{"id":17,"date":"2026-05-10T00:22:28","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T00:22:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/abigail\/?p=17"},"modified":"2026-05-10T00:22:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T00:22:28","slug":"what-makes-training-helpful-vs-not-helpful","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/abigail\/2026\/05\/10\/what-makes-training-helpful-vs-not-helpful\/","title":{"rendered":"What Makes Training Helpful vs. Not Helpful"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>From my own experience, some classes are actually really effective for learning, while others don\u2019t really stick. I think the difference usually comes down to how the training is designed and whether it gives you a chance to actually use what you are learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One class I took that was really effective, used a mix of instruction and hands-on practice. Instead of just sitting through lectures, we had activities, examples, and feedback, which helped a lot. Looking back, this matches what we learned about training design, especially the importance of \u201chands-on methods\u201d like simulations and practice for improving skill development and transfer of training. It also connects to the UPS training example, where employees learn better when they can apply what they are taught instead of just watching or listening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In terms of Kirkpatrick\u2019s model, this class went beyond just \u201creaction\u201d and \u201clearning\u201d and also reached the \u201cbehavior\u201d and \u201cresults\u201d levels. I actually felt like I improved my performance and could apply what I learned later, which shows real behavior change and outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the other hand, I have had classes that were mostly lecture-based and didn\u2019t really include practice or feedback. Those classes felt more like information being delivered instead of actual learning. Even if the content was important, it didn\u2019t connect to anything real, so it didn\u2019t stick. From a training perspective, it lacked good design and didn\u2019t support transfer of training to real use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Overall, I think effective training depends on design, especially whether it includes practice, feedback, and real-world connection. As Ellis et al. (2017) point out, training is most effective when employees are supported in applying what they learn, not just hearing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>References<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Ellis, A., Nifadkar, S. S., Bauer, T. N., &amp; Erdogan, B. (2017). Your new hires won\u2019t succeed unless you onboard them properly. Harvard Business Review. https:\/\/hbr.org\/2017\/05\/your-new-hires-wont-succeed-unless-you-onboard-them-properly<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Colvin, G. (2010). Making of a UPS driver. Fortune. <a href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\">https:\/\/fortune.com<\/a> (Archived article)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Buckingham, M., &amp; Coffman, C. (2020). First, break all the rules: What the world\u2019s greatest managers do differently (20th ed.). Gallup Press.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From my own experience, some classes are actually really effective for learning, while others don\u2019t really stick. I think the difference usually comes down to how the training is designed and whether it gives you a chance to actually use what you are learning. One class I took that was really effective, used a mix [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15127,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/abigail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/abigail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/abigail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/abigail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/abigail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/abigail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/abigail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17\/revisions\/18"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/abigail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/abigail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/abigail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}