Designing Powerful Training: The Sequential Iterative Model

"An excellent, comprehensive, and very practical guide for training design.
--Beverly Popek, director of human resources, professional & consulting services, MCI Telecommunications

The answer is here. The heart of this book is the Sequential-Iterative Model (SIM) for training design. A fancy term for a simple, elegant concept: training should be a step-by-step process with a feedback loop that enables you to continually refine your training based on experience.

"You will not find another book that so thoroughly examines the process of creating training events. For anyone who wants to do quality design work, this book is highly recommAnded."
--Mel Silberman, author of Active Training and 101 Ways to Make Training Active

This book is a tool to help you design training that is:

• Effective: Accomplishing specific objectives that aim toward success
• Efficient: Meeting training objectives without wasting time or energy
• Engaging: Involvin g learners and incorporating their experience into the training

You get checklists and evaluations to guide your development process. Out of their many years of experience, Milano and Ullius have created a practical guidebook that enables you to structure training so it is fluid and adaptable. Many guides to instructional design are stuffy, academic, and difficult to apply to the real world. Not so with Designing Powerful Training. This book is easy to approach and visually refreshing, with over 70 figures and illustrations!

You'll receive an overview of training basics, including:

• Identifying the central characteristics of adult learners
• Recognizing the essential skills for instructional design
• Conducting a simple and quick needs assessment . . . and much more!

Next, the authors introduce you to the revolutionary SIM design. This design guides you through:

• defining training goals and objectives
• designing a big-picture outline for your training program
• refining your outline to create a detailed training process
• selecting media for your training events
• evaluating the success of your designs.

"I like this book! The [SIM] gives me the connection between training design and organizational performance needs I have been looking for in other books."--Joseph A. Greenberg, professor of higher education administration, The George Washington University

An essential piece of the puzzle is the running example that the authors follow throughout the book. This is where the rubber meets the road. You see the SIM in action and you recognize how you'll make it work for you.

MICHAEL MILANO is passionate about training design and facilitation, about creating learning events that help people learn while being affirmed in their competence. Since 1986, he has been president of Murphy & Milano, Inc., a training and organization development company in Alexandria, Virginia; he has been designing and facilitating adult learning events since 1971. Among his client are large interantional organizations, such as the United Nations and the World Bank; federal government organizations, including the Department of Commerce and the Library of Congress; companies as well known as W. R. Grace Company and MCI Telecommunications; and not-for-profit groups, ranging from United Way of America to the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington. In the late 1980s, Michael was invited to design courses in training design and in presentation skills for the Training Specialist Certificate Program at Georgetown University, and he is still teaching both courses. He is a member of the American Society for Training and Development and the Association for Psychological Type. DIANE ULLIUS is principal of Word Tamers, a consulting firm in Arlington, Virginia, that focuses on training and coaching in writing and speaking. Her clients range from Time-Life Inc. and the National Institutes of Health to the Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League. She is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. She has previously been published in Training & Development, The Editorial Eye, and The Bookwoman. She is a member of the Washington, D.C., chapter of the American Society for Training and Development and since 1990 has been a national board member of WNBA, the Women's National Book Association. Diane believes that words are power--that you can take charge of your words and make them do what you want them to do.

THE FOUNDATIONS OF POWERFUL TRAINING.

Powerful Training.

An Overview of the SIM.

The Adult Learner.

The Designer.

Needs Assessment.

USING THE SIM.

The SIM: Training Goals and Objectives.

The SIM: Key Topics.

The SIM: Training Flow -- Macrodesign.

The SIM: Training Flow -- Microdesign.

The SIM: Materials.

The SIM: Evaluating Tools.

Making The Training Design Shine.

Appendix: Common Organizational Structures.

References and RecommAnded Reading.

About the Authors.

Index.