Training Effectiveness
The training I want to discuss is my military training. I have been in the Army for 3 years and will be using my experience at L6 (Lima 6), which is a 42 day ASI (Additional Skill Identifier) training held at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. This training is specifically for the NBCRV (Nuclear Biological Radiological Reconnaissance Vehicle), which is a 21-ton armored vehicle that houses various detection and sampling systems, as well as a remote weapon system, all of which is controlled by the operators. In order to be awarded the ASI of L6 and be certified as an NBCRV operator, you must pass each test with an 80% or higher. The other training was a 3 day medical training that I did to refresh my knowledge, because I have a few first aid certifications.
L6 training catered to every type of learner by the use of visual PowerPoints associated with readings, verbal discussions, and hands-on exercises with each component. It also has actual missions that teams must complete in order to pass, which demonstrates the importance of group-building in this training. The instructors did a great job at fostering a healthy learning environment with the mixture of teaching styles and actual practice exercises. They provided detailed feedback, and related the content to real-life applications that demonstrated the importance of the course material. This training was very effective, because the schoolhouse provided resources for students to use after the training. The schoolhouse also used a pre/post measure of effectiveness by a survey and a test. They gave us a basic knowledge test and survey on day two of the training, then during the last week gave us the same test and survey and assessed our score differences. The first test average was roughly 40%, whereas the second test was roughly 95%, which further demonstrates the effectiveness of this training.
The medical training on the other hand did not have PowerPoints, nor did they provide resources for students to refer back to post-training. They did have hands-on trainings, but they were short and they really did not provide solid feedback to the audience. We did not conduct missions or hypothetical scenarios, just basic practice. Also, myself and another Sergeant noticed a few incorrect items being taught and corrected them during the hands-on portions. I would say this training was not very effective based on the above, and they had no measure of success.
References
Buckingham, M. & Coffman, C. 2016. First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently.
Swift, M. (2022, November). Developing Training Program. [PowerPoint slides].
Swift, M. (2022, November). Evaluating Training Effectiveness. [PowerPoint slides].
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