Learning and Development
Workplace learning and development offers opportunities to help all employees meet their professional development goals. To achieve success in today's workplace, organizations have developed strategies through which learning is integrated with work.
Comprehensive Approach
A systems approach ensures a comprehensive workplace learning process that remains focused on the needs of the University. The process typically includes the following phases:
- Analyze the organization's needs and identify training goals that, when reached, will equip learners with the knowledge and skills required to meet the organization's needs. This phase is also used to identify when training should occur and who should attend.
- Design a training system that learners and trainers can implement to meet learning goals. This phase typically includes the identification of learning objectives that culminate in reaching the learning goals, required facilities, necessary funding, course content, lessons, and the sequence of lessons.
- Develop a training package of resources and materials, including audio-visuals, graphics, manuals, and more.
- Implement the training package, including delivering training, support group feedback, clarifying training materials, administering tests, and conducting the final evaluations. This phase can include administrative activities, such as copying, scheduling facilities, taking attendance data, and learners.
- Evaluate training, including before, during, and after training.
In a systematic approach to workplace learning, each phase of the process produces results needed by the next phase. For example, the training analysis phase produces learning goals that are used in the training design phase. Training design incorporates the need to design methods and materials for the skills development sought by learners. Typically, each phase provides ongoing evaluation feedback to other phases in order to improve the overall systems process.