How to develop training material for a specific course?

Designing and producing a training session can be a difficult task. Not only do you have to make sure the knowledge/skill you are training is factually correct but you also have to present it in a form which is easily digested by your learners.

Here are a few brief steps to keep in mind:

1.Identify the need for this training?

2.Write the objectives that you can realistically achieve given the number of learners you will be training and the time you have to train them in

3.Now write the evaluation material which you will use to test that the learners have achieved the session objectives

4.Look at the evaluation exercise and ask yourself, “What do the learners need to learn in order to pass my evaluation exercise?”. The answer to this question is a list of subject matter and this list becomes the outline of the training session

5.You are now ready to write the actual training material. Make sure your training design includes variations of approach to suit all learning styles. Include exercises, activities, discussions, role plays, syndicate work, case studies etc. to break the learning up into bite sized chunks.

6.You may need to include an activity to enable delegates to get to know each other before the main part of the training starts. Use a process which is relevant to the objectives of the event and not just about each person introducing themselves

7.Finally practise running the session with some colleagues and then ask them to give you feedback. This “walk-through” will help iron out any potential problems before you run it live.

 

 

I start by carefully analysing the need and clarifying the outcome of the course and decide on the level if measuring I would like to achieve. Then I use Bloom's taxonomy to set the learning objective. Then I look up for books or articles talking about the same topic, if the course is a technical skill then I turn to SMEs or written SOPs. SlideShare is a good source for ideas on the slides. Then I draft an outline for the course and decide of learning aids like participants guided and facilitator kits. By that time after reading books and article I can put the learning content. I would also suggest a pilot test and revisiting the course design