Self-paced Instruction Services

Self-paced instruction (SPI) offers organizations a flexible yet effective means of training employees on an as-and-when-needed basis.

Participants study by themselves, using training materials that provide content along with guidelines for the required learning, practice, and evaluation activities.

Self-paced materials can be used to summarize the concepts, skills, and knowledge needed to perform a task, using job aids as decision and procedure guidelines.

Learners are directed to selected readings, with the learning sequence mirroring the real-world task sequence as much as possible. They then complete sets of questions that test their acquisition and implementation of the material.

Well designed SPI ensures that learners learn what they need to know, when they need to know it, at their own pace, and in their own style.

This is the form of training design in which BrainWave excels, and in which we are most keenly interested.

 

SPI courses:

• can be developed in paper or electronic format. Courseware can be placed on a network server, available for learner use at any time and any place. Users can access the materials either on an intranet or on the Internet.
• are self contained. No instructor is required, although we recommend that a coach or resource person be made available on an as-requested basis for guidance, motivation, and support.
• are accessible. Self-paced materials can be prepared in Microsoft Word and then converted to Acrobat PDF files, which remain stable across platforms and operating systems.
  Users can access and print out copies of these materials wherever they may be. Such materials can easily be migrated to Web-based training when your organization is ready.
  If you are interested in starting with a leader-led solution, and implementing this option at a later date, we can design the initial course materials to facilitate such a migration.
• can be configured with pre-tests and “gating” for customized learning plans. If learners successfully complete the pre-test for a section, they can skip forward to the next section. SPI can also be configured to provide extra training for learners who require more time and practice in acquiring certain skills.
• include evaluations throughout to ensure that learners achieve the levels of competency required for proper job performance.
• are highly interactive, promoting learner engagement with the material and ensuring that active learning takes place.
• accommodate individual learning styles, such as learning rates and cognitive styles

 

In these days of accelerated e-learning, paper-based SPI may be seen as increasingly “low-tech” and thus overlooked as a viable means of instruction. Yet paper can be every bit as effective as computer-based or web-based training for many projects.

Paper-based SPI is particularly useful when learners must absorb a great deal of written information. They can work back and forth through a workbook, annotating their copies as they go, accessing and assimilating detailed information far more easily than onscreen. Course materials can subsequently serve as on-the-job reference materials.

In designing a paper-based SPI solution, several approaches are possible, depending upon your budget, learning objectives, and circumstances.

 

When an organization has developed clear and comprehensive procedures and reference materials for a task or job, it is often possible to design a low-cost yet effective learning plan utilizing those materials. In such cases, BrainWave:

• incorporates the existing content into a training course, either as-is or slightly repurposed
• designs a learning plan that guides the employee through the appropriate sequence of directed readings and learning activities
• develops exercises and performance tests to evaluate the learner’s acquisition of the required knowledge and skills

 

Where a more in-depth, competency-based solution is desired, we create a modular, task-oriented set of workbooks that provide the learner with:

• diagnostic procedures to identify knowledge and skill gaps
• objectives and directions for each training activity
• clear explanations of core content
• references to additional sources of information
• interactivity through ongoing self-tests, including feedback on learner performance
• evaluations at the end of each learning unit
• performance-based evaluation at critical points in the learning sequence

 

By definition, SPI also includes computer-based training (CBT) and certain forms of web-based training (WBT)—more commonly known as "e-learning."

In e-learning, the learner's computer not only replaces a classroom instructor but affords the many benefits of technology as well. These can include:

• audio, video, animation, and other multimedia effects
• interactive exercises and activities that demonstrate or reinforce concepts
• pre-testing with immediate feedback and progress tracking
• quick links to related material, relevant examples, or further reading
• collaboration features that enable learners to interact with an instructor or with each other.

Computer-based training and web-based training are particularly effective forms of SPI for projects that require:

• presentations of visual information, such as coloured diagrams and animations
• visual demonstrations of activities
• simulations of tasks, such as working with a software application

Tell me more about the features and benefits of CBT and WBT...

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