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
