the chapter uses to move from reaction scores to results.
- Atul Gawande, The New Yorker, 2011Personal BestA surgeon on what coaching added to his work, and why experts in any field can benefit from it.
- Yardley, Teunissen and Dornan, Medical Teacher, 2012Experiential Learning: AMEE Guide No. 63How experiential learning applies in healthcare and clinical education, one of the chapter's seven sectors.
- OECDIncreasing Adult Learning ParticipationEvidence on who takes part in adult learning and how training quality and individual needs affect it.
- Smale-Jacobse, Meijer, Helms-Lorenz and Maulana, Frontiers in Psychology, 2019Differentiated Instruction in Secondary Education: A Systematic ReviewWhat the research shows about adapting teaching within a class, for the chapter's education setting.
