As with many job onboarding processes, when I began my current position they assigned me something around 100 hours of online training to be completed. These trainings consisted of powerpoint slides with voiceover that you could not skip to the next slide until the voiceover was finished. (We all know those boring modules that HR requires you to watch) This took forever and the content was very dry. Not only did I dread logging in each day, at the end of the trainings I could not tell you one important thing I learned. The reason this type of training was not successful for me was because I don’t learn that way. I am more of a hands-on learner who needs to go through the motions or apply the material in order to understand it. Trainings that are successful for me allows me to walk through the motions and ask clarifying questions along the way, or relate the information to situations around me for further understanding.
For a fun contrast, each month I participate in a cookie decorating class. The instructor not only shows you the steps in a photo series, she tells you them highlighting important tips, and then you get to do it yourself. Then while you are doing it yourself, you can always ask for help. This is successful for the entire class because some are visual learners, others are audible learners, some have to do it themselves, and some need a combination. Of course I would much rather participate in a cookie decorating class instead of online training modules, but it is the understanding of how people learn that is really important here. The cookie instructor presented her content in a variety of methods to best capture the attention of everyone in the class.
