Chapter 4: Learning and Transfer of Training

Verbal persuasion

Offering words of encouragement to convince others they can learn

Advance organizers

Outlines, texts, diagrams, and graphs that help trainees organize the information that will be presented and practiced

Self-management

Person's attempt to control certain aspects of decision making and behavior

Practice

Physical or mental rehearsal of a task, knowledge, or skill to achieve proficiency in performing the task or skill or demonstrating the knowledge.

Punishment

Presenting an unpleasant outcome after a behavior, leading to a decrease in that behavior

External conditions

Processes in the learning environment that facilitate learning; including the physical learning environment, as well as opportunities to practice and receive feedback and reinforcement

Internal conditions

Processes within the learner that must be present for learning to occur; including how information is registered, stored in memory, and recalled

Theory of identical elements

Proposes that transfer of training occurs when what is being learned in the training session is identical to what the trainee has to perform on the job Suggests that transfer of training is easy when the training environment and the job environment are similar transfer will be maximized when the tasks, materials, equipment, and other characteristics of the learning environment are similar to those encountered in the work environment.

Learning

Refers to a relatively permanent change in human capabilities that can include knowledge, skills, attitudes, behaviors, and competencies that are not the result of growth processes

Key behaviors

Refers to a set of behaviors that can be used successfully in a wide variety of situations

Generalization

Refers to a trainee's ability to apply what has been learned to on-the-job work problems and situations that are similar but not necessarily identical to those problems and situations encountered in the learning environment (i.e., the training program)

Past accomplishments

Refers to allowing employees to build a history of successful accomplishments

Learner-instructor interaction

Refers to interaction between the learner and the expert (trainer) Is best when a task needs in-depth exploration, critical analysis, and thinking

Performance orientation

Refers to learners who focus on task performance and how they compare to others

Automatization

Refers to making performance of a task, recall of knowledge, or demonstration of a skill so automatic that it requires little thought or attention

Semantic encoding

Refers to the actual coding process of incoming messages

Gratifying

Refers to the feedback that the learner receives as a result of using learning content

One-trial learning

Refers to the first time trainees correctly demonstrate a behavior or skill or correctly recall knowledge

Goal orientation

Refers to the goals held by a trainee in a learning situation

Learner-learner interaction

Refers to the interaction between learner with or without an instructor Is required when a task needs to be completed in a group

Maintenance

Refers to the process of trainees continuing to use what they have learned over time

Transfer of training

Refers to trainees effectively and continually applying what they have learned in training to their jobs

Cognitive strategies

Regulate the processes of learning

Working storage

Rehearsal and repetition of information occur, allowing material to be coded for memory

Learning orientation

Relates to trying to increase one's ability or competence in a task

Retention

Remembering the behaviors or skills that they observe

Organizing

Requires the learner to find similarities and themes in the training material

Elaboration

Requires the trainee to relate the training material to other, more familiar knowledge, skills, or behaviors Most appropriate for skill application

Boosters

Retrieval opportunities that can help the learner's brain consider training information as important and help retain it.

Stimulus generalization approach

Suggest that transfer of training occurs when training emphasizes the most important features of a task or general principles that can be used to complete a task or solve a problem

Attention

Suggests that persons cannot learn by observation unless they are aware of the important aspects of a model's performance

Lapses

Take place when the trainee uses previously learned, less effective capabilities instead of trying to apply the capability emphasized in the training program

Perception

The ability to organize the message from the environment so that it can be processed and acted upon

Pedagogy

The art and science of teaching children

Fidelity

The extent to which the training environment is similar to the work environment

Learner-content interaction

The learner interacts with the training content such as reading text on the web or in books, listening to multimedia modules and in activities that require the manipulation of tools or objects such as writing and completing case studies. Is required when a task is completed alone

Self-regulation

The learner's involvement with the training material and assessing their progress toward learning

Cognitive theory of transfer

The likelihood of transfer is increased by providing trainees with meaningful material that enhances the chances that they will link what they encounter in the work environment to the learned capability Based on the information processing theory of learning suggests that transfer of training depends upon the ability of trainees to recall learned capabilities

Training context

The physical, intellectual, and emotional environment in which training occurs. In a training environment, employees are most likely to learn when this is similar to the work environment

Extinction

The process of withdrawing positive or negative reinforcers to eliminate a behavior

Objective

The purpose and expected outcome of training activities

Negative reinforcement

The removal of an unpleasant outcome

Rehearsal

The simplest learning strategy, focuses on learning through repetition (memorization)

Andragogy

The theory of adult learning

Instruction

The trainer's manipulation of the environment in order to help trainees learn

Valence

The value that a person places on an outcome (e.g., how important it is to perform better on the job)

Climate for transfer

Trainees' perceptions about a wide variety of characteristics of the work environment that facilitate or inhibit the use of trained skills or behavior Refers to perceptions of trainees regarding the characteristics of the work environment that inhibit or facilitate the application of trained capabilities

Microlearning

Training delivered in small pieces or chunks designed to engage trainees, motivate them to learn, and help facilitate retention

Open skills

Training objectives linked to general learning principles More difficult to train that closed skills

Closed skills

Training objectives that are linked to learning specific skills that are to be identically produced by the trainee on their job

Far transfer

Transfer of training (which is more difficult) when tasks during training are different from the work environment The trainee's ability to apply learned capabilities to the work environment, even though the work environment is not identical to that of the training session

Near transfer

Transfer of training that occurs when the trainee works on tasks during training (e.g., knowledge, equipment, or processes) that are very similar, if not identical, to the work environment Trainees' ability to apply learned capabilities exactly to the work situation

Expectancy theory

A person's behavior is based on three factors: expectancy, instrumentality, and valence Various choices of behavior are evaluated according to their expectancy, instrumentality, and valence learning and transfer of training are enhanced when they are linked to outcomes and that learning is most likely to occur when employees believe that they can learn the content of a program

Positive reinforcement

A pleasurable outcome resulting from a behavior

Whole practice

A training approach in which all tasks or objectives are practiced at the same time

Part practice

A training approach in which each objective or task is practiced individually as soon as it is introduced in a training program

Behavior modification

A training method that is primarily based on reinforcement theory

Self-efficacy

An individual's belief that he or she is capable of performing a task, or learn knowledge and skills

Metacognition

An individual's control over their own thoughts and learning processes

Goal setting theory

Assumes that behavior results from a person's conscious goals and intentions

Processes involved in learning as suggested by social learning theory

Attention Retention Motor reproduction Motivational processes

Overall task complexity

Degree to which a task requires a number of distinct behaviors, the number of choices involved in performing the task, and the degree of uncertainty in performing the task

Physical requirements

Degree to which the task requires the person to use or demonstrate physical skills and abilities to perform and complete the task

Mental requirements

Degree to which the task requires the subject to use or demonstrate mental skills or cognitive skills or abilities to perform the task

Reinforcement theory

Emphasizes that people are motivated to perform or avoid certain behaviors because of past outcomes that have resulted from those behaviors trainers should identify outcomes that learners find most positive (and negative) and then should link the outcomes to acquiring knowledge, skills, or changing behaviors of the learners.

Communities of Practice (COPs)

Groups of employees who work together, learn from each other, and develop a common understanding of how to get work accomplished

Reflection

Having trainees spend a short amount of time, such as 15 minutes, reviewing and writing about what they learned and how they performed

Intellectual skills

Include concepts and rules, which are critical to solve problems, serve customers, and create products

Motor skills

Include coordination of physical movements

Verbal information

Includes names or labels, facts, and bodies of knowledge

Spaced practice

Individuals are given rest intervals within practice sessions

Feedback

Information about how well people are meeting the training objectives

Motor reproduction

Trying out the observed behaviors to see if they result in the same reinforcement that the model received

Instrumentality

A belief that performing a given behavior (e.g., attending a training program) is associated with a particular outcome (e.g., being able to better perform your job)

Attitudes

A combination of beliefs and feelings that predispose a person to behave a certain way Include: A cognitive component (beliefs) An affective component (feeling) An intentional component (the way a person intends to behave with regard to the focus of the attitude)

Need for achievement

A concern for attaining and maintaining self-set standards of excellence

Need

A deficiency that a person is experiencing at any point in time

Motivational processes

Behaviors that are reinforced

Generalizing

Being able to adapt the learning for use in similar but not identical situations

Expectancies

Beliefs about the link between trying to perform a behavior and actually performing well The learning process that includes willingness to attend a training and an ability to interpret the purpose and likely benefits of the instruction on the job

Need for affiliation

Concern for building and maintaining relationships with other people and for being accepted by others

Need for power

Concern for obtaining responsibility, influence, and reputation

Stages of the learning cycle

Concrete experience Reflective observation Abstract conceptualization Active experimentation

Massed practice

Conditions in which individuals practice a task continuously and without rest

Overlearning

Continued rehearsal of material after one first appears to have mastered it.

Training administration

Coordination of activities before, during, and after a training program

Social learning theory

Emphasizes that people learn by observing other people (models) who they believe are credible and knowledgeable Learning new skills or behaviors comes from (1) directly experiencing the consequences of using that behavior or skill, or (2) the process of observing others and seeing the consequences of their behavior

Information processing theory

Gives more emphasis to the internal processes that occur when training content is learned and retained

Error management training

Giving trainees opportunities to make errors during training and to learn from them

Modeling

Involves having employees who already have mastered the learning outcomes demonstrate them for trainees

Retrieval

Involves identifying learned material in long-term memory and using it to influence performance

Logical verifications

Involves perceiving a relationship between a new task and a task already mastered